Give National Public Radio's (NPR) website editor credit for one of the most eye-catching headlines of the week: "Rising Food Prices Can Topple Governments, Too."

The accompanying article describes how political unrest in some countries, including Egypt, has been fueled by "dramatic price hikes for basic foodstuffs, such as rice, cereals, cooking oil and sugar."

Other pieces about the massive protests explain how food shortages are now cropping up and throwing fire on an already tinderbox situation.

This all seems very foreign to Americans. When we go to the store, the food is always there, and it's always affordable—remember, U.S. citizens spend less of their paychecks on food than any other country.

The NPR piece helped put this into perspective.

"[W]hen a U.S. consumer buys a box of cereal or a cup of Starbucks coffee, she is mostly paying for the packaging, marketing and attractive store fixtures," read the article. "So the shopper is not greatly affected by the underlying commodity price the way poorer people are in other countries when they buy, say, a simple sack of rice."

If anything, Americans have the opposite problems—many of us overindulge, while others throw excess food away or buy so much that spoilage is an issue.

Think about that for a second, and then thank your lucky stars to live in the land of plenty.

So, if we have it so good, and world events show us that food supply problems can topple governments, why do some seem so hell bent to bite the hand that feeds us?

That's an excellent question for the environmental zealot determined to attack the very innovations and technologies that are needed to increase yields and feed hungry mouths...or for the Environmental Protection Agency seeking new onerous regulations that would raise input cost...or the editorial boards bashing the modest policies that help farmers manage their price and production risks when battling Mother Nature and high foreign subsidies and tariffs.

Maybe today's political unrest will serve as a much-needed wake-up call to the opponents of rural America's prosperity. And maybe, we'll all come to appreciate U.S. farmers as much as our founding fathers, who knew long ago the real power of food.

"It will not be doubted that with reference either to individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance." - President George Washington

"Agriculture…is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness." - President Thomas Jefferson