Wheat genome boost to food supply
[08/27/10]
"The draft sequences of the wheat genome released by UK scientists may prove to be a vital contribution to the efforts of securing global food supply. [...]"
"Wheat is the new gold in time of plenty for America's
breadbasket" [08/14/10]
"Wildfires, floods, crippling droughts, and even a threatened plague of locusts have wrecked crops and ruined harvests around the world, raising fears of global food inflation shortage and food riots.
But as they hose off the dust and chaff caked on their exhausted combine harvesters, farmers in America's plain states are adjusting to something possibly wonderful: a combination of unusually good wheat yields and suddenly soaring prices – thanks to disastrous circumstances elsewhere – has put them at the centre of a gold rush.
"It feels like Christmas in August," admitted Darrell Hanavan, of the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee, noting that the harvest just completed in his state seems to have been the most bountiful for 25 years. More importantly, the dollar value for the crop is almost sure to set a record. [...]"
Niger hunger 'worse than 2005'
[08/14/10]
"Niger faced the worst hunger crisis in its history, the UN's World Food Programme says, with almost half the population - 7.3 million people - in desperate need of food. [...]"
Federal Court Victory: Almond Farmers Can Challenge USDA Pasteurization Rule
[08/05/10]
"A federal appeals court ruled today, overturning a lower court decision, that a group of California almond farmers have the right to challenge a USDA regulation requiring the treatment of their raw almonds with a toxic fumigant or steam heat prior to sale to consumers. For the past three years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied American consumers the right to buy raw almonds, grown in the USA, when they shop in grocery and natural food stores.
A group of almond growers sued the government to challenge USDA’s rule, but the federal district court ruled that courtroom doors were closed to the growers’ claims. The controversial rule has cost individual farmers millions of dollars in lost sales since it was enacted in September 2007.
“We are delighted by the court’s decision,” said Will Fantle, Cornucopia’s Research Director. Cornucopia has been coordinating the legal strategy for the farmers’ lawsuit. “At long last the farmers who have been injured by this rule will have the opportunity to stand in court and state why this poorly thought out regulation should be thrown out,” Fantle added. [...]"
UK: Food Prices Warning as World Wheat Costs Rise
[08/05/10]
"Shoppers were warned today that food prices are set to soar further, after food inflation already jumped in July.
Hovis group Premier Foods said it will have to pass the soaring cost of wheat on to retailers, leading to fears that the shelf price of a loaf of bread could rise by up to 10p.
The warning comes as new figures showed food inflation already rising. The British Retail Consortium said food prices in July were 2.5% up on a year earlier, compared to a figure of only 1.7% in June.
The BRC blamed higher animal feed and wheat costs, and strong rises in the global price of other commodities such as palm oil, cocoa and soya oil.
And it warned that shoppers could be in for more expensive groceries as world commodity prices rise. [...]"
World Heading For A New Food Crisis As Russian Wheat Crop Falters
[08/04/10]
"The danger of a major food crisis developing, underscores the need for NAWAPA projects not only in the U.S., but in Eurasia and Africa as well. This is reflected in a 50% increase in wheat prices over the last month, reportedly due to severe drought conditions in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. [...]"
Russian fires hit global food supplies
"Drought and raging fires in Russia caused a spike in global grain price meaning the next year may be difficult on food supplies, a U.N. agency said. [...]"
Commentary: Genocidal Food Crisis Threatens over 7 Million People in Niger and Sahel
[07/16/10]
"African governments and NGOs are timidly calling world attention to the vast genocide hitting the entire drought-stricken Sahel region in West Africa, encompassing Chad, Cameroon, Mali, and the world's poorest country, Niger, as its epicenter. [...]"
Drought hits Russian grain production
[07/13/10]
"The Russian government plans to provide loans and subsidies to farmers in drought-stricken parts of the country, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says.
Some of the warmest weather in a decade has spread across parts of Russia, prompting 14 regions to declare states of emergency, The Moscow Times reported Tuesday.
