Afghan Farmers Switch Crops

I spent way too much time on a Daily Kos thread last night reading about skyrocketing commodity prices, developing food shortages, hoarding and predictions of doom.
It started for me with a recent post by Paul Krugman on his blog about the subject, increased news stories about protests and riots (in Haiti, not unusual, but also widespread in other countries.)
Needless to say, I went to bed fatally depressed. The blogs'll do that to you if you're not careful. Just be glad I read it for you.
Not doing Global Warming today. Nope, not gonna go there.
Anyway, Krugman and others had this up today, and I'm passing it along in the above context.

In parts of Helmand Afghan farmers are this year sowing wheat instead of poppy - not because they have suddenly been converted to the argument that producing heroin is not in the national interest.

Market forces have been the deciding factor - with wheat prices doubling in the past year, and the street price of heroin falling, it is now more cost effective to grow wheat.