Italians are boycotting pasta today in protest at price rises which have seen the cost of their national dish climb by 20 per cent in the last 12 months. The price increases can be explained by a dramatic rise in the price of wheat in recent months thanks to global warming and the growing use of durum wheat as a bio-fuel. The price for durum flour has gone up from €0.26 per kg to €0.45 per kg in the last two months alone. While the protest is to be welcomed it is unlikely to make any difference at all as the widespread diversion of land from food production to energy production is going to drive the price of food on global markets will up by as much as 50 per cent according to a joint report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).