Food Crisis, is there anything to it?

[ColbertWatcher]

Am I to believe that the very same GOP-controlled media that doesn't report on an administration's complicity in torture is now suddenly going to inform me about an impending food "crisis" without fear-mongering, sensationalism and an ulterior motive?

The people of Haiti are starving. But they are not starving because of ethanol. Does the GOP-controlled media expect me to forget that the mess in Haiti has nothing to do with the exile of Aristide and the resulting chaos that everyone knew was going to happen as a result?

Are the oil corporations paying "consultants" to inform the media about how bad ethanol is the same way the Pentagon "informed" the media about how good it would be to invade Iraq?

I was in California in 2000-2001 (still am), I remember Enron's "electricity crisis". I remember what happened before and what happened after. I remember who was to blame.

While the media may not have had a direct hand in screwing over "Grandma Millie", they did not help by perpetuating the lies of those who would profit from that "crisis".

Now, all of a sudden, Americans are supposed to believe we are running out of food.

No. We're not running out of food. The people of Haiti have run out of food. The people of North Korea are out of food. But we're not.

We're just being lied to and are being made to be afraid once again.

I don't trust this GOP-controlled media to tell me what is causing a food shortage (if there is one).

Especially when they can't tell me what's going on regarding torture, the mortgage crisis, why we might have to stay in Iraq for 100 years, but Social Security will definitely run out in less than 40.

I refuse to believe what the GOP-controlled media is telling me about this "food crisis".

I know it's not ethanol, because as a nation, we aren't using any.

Happy Earth Day.

[alarimer]

1. Yes there is something to it.

We are not being lied to this time. In fact they may be downplaying how bad it really is. It's not just because of converting corn to ethanol, although that is part of the reason (along with gas prices) that OUR food prices have gone up. Many countries have been restricting food exports because of crop failures due to weather and other reasons.

In addition, prices have increased greatly, making it harder for poor people to afford what they used to be able to afford. And also food relief agencies are having a harder time feeding the same amount of people they used to do, because their dollars do not stretch as far, although donations are about the same. Yes there is a food crisis- there have been riots in many countries. I think the media may be downplaying it, rather than exaggerating it.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Who is using this ethanol?

We aren't; we're still sucking on the Saudi oil teat (excuse the imagery).

We probably waste more corn for cattle feed and making HFCS than even food for human consumption, much less on ethanol.

I doubt the GOP-controlled media is close on this one. I simply don't trust them.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. Many of us are using some ethanol. I know at a couple of gas stations around here that have gas that

is mixed with a percent of ethanol. Check out the gas pumps. It's on the pumps in writing.

[ColbertWatcher]

23. Many?

I don't think many is the right word.

Perhaps you mean a few, a few of us are using ethanol.

[Two Americas]

27. not relevant

Whether or not people are using ethanol is not relevant. Speculators have been unleashed and driven the price of corn up.

Making fabulous wealth in our glorious anything goes unregulated wild west "economy" has little if anything to with actually producing anything or actually delivering anything of value to the people.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

31. My wording was incorrect. I live in NY and just did a quick search on the Net

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/05/15/new_...

Ethanol already is routinely added to gasoline in New York, Connecticut, California and the Midwest, and makes up about a third of the gas sold in the U.S., according to Kristin Brekke, a spokeswoman for the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based American Coalition of Ethanol.

I recommend that you check your gas pumps.

[ColbertWatcher]

39. And naturally...

...whatever processes are being used to make/refine ethanol have not improved beyond the "prototype stage".

Figures.

Of course we must be using the least efficient and most expensive technology for ethanol. Instead of investing in finding better ways.

Of course, if we do that, then certain companies wouldn't be making the obscene profit that they've become accustomed to.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

44. From what I understand, ethanol made from corn is 7 times less efficient than ethanal

made from sugar cane, which Brazil is doing successfully.

[Horse with no Name]

45. I live in rural East Texas

and just about every gas pump I stop at has a sticker on it saying it contains up to 10% Ethanol.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

28. Self-Delete..

[SpiralHawk]

3. It's real alright, going to get much worse. The cause: deregulation

The republicon mindset has permeated the global market -- and is the TRUE cause of what is going to turn out to be THE MOTHER OF ALL CRISES

FROM FOOD FIRST - TODAY
"Pundits have spent a fair amount of air time describing the deregulated financial markets that sparked the mortgage crisis. But the regulatory state of global agricultural markets is something most policymakers, let alone..."

