Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

In a garbage dump in Port-au-Prince, people recently scavenged for food. More Photos >

Published: April 18, 2008

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hunger bashed in the front gate of Haiti’s presidential palace. Hunger poured onto the streets, burning tires and taking on soldiers and the police. Hunger sent the country’s prime minister packing.

Haiti’s hunger, that burn in the belly that so many here feel, has become fiercer than ever in recent days as global food prices spiral out of reach, spiking as much as 45 percent since the end of 2006 and turning Haitian staples like beans, corn and rice into closely guarded treasures.