Global Food Shortage

[jugioh1012 2]

With January's inflation figures now out, the news just gets worse. Part of our hardship results from the long drought Jamaica is experiencing, which has caused food shortages and hence rising prices. However, Jamaica is hardly swimming alone in this rising tide of prices. Our own shortages are occurring in the midst of a developing global scarcity. Some analysts even fear that in this age of plenty, some of the planet's more vulnerable countries could see hunger and malnutrition rising.

Part of the cause of this global scarcity is circumstantial, like Jamaica's long dry season. Australia's wheat crop, for example, was reduced by drought, resulting in a diminished supply to the global market.

Prosperity of Asia

However, an even greater driver of food prices has been the increasing prosperity of Asia. China, in particular, grows ever wealthier. As a result, not only are Chinese eating more, but - as is typical amid rising incomes - they are increasing their meat consumption. Meat production strains wheat supplies since it takes more than a pound of wheat to produce a pound of beef.

To this effect can be added the impact of global inflation, which I discussed in last week's column. An apparent imbalance between demand and supply, caused by an excess of money in the world economy, is driving prices higher. This is encouraging speculators to buy up commodities.

Oil prices soaring

Not only are most commodity prices rising, but importantly, oil prices are soaring. And as oil prices go higher, ethanol emerges as a viable substitute. Ethanol's need for corn, in turn, has prompted many wheat

[coolotter88 2]

already, big mike variety of bananas have been wiped out, older (like REALLY old) Simtrop members will probably tell us that bananas had greater flavor back in the day.

[Easy Bakes 253]

After all, we're not hearing much about looming global shortages of bananas and sugar. quote>

Just another effect of the ethnol production in south america.

At least the Sugar anyway.

*enter sarcastic mode*

but Ethanol in your gas will solve everything

*exit sarcastic mode*

[Glenni 1,444]

Food is overrated...

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: coolotter88

already, big mike variety of bananas have been wiped out, older (like REALLY old) Simtrop members will probably tell us that bananas had greater flavor back in the day.quote>

A lot of food was different, back in the day.  As I understand it, many foods do not have the same taste, or range of nutrients, due to various farming practices.

jugioh1012, is your initial post here an article from somewhere?   Please provide a citation or link to the source.  We like to give credit where credit is due and save any legal hassles.   Thanks!

[GingerBlokey 30]

This probably sounds quite selfish but I will be really fussed by a "global food shortage" when I go to Tesco and there is no bread, or the bread costs

[Meg 368]

and, in the midst of a global food shortage, we have this . . .

Arkansas' 'Biggest Loser' Inmate Files Suit Against County Stating He Is Starving 

Broderick Lloyd Laswell, 20, weighed in at a robust 413 lbs. when he was incarcerated eight months ago. He has withered away to a mere 308 since then, and is filing a suit against the county due to his drastic weight loss.

Broderick Lloyd Laswell has been accused, along with a co-defendant, of fatally beating and stabbing a man, before setting his home on fire. He has been held for eight months in the Benton County Jail awaiting trial.

Seems Broderick isn't too happy with the meals he is being served while incarcerated. Benton County has been serving inmates cold meals for years, something which doesn't set well with this young man.

He has filed a civil suit against the county claiming that he is being starved. He says that he becomes light-headed and is losing an approximate 1/2 pound per day. He also states that the portion sizes of the meals he is given vary widely from tray to tray and that within one hour of eating his stomach starts to churn and growl and he "feels hungry again."

On several occasions he attempted to do some exercise but as a result of his minute food supply the physical act of exercise left him dizzy and blurred his vision. He said he felt as though he were going to pass out.

"If we are in a small pod all day, do next to nothing for physical exercise, we should not lose weight," he says. "The only reason we lost weight in here is because we are literally are being starved to death."

Benton County has responded by informing the public that inmates are served an average of 3,000 calories a day, which by all accounts should be sufficient to sustain life and would not result in your average person "starving."

I'm not sure who actually took this case to court on behalf of Mr. Laswell. I think the county is actually doing this guy a favor.......I mean, seriously, does he think weighing 413 lbs. is a good thing, and that he is now a mere waif at 308?

Yea, he is Arkansas' "Biggest Loser" - in more ways than one!