The drought in parts of Russia has prompted speculation that the world's fourth-largest grain exporter may be forced to import grain this year just to meet domestic needs.
Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik confirmed to Putin that her grain forecast has been cut from 90 million metric tons to 85 million tons, but she added that Russia would have enough supply to meet demand.
In addition to promising farmers aid, Putin warned against anyone taking advantage of the drought.
"We must nip in the bud any attempts to make quick cash on this misfortune, the drought," he told a government meeting."
UK:
Food companies under fire over large portions
[07/13/10]
"Food companies have come under fire for worsening the obesity epidemic by selling crisps in "supersized" bags, according to research.
[...]" 
Related: Kucinich Pushes To End Tax Subsidies For Junk Food Advertising
"...Taxpayers are effectively subsidizing the spread of the obesity epidemic, Kucinich says, since under current federal law marketing expenses for the junk- and fast-food industries are tax-deductible. The legislation offers an easy win for increasingly hysterical deficit hawks, and would provide much-needed funds for Democrats looking to pass more aid programs, such as renewed unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. [...]"
Europe Seeks to Ban Food From Clones
[07/08/10]
"The European Parliament asked on Wednesday for a ban on the sale of foods from cloned animals and their offspring, the latest sign of deepening concern in the European Union about the safety and ethics of new food technologies.
The chamber, meeting in Strasbourg, France, also called for a temporary suspension of the sale of food containing ingredients derived from nanotechnology, which involves engineering substances down to very small sizes. Members were voting on legislation that would have regulated the sale of foods based on new production processes, including cloning. That legislation would have required companies to ask permission to market food derived from cloned animals. [...]"
World Wheat Production--Output Decline, Crop Diseases Spreading [07/07/10]
"June marks the harvest season for Winter wheat in the Northern Hemisphere, and the latest estimates for world wheat production for the 2010/11 crop year is that total wheat output (all types) will fall to 669 million metric tons or lower, down from 680 mmt the year before, and 683 mmt two years ago. [...]"
Millions of Australian food plants poisoned in sabotage attack
[07/07/10]
"Townsville – Australia’s growers are in shock after a deliberate herbicide attack destroyed millions of tomato seedlings in northern Queensland. This criminal attack has been reported to police, and apparently it’s not the first time.
The attack will cause a massive spike in prices. Four million tomato seedlings, capsicums, and egg plants, were destroyed. Motives for the attack aren’t clear. Theories range from a “grudge” to competition based or
hoons. Growers in Australia, who’ve been dealing with drought, locust and mouse plagues in various areas, could have done without this. So could consumers. These conditions haven’t exactly helped shelf prices, and this attack is expected to cause a major spike in vegetable prices in two months, when the new crop was expected to be available.
Locals are asking police to post a reward: Whitsunday Mayor Mike Brunker said it was the fourth time crops had been sabotaged in the region in the past decade. He called on police to offer a major reward for information about the crime. ‘We just need someone to come forward who knows the grub who has done this,” he said. [...]"
Note: After the SECOND time they should have learned enough to
post surveillance. There's not enough interest in Australia to find out who is
doing this every couple of years.
UK mulling food vouchers distribution
[07/03/10]
"The unemployed whose benefits have been cut off by government will receive food vouchers by charities supported by the government to make up for the cuts in welfare spending. [...]"
Note: The U.S. let's its unemployed citizens starve
Related: Dysfunctional Washington and Unemployment Insurance
"If either side had truly believed putting food on the table of the unemployed was a moral issue they would have seen to it that is passed. Considering there is one job out there for every five Americans looking, if they truly
cared, they would have given and taken, it's called a compromise, and the long term unemployed might have joined those parades on main street this July 4 [...]"
Government Stopping Charities From Feeding The Homeless
[07/03/10]
"The National Coalition for the Homeless has issued a report detailing laws and ordinances in a couple of dozen localities across the nation that prohibit charities – churches, civic organizations, charities, etc. – from feeding the homeless. Or, at least, inhibit their ability to do so with burdensome regulation. [...]"