"Thanks to non-existent anti-trust enforcement and rampant vertical integration, we’ve reached a level of concentration in our global agriculture system that would make Standard Oil blush. Three companies—Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bunge—control the vast majority of global grain trading, while Monsanto controls more than one-fifth of the global market in seeds."

http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2099

[SpiralHawk]

5. Cargill’s third-quarter profits have increased over 86%. General Mills’ are up 61%, and Monsanto’s a

are up 45%,

'nuf said...

[Two Americas]

33. there we go

See? The economy is doing splendidly. If the "free market" isn't feeding people, then people have no one but themselves to blame. They all just need to take more "personal responsibility" and make "better choices" and stop "whining."

The privatization of agriculture and the food supply has been a catastrophic success. Heckuva job.

[SpiralHawk]

6. So what are world leaders doing about this impending crisis?

From the Food First analysis:

"The architects of the failed free market are now prescribing more of the same, and policymakers are swallowing it part and parcel...

"...Politicians like George Bush and Gordon Brown, in lockstep with the World Trade Organization and the World Bank, are mainly proposing two solutions to the food crisis: food aid, and increased free trade in industrial agriculture. Agribusiness is positioned to cash in on the perceived need to ramp up production globally and to tear down remaining trade barriers..."

"...Bush’s $200 million food aid proposal is equivalent to his $300 tax return in terms of actually fixing economic malfunction..."

[SpiralHawk]

7. NYT: key Commodity Futures Trading Commission meeting today

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/business/22commodity....

"“The system is really beginning to break down,”

"One measure of the farming industry’s frustration is the overflow crowd expected at a public forum on Tuesday at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington.

"Interest is so high that the commission, for the first time ever, will provide a Webcast of the forum, which it says is being held to gather information about whether crucial markets for hedging the price of crops “are properly performing their risk management and price discovery roles.”

The Webcast link is available on the commission’s Web site, http://www.cftc.gov

[crikkett]

8. thanks for this insight.

the profit margins you posted made me do a double-take.

[SpiralHawk]

10. ...And as the market becomes less and less stable, like the housing market bubble

It will likely become vastly more profitable for republion crony corporations..

"Too bad about you little people. Smirk." - Republicon homelanders

[crikkett]

12. it's good timing for this kind of news... it's time to plant summer gardens

We, ourselves, are growing a lot more lettuces and greens this year because of the recalls last year.

Unfortunately the gophers are back and my dog isn't interested in chasing them away.

[crikkett]

15. SpiralHawk look at this comment on another thread - 2007 was a bumper crop for rice

Hannah Bell asserts that 2007 was a record crop year for rice and that the exports are stopped only to stabilize prices after grain futures went way up.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Karenina]

9. K&R !

[ColbertWatcher]

26. Anytime I hear a Republican say...

...leave it to the market, like this:

In the last two decades, however, the U.S. and most other governments have let reserve systems wither, placing full faith in the free market to self-correct, and eliminating their last emergency response mechanism.

(Emphasis added)

...I know it's time to end the practice.

Thank you for the article, it is very informative.

[Raksha]

30. Thanks for the link, SpiralHawk. Very informative article.

So deregulation is the root of this crisis...I should have known!

[SpiralHawk]

34. Yup - the republicon WAY that led to the housing-financial crisis

And that so miserably failed the Gulf Coast with Katrina, etc.

The republicons have drowed government and democracy in the bathtub, as they promised, and this is the Evil Chaos & Suffering they have created as a consequence.

[JCMach1]

11. Yes there is... We have shortages of rice, grains and cooking oil

and eggs in UAE.

India and a number of Asian countries are banning exports so they can feed their own populations.

[Hannah Bell]

14. they're banning exports to stabilize domestic prices - not

because there's a grain shortage (they're exporters).

[crikkett]

16. Do you have a source for that

you've really got my curiosity going. This is the second thread in this subject I've seen you comment on but you're not linking to sources.

Thanks

[Hannah Bell]

29. You have to do a bit of reading between the lines, & that takes

a lot of links, not just one. Let's look at India. Contrary to the impression you get in the media, India is basically self-sufficient in rice, & an exporter.

