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The number of Americans suffering from hunger and “very low food security” grew by 800,000 people in 2011 to a total of 17 million, according to a Department of Agriculture report released last week. Food insecurity is defined as a person’s inability to consistently feed him or herself on a daily basis. The numbers are a grim complement to a recent government admission that a record 46.7 million Americans are now enrolled for food stamps, one the nation’s largest anti-hunger programs.

Recent warnings by three United Nations agencies point to a spike in global food prices in what could be a repeat of the 2008 food crisis. The Food and Agriculture Organization points to a significant increase in food prices in July, linked to rise in commodity prices of corn, wheat and soybeans as a result of a severe US drought.

A new report by the human rights group, OXFAM, points out that climate change will lead to greater instability in food production, and hence, prices. The report also predicts that by 2030 the average price of staple crops like maize, wheat, and rice will double. These increases, they say, will punish the world’s poor, who in some countries, spend up to 80% of their income on food.

Experts say the problem of food affordability will likely be compounded by the rising affluence of China, where the demand for environmentally costly meat and dairy products is expected to grow with its burgeoning middle class.

Discussion of the food crisis often raises the issue of population growth, implying that there is not enough capacity to produce food for the planet. But in reality, according to out guest Raj Patel, we are producing more calories per person today than ever before, and that it is a matter of food distribution rather than production.

GUEST: Raj Patel, food justice activist, a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for African Studies, and a fellow at Food First. Raj is also author of the acclaimed book Stuffed and Starved: the Hidden Battle for the World Food System