A economists say higher food prices will only increase the problems faced by the region's poor, who are highly dependent on rice as a staple food.

VOA: standard.2009.12.17

What used to be a rare food additive is now a staple.

VOA: standard.2010.04.25

Civil servants,who earn about 100 U.S.dollars a month, can buy staple foods.

VOA: standard.2009.09.15

With new studies finding increasingly strong links between diabetes and cardiovascular disease and even certain types of cancers, research to improve this dietary staple has taken on a new urgency.

VOA: standard.2010.06.25

So what does it mean to be French today? President Nicolas Sarkozy has tapped another French staple the love of debate to launch a three-month, national conversation on the subject.

VOA: standard.2009.12.30

Some economists say prices for rice, the staple food for much of the world's population, could be returning to levels that sparked inflation fears in much of Asia last year.

VOA: standard.2009.12.17