Note: But the government isn't feeding them either, in many
cases.
USDA Reports Food Shortages: Wall Street ‘Caught Off Guard’ by Severity
[07/02/10]
"Several recent headlines indicate that food prices will continue their swift climb upward. These troubling new reports show that agriculture production and stored grains are critically low and experts are now predicting food shortages.
... The factor of actual food scarcity, coupled with high oil prices and a feeble dollar, will multiply the severity of increasing food prices. Whether this scarcity is being engineered to further cull the population or is a genuine imbalance in supply and demand is not important. The fact is that this reality that is playing out in the matrix and this triple-threat to food costs creates an opportunity for the serfs to soften the recessionary blow, and perhaps offer some economic freedom
... These recent food alerts seem to indicate that food may be the best short-term investment for the “Average Joe.” It's simple, if the retail price of rice doubles as it did in 2008, then you (the investor) make 100% return in something that's immediately tangible. [...]"
Report: How Goldman Gambled on Starvation
[07/02/10]
"By now, you probably think your opinion of Goldman Sachs and its swarm of Wall Street allies has rock-bottomed at raw loathing. You’re wrong. There’s more. It turns out that the most destructive of all their recent acts has barely been discussed at all. Here’s the rest. This is the story of how some of the richest people in the world – Goldman, Deutsche Bank, the traders at Merrill Lynch, and more – have caused the starvation of some of the poorest people in the world.
To understand the biggest cause, you have to plough through some concepts that will make your head ache – but not half as much as they made the poor world’s stomachs ache.
For over a century, farmers in wealthy countries have been able to engage in a process where they protect themselves against risk. Farmer Giles can agree in January to sell his crop to a trader in August at a fixed price. If he has a great summer, he’ll lose some cash, but if there’s a lousy summer or the global price collapses, he’ll do well from the deal. When this process was tightly regulated and only companies with a direct interest in the field could get involved, it worked.
Then, through the 1990s, Goldman Sachs and others lobbied hard and the regulations were abolished. Suddenly, these contracts were turned into “derivatives” that could be bought and sold among traders who had nothing to do with agriculture. A market in “food speculation” was born. [...]"
High Prices to Exacerbate Global Food Security Concerns
[06/16/10]
"“if history is any guide, further episodes of strong price fluctuations . . . cannot be ruled out, nor can future short-lived crises”. [...]"
Note: Yeah, we can guess where, too. Food prices to rise by up to 40% over next decade, UN report warns
Virulent wheat fungus invades South Africa
[05/27/10]
"Mutating and migrating stem rust pathogen could soon spread across the world. [...]"
Genetically modified crops failing worldwide
[05/17/10]
"The Green Revolution -- a misleading name applied by PR firms to the onset of
globalized, chemical-intensive, industrial agriculture that is anything but friendly to the environment -- is coming unraveled around the world, bringing devastation to farmers from the plains of China to the plains of America. [...]"
New Study on Milk Quality Runs Away from Its Own Findings
[05/16/10]
"A Monsanto-funded study by scientists at Cornell University measured the concentrations of heart-healthy fatty acids in 292 samples of conventional
rbST, and organic whole milk. The study was needed, according to the authors, to clear up "confusion" among consumers over nutritional differences between conventional,
rbST, and organic milk. The team found significant differences in the two key fatty acids that are higher in organic milk - conjugated linoleic acid
(CLA) and omega 3 fatty acids. CLA levels were 23% higher in the organic milk compared to conventional and rbST milk, and omega 3 levels were 63% higher. [...]"
Food Safety: The Worst of Both Bills (HR 2749 and S 510)
[05/11/10]
"Both bills take a one-size-fits-all approach towards food regulation, threatening to leave small farmers and local producers unable to afford the cost of complying with the legislation’s requirements. They would also significantly increase the power of the federal government to regulate intrastate commerce and give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) substantially greater power overall while making the agency less accountable for its actions. In reality, neither bill would improve food safety; in fact, the new requirements would cause an increase in imported food, a major source of the food safety problems in this country. Either bill would diminish the freedom and liberty Americans currently have to obtain the food of their choice from the source of their choice. [...]"
