The cover of Nikkei Business of Aug. 27 carried a photograph of a sirloin steak atop a sizzling platter. The meat was artfully trimmed to form the shape of the Japanese archipelago.

Atop this mouth-watering graphic are words clearly aimed at curbing the reader's appetite: "Shokuryo hijo jitai sengen" (announcement of emergency food conditions), followed by a subhead that translates, "Surviving the era of gluttony and poor harvests."

Imbalances and mismanagement of the food supply have led to growing social instability in the third world. Since December 2010, rising food prices have spurred political upheavals in Tunisia and at least eight other countries.