Talk of an increase in food prices in North America and across the ocean in the U.K. has been running rampant and is starting to cause concern amongst families noticing a higher grocery bill each week. However most people will get by (at least for now) and make some adjustments that are required to accommodate a budget. In Haiti, the options are much more limited to the extent that some families have no choice but to eat dirt for every meal.

Global price hikes are hitting residents of the Caribbean hard. The cost of two cups of rice, a staple in the region, has increased 50 per cent in the past year leaving many incapable of affording the 60 cents a serving now costs. Instead, they are eating cookies made of yellow dirt from the area's central plateau, salt and vegetable shortening. In comparison to the cost of rice, the cookies are priced at 5 cents apiece and in a region where the majority of residents earn less than $2 per day, they are the most affordable option to feed a family.

The verdict of potential health effects are inconclusive. The dirt used in the cookies may contain toxins that are deadly to humans, but it has also been said to strengthen the immunity of fetuses in the wombs of pregnant women to dangerous diseases. Pregnant women and children use it as an antacid and a source of calcium. The one thing health experts agree on is that a heavy reliance on the cookies could lead to malnutrition. However when you are talking about instance where nine people live in a household or parents are supporting several children, there is no other choice.

I admittedly felt slightly ill after reading this. Not due to the thought of consuming dirt cookies for breakfast, but because my own belly was still relatively full from my most recent meal. And if I start to feel peckish, I can head to the kitchen and have the choice of a piece of fruit, a sandwich or a multitude of other options stocked in the fridge or the pantry. If I grumble about food prices, it's because my chicken cost an extra $2 at the supermarket this week, not because I'll have to eat mud for my third meal in a day. It kind of puts things in a little more perspective.

» Associated Press