Give me a break. quote>

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/253920

[Yoman3 5]

Originally posted by: Glenni Food is overrated...quote>

NO! I live to eat (and soon to play GTA IV )

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek A lot of food was different, back in the day.  As I understand it, many foods do not have the same taste, or range of nutrients, due to various farming practices.quote>

The key cause of this is a shift from small family farms to large industrialized farms.  When families grew a lot of their own food on their own property which was handed down through generations, the tomatoes you grew were likely rather different from those of your neighbor- not because one of you was a better gardener, but because they were actually different strains of the plant. You could easily have hundreds or thousands of unique varieties in one country. But then larger farms took over, selecting one variety for the qualities they found desirable and then growing it everywhere. At the same time, individual families stopped farming for themselves and their unique varieties died out.

I mention tomatoes because Italy is a focal point of this crisis of diminishing genetic diversity. Basically everyone who didn't live in a city in Italy grew their own food up until about World War II. My grandmother grew up in such an environment. The unique tomatoes and other things that were being grown on that farm? All gone. Dead. Same goes for basically every farm in her village. People today are uninterested in maintaining the family agricultural tradition since it's so much easier to just go to the supermarket and buy tomatoes now. That wasn't an option back in the day due to lack of supermarkets and lack of being able to afford to buy all your food instead of cultivating it yourself.

And while it is much more efficient and productive to factory farm things with the whole farm growing the same calibrated variety, there is a problem with that. Let's say you have 100 varieties of tomatoes in an area. A plant disease comes along that affects a few of them and about 3% of your crop is destroyed. But now let's say there are only 10 varieties, and that disease effects a few of them.... now 30% of your crop is destroyed. It's the old "don't put all your eggs in one basket" adage. With increased efficiency you sacrifice security.

Not to mention that given that the world changes and what's desirable changes along with it, by focusing on a few select varieties only you risk that one of the varieties you're allowing to die out contains a genetic trait which doesn't really seem to be important now but could become highly important in the future. Those tomatoes with outstanding resistance to Chilean grasshoppers (I just made that name up, I don't know what such a key real pest would be) that that family in that village was growing might not have seemed important 60 years ago since where would you find a Chilean grasshopper in Italy and how would you know they were resistant? So you let them die out because they don't appear to matter. But then Chilean grasshoppers start showing up as an invasive species transported there by some means and unleash havoc over the Tomato crop for miles around. Gee, that extinct variety which was resistant sounds awful appealing now, doesn't it? But nope, it's extinct. You could have started using it or borrowed genes from it to genetically engineer existing crops, but now you're screwed instead. Have a nice day! This is a fine example of another old adage: "don't burn your bridges behind you".

[patriots_1228 51]

I agree with glenni, I myself recently began installing a sweet photosynthesis system behind my ears.

[Callbat 8]

[sarcasm] I must go to the nearest shopping centre on the double and begin the panic-consuming![/sarcasm]

[DuskTrooper 314]

I eat, therefore I am. Therefore, the more I eat, the more I am.

[krbe 193]

You're all complaining too much! On Iceland, the national bank's interest rate is 15,5% p.a., and the inflation from march to april the CPI rose with 3,4%. That means a yearly inflation of 11,8 (apr-07--apr-08). In comparison, the yearly inflation rate last month was only 8,7% (mar-07--mar-08)

Beat that!

[The_Dalai_Llama 15]

Well we are overdue for a famine. I guess I can live with a food shortage... I still need to lose a few pounds in the gut region.

[belfastuniguy 18]

I know food is becoming more expensive but I hardly think we can say the world is in a food shortage crisis.

Yes some crops have not been doing very well recently but in general we are not about to enter nor are we in a food shortage crisis. As Callbat noted walk into a supermarket, I certainly don't see bare shelves and rocketing prices.

[Meg 368]

I saw some bare shelves.  There is a run on large bags of rice.   Still plenty of boxes of Uncle Ben's around.

I wouldn't say the prices were skyrocketing but they are definitely going up.

[jugioh1012 2]

At Costco,they only allowed me to buy one bag of rice because of the shortage of rice.I got the last bag of rice on the shelf and I asked the manager when the next shipment will come, he said not for about 3 months but I bet he was lying about the 3 month thing.

[coolotter88 2]

we have 20 pounds of rice in our house, that should last us about 2 weeks.

when I grow up, I'm going to hoard grains and canned food in my house, that way, I'll always be prepared.