Global Food Crisis

[ginge51]

A catastrophic event is occurring with far reaching economic and security implications. It is being seriously under reported as the effect in western nations has been uncomfortable, but for over a billion people rising food costs could cause riots, instability, and mass starvation.

LONDON (AP) — Ration cards. Genetically modified crops. The end of pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap supermarkets.

These possible solutions to the first global food crisis since World War II — which the World Food Program says already threatens 20 million of the poorest children — are complex and controversial. And they may not even solve the problem as demand continues to soar.

A "silent tsunami" of hunger is sweeping the world's most desperate nations, said Josette Sheeran, the WFP's executive director, speaking Tuesday at a London summit on the crisis.

The skyrocketing cost of food staples, stoked by rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather and demand from India and China, has already sparked sometimes violent protests across the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

The price of rice has more than doubled in the last five weeks, she said. The World Bank estimates food prices have risen by 83 percent in three years.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...mdCvwD9078FSG0

EDIT: UN just increased number of countries susceptible to widespread unrest from 33 to 36 countries.

Copied and pasted from Miltaryphotos.net.

[Nidge]

Why is food costing us so much now?? Oh I forgot it's because we send most of our food overseas so we have to import most of our grain from America.

[deadite66]

why are we still paying farmers subsidies not to grow crops.

[Osem]

Our problems are of course minor compared to many third world countries but, to add to the above:

Why are we importing large numbers of people who need to have homes built on green field sites, who consume food, goods etc. and who utlimately create more waste which we increasingly have nowhere to put.

When are all the fields lying empty going be planted with crops?

Where is the leadership and strategic planning to tackle this fast growing problem?

[BBKing]

Why are we importing large numbers of people who need to have homes built on green field sites, who consume food, goods etc. and who utlimately create more waste which we increasingly have nowhere to put.

Um - we're not building homes for immigrants on greenfield sites, since most immigration is to major cities which are, er, not greenfield, by definition. 73% of new homes were on brownfield sites in 2005, apparently, which is way higher than it was back in the early 90s.

Anyway, housing take of land in the UK is tiny compared with set-aside, which is 8% of land, at least it was in 2006.

It has been the policy of successive governments to screw farmers, but currently the only ones getting screwed are the ones raising animals, who use grain. The ones producing grain are absolutely raking in cash hand over fist, so much so that moneybags venture capitalists are seeing farms with lots of arable land as lucrative investment opportunities. Given that, if you reduced the set-aside requirement this money and market forces should enable at least some of that land to be returned to production, although it's by no means immediate. Of course, this requires fertilizer and tractors, which both use fossil fuels in production and transportation.

One of the causes, by the way, is increasing wealth in China meaning more people eat meat, which takes a lot more land.

[Osem]

Well although on rereading my post I can see it's slightly ambiguous, the point is that we're told 2-3m new homes are required as a result of the demands of the indigenous population and the large numbers of new migrants who have come here. New homes (whether specifically intended for first time buyers, migrants, retirees or anyone else) can't all be built on brown field sites so the remainder will by definition be built elsewhere. Within just a few miles of here it's already happening, one example being a development of 800 (primarily low cost) homes on green belt land.

Given the subject of the OP, I don't think building new homes on land which could be otherwise be usefully employed used is a very sound idea. Nor do I think adding significantly and rapidly to our population is sound, since this adds an additional burden at a time when we're facing problems like rising food prices and an inability to deal with the waste we already create.

We all know that China and India are sucking in resources and that has a far greater international effect on demand that anything the UK does but that only adds to my argument that with global resources getting scarcer and increasing pressure on domestic areas like water/energy supplies, waste disposal etc. we should be controlling our population and trying to reduce demand NOT adding significantly to it and building on land we could well need for basics like food! The more food we produce, the less we have to import and the more there is to go round.

[Vlad_Dracul]

Most people eat way too much anyway. If some people stopped stuffing their fat faces and ate a more healthy diet of lower volume then perhaps there would be enough to go around. Again,if we binned off this use by date and just in time supermarket culture that we have,things would be better.

But then i forgot,many people have grown up in a society in which they cannot shop properly,cannot cook and rely on processed crap.

[Stuart C]

Originally Posted by Nidge

Why is food costing us so much now?? Oh I forgot it's because we send most of our food overseas so we have to import most of our grain from America.

One major part of the reason is Biofuels.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...ofuel_kicking/

And our government is only going to make the situation worse.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

One major part of the reason is Biofuels.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...ofuel_kicking/

And our government is only going to make the situation worse.

A lot of Europe's Ethanol comes from the excess of the wine lake, not from foodcrops.

[Stuart C]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

A lot of Europe's Ethanol comes from the excess of the wine lake, not from foodcrops.

Interesting to note that the EC appear to be open enough to the suggestion that Biofuels are contributing to costs to order an investigation into them..

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...ident_biofuel/

[foreverwar]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

Interesting to note that the EC appear to be open enough to the suggestion that Biofuels are contributing to costs to order an investigation into them..

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...ident_biofuel/

And if they didn't investigate it, they would be accused of ignoring a potential problem - lose/lose situation, methinks.

[Vlad_Dracul]

Mmmmm...yes ,the EC..a self licking lollipop if ever there was one.