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This article could have gone a lot further than it did, but the food to income ratio it cites does seem to have been a decisive factor in some of the revolts in the Middle East. The former Egyptian government in particular had been subsidising grain in an effort to keep the population content for quite some time. Another major factor in a large number of public revolts all through the last century has been youth unemployment (which isn't mentioned in the article). When you have a large portion of youth (young males in particular) out of work, it is a recipe for trouble. When those in this age demographic have no job, no means to provide for themselves and no hope for the future, they tend to get just a tad angry and are basically backed into a corner with nothing to lose. We are currently seeing very high rates of youth unemployment in places like Greece and Spain (among others). These places have seen protests and riots, but as of yet no hints of a 'revolt' in the traditional sense. It would seem that in these countries the populace still has hope of working within the currently established system, to try and fix things. Its anyone's guess how bad things would need to get for there to be a revolt in a modern western country.
