Food shortages

Omshanti.

Since last two days, I have been reading about the unbelievable foodgrains shortage in US and Japan. Is it true? Could any member from US/Japan shed some light on the ground situation and if possible, the reasons for the same.

I remember someone commenting on this forum about the BK Centers storing stocks of foodgrains for many months in anticipation of Destruction. But the Indian Government is projecting bumper crops in the coming season.

Regards,
OGS,
Arjun

Thanks for bringing this up as it affects all of us on this little blue planet. The World Bank just announced that food prices have risen 83%.
Grains Gone Wild

There have already been food riots around the world.

It is true Arjun! It has been escalating world wide for some years now. Zambia declares food disaster, 30 May, 2002 The Middle East wars have contributed to the economy down turn in the US and have made "Food Speculators" thrive in Wall Street. Making money off people starving ... shameful!

Food shortages are affecting people in South Africa and throughout the world. Funny thing the only rice I found was Organic White Basmati Rice, but I know how to cook it already. The other issue is Global Warming and the biggest culprit is MEAT PRODUCTION as reported by the UN. Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change

Some rice crops have already collapsed due to climate change; High prices everywhere but no water, no crop.

The other problem is ethanol production. In Canada they are using 12% of their wheat to produce ethanol, and in the US they are using 30% of the corn produced for ethanol. The impact is felt on the poor nations and now even in the US and other Western nations; Food vs fuel debate shakes Canadian breadbasket.

So, what can we do?

1. Eat less meat.
2. Turn off the lights when we leave a room.
3. Use alternative energy sources like solar energy which won't impact the food production.
4. Recycle discarded products and re-use bags.
5. Walk to work once a week.
6. Get involved with people that are like minded and strive for change.
7. And the taboo one, family planning as a positive way of future successful parenting (smaller families have a higher standard of living).

I like people like you Arjun! While asked to give our speech (yesterday) as only the international press showed up I went on and on about the food shortage (I did mention the economy and the war ... but the food story hits home quick). Arjun it helps to know more than one language. So, speak up and speak often to pass on the word of concern.

Since last two days, I have been reading about the unbelievable foodgrains shortage in US and Japan. Is it true? Could any member from US/Japan shed some light on the ground situation and if possible, the reasons for the same. I remember someone commenting on this forum about the BK Centers storing stocks of foodgrains for many months in anticipation of destruction. But the Indian Government is projecting bumper crops in the coming season.

As far as I know it is not that there is a shortage but the prices are going up like crazy, partly because more and more grains are being used to make fuels like ethanol. which is increasing the demand and thus pushing the prices up. Also, it seems that weather conditions in some areas of the world have been bad and crops are failing, thus reducing the offer and pushing the prices further up. Some people already start to panic and want to stock up, thus increasing the demand furthermore ...

I hope the small farmers will get their share of it, not just the big business and the brokers!

Since last two days, I have been reading about the unbelievable foodgrains shortage in US and Japan. Is it true?

There is a lot of media hype. It is "good for the market". I concur that the main problem is the agriculture of grains and pulses to feed the energy inefficient industrialised meat machine. We all know the basic statistics, e.g. "a kilo of grain proteins fed to cattle yield only one-tenth of their amount of protein as meat" or "33 percent of the global arable land is used to producing feed for livestock not humans" ... often having first pushed local farmers for human consumption off the land due to the agro-industrialist superior buying power.

The case of Japan is an interesting one and it may reflect on patterns that will affect other developing nations in the short term future. Japan is an Asia, and largely Budhist nation, that was involuntarily, deliberately and violently forced into Western-style development and lifestyle by America over a period of 100 years from 1850s to WWII. The Western influences being solely capitalistic.

Interesting, academics have calculated that IF Japan sticks to its natural diet, it is actually even still self-sufficient in the basics of existence, e.g. rice, beans, vegetables etc. It is really only the adoption of Western diet and consumptions levels and especially dietary demands, e.g. for wheat that is not a natural part of its diet or native flora and unsustainably high level of meat consumption that was never previously part of its culture. For approximately 1,000 years, it was avowedly vegetarian (including some local fish) by decree and beef was really only introduced into its diet by the Christian (Jesuit) Westerners (there is a statue dedicated to the first cow slaughtered for food, dated circa 1850 something). I can only imagine that with its amazingly rich lands, if America turned to a primarily vegetarian or vegan diet, that it too could easily be self-sustainable.

