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This paper aims to analyze the causes of the food crisis which seriously shook Egypt during the first part of 2008 and caused the death of at least 15 people. My starting assumption is that the food crisis is a direct consequence of the Egyptian state’s liberal agricultural policy, which privileges unbridled exportation and the development of a new and “modern” agricultural sector designed to accommodate large investors and give first priority to exports. At the same time, “traditional” agriculture, which is very rich and intensive, is marginalized under the pretext that it is practiced by too many farmers (approximately 3.6 million peasants) and too poor to continue to invest in and to modernize the sector. In addition, Egyptian decision-makers believe that, with the money from exports, the country could meet its food requirements by buying the necessary products on the international market. But it only took the spectacular rise of international prices during the last months to show that Egypt finds itself incapable of buying basic commodities, particularly grains. The immediate consequence of this situation was a bread shortage in a country where bread is a dietary staple.