Haitians forced to eat dirt cookies

Via Tyler Cowen, some grim news from Haiti:

At the market in the La Saline slum, two cups of rice now sell for 60 cents, up 10 cents from December and 50 percent from a year ago. Beans, condensed milk and fruit have gone up at a similar rate, and even the price of the edible clay has risen over the past year by almost $1.50. Dirt to make 100 cookies now costs $5, the cookie makers say.

Apparently, dirt cookies are a traditional remedy used by pregnant women to combat hunger pangs. But with food prices on the rise, more Haitians are eating the cookies—which are made by mixing clay with salt, flour, and vegetable shortening—to fill their bellies. More at this AP video: