Bowls stay empty due to quest for friendly fuels

Though rise in price of rice may be temporary, Thais can no longer be guaranteed easy access to affordable food items

Published on May 6, 2008

The old adage that hardly anyone goes hungry in this bountiful country is increasingly being challenged by the rising food prices.

It seems that everybody, with the exception of farmers who grow their own food, is feeling the pinch of the rising prices in the global market.

Dearer prices for food have hit a world already reeling from the skyrocketing cost of oil.

With the benefit of hindsight, it has now become clear that the world food crisis was brought on, in part, by the misguided quest for biofuels, in which some major crops like maize, are converted into ethanol.

Although the sharp spike in prices of rice, the main staple in this country and much of the rest of the world, may be temporary and subject to corrections as high demand and high prices tend to boost supply, the age of cheap food may already be over.

For as long as anyone can remember, Thai consumers have been spoiled for choice thanks to the extensive range of inexpensive food items that money can buy.

Traditions suffering

This will take some getting used to for people in this country, who have for generations taken for granted the plentiful supply of affordable food.

Among groups that have been hurt the most are Buddhist monks in Bangkok. Under the Buddhist precepts, monks are supposed to depend on members of the communities that support them for alms, including food and basic necessities, in order to lead an ascetic life and to study and teach dhamma.

It was customary that people regularly gave food to Buddhist monks first thing in the morning. The collected food usually was more than enough for monks who distributed the surplus to feed poor people who lived inside and around their temples.

However, rapid economic and social development over the years have not only eroded this beautiful tradition because everybody is too busy to bother, but the high food prices now also affect those who continue to give alms as their ability to give is now limited.

Alms collecting must continue even though the food collected may just be enough to provide sustenance for monks with hardly anything left for the poor.

Buddhist temples must increase their capacity in providing food for the poor by using donations to provice decent meals for needy people to help them get through this difficult time.