Here's what the Food & agriculture Organization's forecast for Indian rice was in June 2007, just before the global price spikes, with the 2006/2007 crop harvested: India will export 4.4 million tons. Production = 91.05 mmt v. 91.79 in 2005/06. A slight downtrend. To explain this, keep in mind that global rice price had been below average for several years, which = less acreage planted.

http://www.livemint.com/2007/06/13013936/FAO-sees-rice-...

Here's the report after the price spikes: India will ban exports. Is this because they have no rice to export, & need every grain to feed their own people? Obviously not; just a few months earlier, they were going to export millions of tons. They're stopping exports to keep domestic prices stable, to reduce hoarding & speculation resulting from rising international prices.

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=14900

Basically the same situation holds in the other big exporting countries who've banned exports: Vietnam & Thailand supply 50% of world rice exports. They've got plenty of rice, but they don't want to risk instability at home, which is likely if exporters throw too much of their crop onto the world market.

The 2006/2007 global rice harvest was about 1% bigger than the 2005/06 harvest, just slightly under demand growth. The US is a big exporter; they reduced rice acreage 3% for the 2006/7 season - not because they couldn't produce more, but because the prices were low, making rice less profitable to grow.

The trigger for the price spikes was increased money in the futures markets concurrent with the real estate meltdown.

[crikkett]

41. thansk very much.

[JCMach1]

38. Some readings for you

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/04/17/10206302....
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/04/17/10206257....

India has scrapped import duties on crude edible oils and banned exports of non-basmati rice amid a raft of measures to stem rising inflation, which hit a 14-month high in mid-March and has alarmed policymakers.

Surging prices of essentials such as wheat, sugar, edible oils and steel have drawn howls of protest from the government's communist allies as well as the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party... http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/04/02/10202267....

Prices of rice and pulses - two staple food items - are expected to jump in the local markets in the next few weeks due to a ban on exports by India and Pakistan.

"As such the prices of essentials are already high, we anticipate a shortage in supply in the local markets due to restrictions by India on rice and Pakistan on pulses," Ashraf Ali, executive director of Emke Group, which operates the largest chain of hypermarkets in the Gulf, told Gulf News.

"We are already looking at alternative sources to import rice and pulses to maintain the flow of supply. However, regarding prices, we will have to check with suppliers."... http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/04/02/10202414....

Abu Dhabi: Customers must not stockpile goods or accept alternative goods for those short in the market because of 'suppliers' tactics', a senior official said on Monday.

Abu Dhabi Co-op Society has started selling 130 goods including basic foods at less than cost price and plans to increase the number of these goods to 200, said Faisal Al Arshi, deputy general manager of the retail chain... http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/03/18/10198256....

[crikkett]

42. thanks very much.

I really appreciate the info.

[KharmaTrain]

13. Be Prepared...This Fall Could Be A Real Killer...Literally

Right now not too far from me, there are farmers working their fields...planting corn and soybeans...and spending $4 a gallon to keep their tractors going. The cost of raising these crops will be a lot more expensive when combined with a falling dollar and if oil prices remain high, so that by harvest time we could look at some serious price increases as the costs of growing the crops and getting it to market will be passed along to consumers who will be hard-pressed to afford the a trip to the grocery store.

Stagflation is here and will only get worse as the price of oil continues to rise...and it starts to force farmers and others to "economize"...which could also mean not just higher prices, but shortages as well, as less product gets to the market.

Yes, there already is a food crisis in this country. People already are hard-pressed to afford the rising food prices that have been burried by our corporate media behind the rising oil prices. Tonight, millions of American children will go to sleep hungry...and many more will join them as this economy continues to implode and this regime could care less.

[SpiralHawk]

18. "Oh, um, we like, um, really care. We're Compassionate Conservatives. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

& Cabal of Corrupt Republicon Homelander Cronies

"Hunger is good for the waistline. Just look at Ann Coulter, our beloved republicon propagandist. I invite all Amuricuns to join me in ogling this big, fat, phony platsic photo-op turkey. Smirk." -

- Commander AWOL & Republicon Homelanders

[KharmaTrain]

19. Yep...And When They Get Fat And Old...Replace 'Em

It sure helped Gramps to get a "younger model" when his wife no longer could be used to his advantage....finding a hot babe with a fortune attached was a plus.

My bets are the manchild and his cronies are playing the commodities market...making money off October Corn while the rest of us pay...as usual.