Part of the American re-education programme, post-WWII was to introduce food products that were good for American Industries and extreme bad for individual's diets, e.g. cheap bread wheats, red meats, beer and cigarettes etc. Something that is being repeated throughout other developing nations at their economy reaches a certain point. God bless America ... Cultural destruction, along with planetary destruction, is an ongoing process!

Come back Gandhi, all is forgiven ... "enough for everyone's needs, not everyone's greed". Buying power alone is not reason enough to destroy the environment. If bio-fuel means powering automobiles that do 8 miles to the gallon, that is not environmental either but do I expect them to even if it means the starvation of marginal people's in the lands the fuels are grown ... of course they will. Such a pursuit of happiness is their "democratic right".

I believe that everything we need is giving by nature. Even medicine, it is that we are so hooked up with a dynamic civilisation that our children start to believe that food comes from stores and factories. Milk comes from a pack, not knowing how hard a cow has to work, and even being abused to bring this milk.

It is so easy to grow your own food, as i call it "clean food", not manipulated ore with any stuff in it that i don't want. I was a fortune person to have a great garden, living on a property once owned by Jiddu Krishnamurti, with planted apple trees, berry's and everything that is needed to run a healthy household. I even had honeybees for the most wonderful honey (without killing the bee's to get it! They give me honey, i give them food, fear deal!!)

Too bad that many drifted off from a self-support life but it is possible and not even hard to do. Indeed the first aim is to make money in a fast running economy these days, but i am glad I am not part of that.

Thanks to everyone for their replies. India has been witnessing rising inflation and hence sky rocketing prices of essential commodities like food grains. And the reasons given by two senior Ministers of the Indian Government was that the north Indians (who normally eat roties made of wheat flour) have started eating rice and the south Indians (who normally eat rice) have started eating roties.

[youtube=CDqNTP2JHuY&feature=related]"The Hidden Battle for the World Food System"[/youtube]
Connecting the dots ... Higher oil prices, droughts, Hurricanes, growing prosperity in China and India all have in common....?

[youtube=GVF_pXwAbxo&feature=related]Looming Worldwide Food Crisis[/youtube]

In the USA, 90% of the rice comes from US grown rice, 10% is from foreign grown rice. The US has to rethink the use of bio-fuel (ethanol production) and we need to say "no to HAMBURGERS" (biggest culprit of global warming is beef production)! Arjun you make a good observation of resources being diverted from the poor to mere luxury items, especially when people are starving in certain parts of the world. In India farmer suicides are in the rise too.

Sister tete,
Thanks for the links on youtube. Today a newspaper report quotes Condalezza Rice as saying that the world food shortage (particularly in US) is due to the changing food habits in India and China.
Regards,
Arjun

Harvest for the World

This came out in 1976 by the Isley Brothers http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=yz_OsEISBGo

and was done again by the Christians in 1988 http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=p_kQ0bqBaxY

And also by many others. But the world is still starving.

You can look at the continous world reporting a dedicated BBC webpage http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/wor ... efault.stm

Bansy,

Good point! If we are ever going to make a dent on poverty and food shortages we must first make a dent on greed. Greed, breeds all kinds of diseases from famine to wars and some times in reverse;wars to famine and then diseases. It is that not so nice aspect of human beings that turns everything on its head. We forget the first lesson we ever learned as children; Share and take care (play nice) of each other in the sandbox of life.

Recently we have seen food price and price oil goes up more than 100% in some areas.

Rich men in India, rich Chinese and majority of Americans are directly or indirectly responsible for this . Again not all rich man eat lots of rice some rich people diet. Some poor people when they receive extra money they eat too much rice. That is not to say poor man are greedy . I have friends and relatives who are poor and eat moderately.

