From the OP's linked article:
"The main reason for rising prices, of course, is the surge in demand from China and India. Hundreds of millions of people are joining the middle class each year, and that means they want to eat more and better food.
A secondary reason has been the growing demand for ethanol as a fuel additive. That's soaking up some of the corn supply."
While these are real issues, I think he missed the elephant in the corner. Fuel prices have gone up a lot in the past couple of years, and the farms that our commodity foodstuffs are produced on run on petroleum. So, yeah, lots of people in China and India have something to do with it, but worldwide gasoline and diesel prices have more to do with it.
And as far as stocking up -- I fail to see how being prepared is "panicking." And loading up at Costco or your local Safeway isn't going to cause a run on the store or a local panic (if that were the case, the masses would be storming our Costco every Friday, because there might be a critical beer shortage after the college kids get done "stocking up" for the weekened).
Think of it as a commodity emergency cushion. Having a couple of weeks' or months' worth of food stored in your basement or hall closet or garage means that you can afford to ride out REAL food panics.
Surpluses and stored goods strengthen the social fabric because they allow for some "give" when times are tight. This is as true for food and water and beer as it is for money. (Hey, we homebrew, too!)