[ColbertWatcher]

25. Good point.

Our falling dollar is an important part of all this.

[notadmblnd]

17. I tend to believe that it is an artificial shortage created to jack up proces

we've been gouged on our homes, we've been gouged at the pumps and now they want to gouge us in regards to food. They (the powers that be) don't care if people die, in their view, the world is over populated and creating a food shortage will go a long way in thinning the herd.

[earth mom]

36. Like Enron-but with food.

The Bastards!

[bdamomma]

20. it is a potential crisis to add to all the others we have

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Juche]

21. Its real, the causes are numerous

1. Higher fuel prices due to growing global demand, the fall of the USD value and tensions in the mideast is driving up the cost to grow & ship food.

2. Global demand for food is up, especially meat. Meat requires about 7-8 calories of vegetables to produce 1 calorie of meat. With meat demand growing all over the world (esp india & china) there is less corn or grain to eat for everyone else.

3. Climate change is affecting crop growing

4. Ethanol is using up some of the corn


However I would wager that 1 and 2 are the main causes of the shortage. Supposedly in poor countries people spend half their income on food, so they can't handle a doubling in food prices. Here in the US we could survive it, but we'd have to start eating more pasta and tortillas. In Africa or Latin America it can topple governments.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/18/europe/EU-GEN...

[ColbertWatcher]

24. Thank you.

This is a good article.

[Javaman]

22. It's really a percentage thing...

in the nations that are currently rioting, the average, roughly 50-60% of their income goes toward food. Here in the states we are still at about 10-15% of our income goes toward food.

The rise in fuel costs, droughts, excessive rain and blights have caused prices to rise.

When you have nations like Viet Nam stating that they rice production is in the toilet for 2 years in a row, that's a giant red flag.

Yes, there is something to it.

[Hannah Bell]

32. Vietnam's rice production is "in the toilet"? I think not.

"RICE: WORLD MARKETS AND TRADE Global production in 2006/07 is projected at 417 million tons (milled basis), up about 5.5 million tons from a revised 2005/06 estimate, with the largest increases forecast in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Brazil."


http://www.fas.usda.gov/grain/circular/2006/05-06/Rice%...


2004 exports: 4295 tons
2005 exports: 5174 tons
2006 exports: 4705 tons
2007 exports: 4600 tons (107% of 2004, +7% over 3 years)
2008 est.: 5000 tons

p. 12

http://www.fas.usda.gov/grain/circular/2007/12-07/grain...

[Javaman]

35. I stand corrected. I read something last week on the energybulletin.net

and what I thought was low production was actually high prices. duh. brain fart.

[Xithras]

37. There won't be any food riots or mass starvation in the U.S.

Haiti and many other nations are susceptible to price fluctuations because they import nearly all of their food. If they can't afford to import, they starve.

The U.S. is a net food importer, but just barely, and mostly because we tend to be very inefficient in our food production priorities. There are sufficient resources-within our own nation-to feed all of our people several times over. It would just require some reprioritization of what we're planting, and what we're eating (less meat, no food for oil, etc).

The worst case scenario for the U.S. might be food rationing this fall, but even that is an incredible longshot. More likely, we'll simply see prices rise a bit more.

[Dreamer Tatum]

40. Jesus H Christ, ONE STINKING ARTICLE bunches a lot of panties

Yes, there are food shortages in other countries, just as there have been food shortages all over
the world since...ever.

There is no "shortage" of food in the United States. "More expensive" DOES NOT equal "shortage."
"Costco is sold out of X" does not equal a shortage. "One bag per customer" does not equal a
shortage.

Rationing claims in the US are ridiculous on their face when you can walk out of one stocked-out store
and go to any number of others with acceptable substitutes.

Rationing is a resource allocation mechanism quite different from the one we know and love: market prices.
It is oxymoronic (though merely moronic, as well) to claim that a retailer, which allocates by prices,
also allocates by rationing.

Someone here said something very smart: a lot of the blame can be placed on just-in-time, which retailers
have adopted to minimize inventory. That is a contributing factor. "Rationing" is not.


And I won't even mention the fact that a large percentage of American agricultural land currently lays fallow.

[ColbertWatcher]

43. Your point, I like it.

In fact, if we had real leadership and we had gone to war with Afghanistan, instead of Iraq, we would probably have been experiencing the very kinds of shortages and rationing you're describing.