It is easy to accuse someone. Real problem may be more than what we accuse.

for sure the food price is up
For sure the oil price is up .
Inflation is high.

why do we have 100 Million people who cannot eat three meals a day I do not know ? May be true because of their physical or mental situation of concern. But we have issue regarding food for sure.

Uganda is a good example I want to emphasize. Uganda had more people with malnutrition than any country on earth in the 1980 t0 1990. All you could see was malnourished children walking around Uganda. Well, Uganda is the shining now. Indian in Uganda has to seek asylum in UK or Canada in the 80s. but some indians went back to Uganda or chose to go back to Uganda. Guess what indians in Uganda are now are richest people in Uganda. Majority are millionaires. And ugandans are not behind Uganda is heaven Africa now. If you ask an ugandan if he like Uganda or Canada he may choose Uganda.

But majority ( a lot of)of africans other than Uganda are suffering from food shortage and to some extent malnutrition what Uganda suffered in the 80s. In India food was not an issue for one billion people because of Indira Gandhi's green revolution. It is not the case any longer. India has issue of over using fertilizers and pesticides. And now India is suffering from global food shortage.

it is easy to blame rich Indian and obesity etc. perhaps rich Indian are worried about his health and he or she eat very carefully in some families. but some rich are food lovers. it is the same in poor or middle class indians. obesity is seen in both poor and rich indians. i bet obesity is seen in poor americans too, may be because poor man in America eat pasta and beef three times daily. Is it better than rice and lentil three times daily. i do not know. India has about 25% people live below poverty level or poverty line (USA has 12% below poverty line), China has about 8% people below poverty line. I do not know about Africa. One can check this in CIA web site.

People who are under the poverty line is going to pay the price. A country like India you have a choice to live in village/city. In village you have so called backward life but you can chose a low rent and perhaps within few years if you work hard enough one can buy a house and one can spent zero money for rent or utilities, 2% of your income for transportation and 1% of your income for food. in America or Canada poor people has no choice, there is no way a poor man in Canada can buy a cheap house. There is no way a poor man can dream of zero rent or mortgage. There is no way an american can dream 2% of his income for transportation but poor man in America has or Canada has lot more opportunity for growth and development.

It depends on what kind of poor man you are. If you are poor because you and your spouse have problem with drugs, otherwise even if you are poor in USA you can climb up and have an education easily. Or a poor man can get a decent health care in Canada which is or no way a poor Indian can dream of. A poor Canadian makes less than 25 dollar per hour, or a poor american makes less than 35 dollar per hour, a poor Indian makes less than 10 thousand rs per month.

Why did i consider an America who makes less than 35 dollar per hour a poor? Reason one, if he need a major surgery it will cost him 20 thousand dollar cash in his hand. Who ever does not have at least 20 thousand dollar cash is considered poor in my calculation. Where as a Canandian can have no saving but he can be rich even if he is not making as much as an American. An Indian who makes 10 thousand can afford a decent health care but an Indian who makes 10 thousand do not have the standard of living of even a poor American.

The modern issue in USA or Canada is never food. Perhaps for most of rich and poor people i know in India issue is not food. The concern is poor education of what really healthy food is. Neither the American nor Indian Gov. promotes healthy diet or healthy farming. Most of the time we can see an advert for ice cream and within 10 sec we can see another add for obesity in american or even Indian television. Educate people about health and healthy food before the culprits like Coco Cola or Pizza Hut misleading the teenage or teenage-like mature people. Educate them there is long term benefit in quality of life when you eat healthy and live healthy.

Last day I watched a TV show about a pornographic actor from USA who claimed she is in deep distress because she misused drug too much. That does not mean all the pornographic actresses use drug. This particular girl look healthy and happy in her picture and people buy that happiness and health, which is not real.

What do we need to teach our children of America, our children of India, to our children of China? Do we tell them that we did not know our mistake ... ?

Why did I stress India, China and USA? Because they are the leaders of this century.

The whole world is looking at them. They all wants to be healthy . They all wants to be rich. They all wants to be happy.

How about our grand children ... what kind of precedents do we need to set for our grand children ...
How about food for our grand children? Forget the food prices.