Related: S 510, the
" Food Safety Modernization Act" of 2010 [05/10/10]
"S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, may be the most dangerous bill in the history of the US. It is to our food what the bailout was to our economy, only we can live without money. [...]" Goodbye farmers markets,
CSAs, and roadside stands
"The “food safety” bills in Congress were written by Monsanto, Cargill,
Tysons, ADM, etc. All are associated with the opposite of food safety. [...]"
The Genetic Conspiracy: About Monsanto
[05/08/10]
[8:49]
"How safe is the so-called "Green Genetic Engineering" really? Monsanto, the world's largest genetic engineering corporation, insists it is safe. Numerous studies claim genetically modified plants can cause allergies and cancers. However, commercial and political interests are determined to make genetic engineering the norm. [...]"
Note:
Part2 [8:47] |
Part3 [8:42]
GM
Biofuels: Another Planned Disaster [05/05/10]
"Governments around the world have proposed biofuels, liquid fuels derived from plants, fungi or algae, as a solution to today’s energy and environmental crises. But this alternative is as bad as, or worse than, fossil fuels. Reasons to reject biofuels include:
Loss of farmland for fuel land, increasing food prices and world hunger; Deforestation and conversion of prairie to cropland, causing a net increase in greenhouse gases; Increased reliance on eco-destructive pesticides; and Proliferation of dangerous genetically modified crops. [...]"
GMO alert: U.S. attempting global censorship of GMO food labeling
[05/05/10]
"I received an urgent alert from Jeffrey Smith today about a dangerous situation taking place right now at the international CODEX conference. The U.S. is attempting to push its agenda to censor all GMO labeling of foods everywhere around the world. [...]"
Food in the U.S. Is Still Tainted with Chemicals That Were Banned Decades Ago
[04/26/10]
"Thirty-eight years after DDT was banned, Americans still consume trace amounts of the infamous insecticide every day, along with more than 20 other banned chemicals. ..."
Report:
In March, Food Prices Surged by the Most in 26 Years
[04/23/10]
"Wholesale prices rose more than expected last month as food prices surged by the most in 26 years. The Labor Department said the Producer Price Index rose by 0.7 percent in March, compared to analysts’ forecasts of a 0.4 percent rise. A rise in gas prices also helped push up the index. ..."
Toxic Beef, Rejected by Mexico, Sold in U.S.
[04/14/10]
"Beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals is being sold to the public because federal agencies have failed to set limits for the contaminants or adequately test for them, a federal audit finds. A program set up to test beef for chemical residues “is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food ..."
DOCUMENTS: Read the audit report
Monsanto genetically modified corn harvest fails massively in South Africa
[04/06/10]
"South African farmers suffered millions of dollars in lost income when 82,000 hectares of genetically-manipulated corn (maize) failed to produce hardly any
seeds. The plants look lush and healthy from the outside. Monsanto has offered compensation. Editor's note: Compensation is being offered to those who purchased seeds, but not to those smaller farmers who were given seed.
Monsanto blames the failure of the three varieties of corn planted on these farms, in three South African provinces, on alleged
"underfertilization processes in the laboratory." Some 280 of the 1,000 farmers who planted the three varieties of Monsanto corn this year, have reported extensive seedless corn problems. ..."
Note: The plan is to eliminate the population of Africa.
U.S. Ranks in Top 5 in Worst Food Safety Culprits
[03/23/10]
"A new international food safety monitoring tool has been developed to track food safety violations by country, and the results do not look good for the U.S., which ranks among the top five most dangerous countries in food safety. This is perhaps the first time such a massive amount of food recall data has been compiled and analyzed in this way, and the results should wake America up. Why is the richest nation in the world doing such a terrible job protecting its citizens from food contamination? ..."
Rising food prices may start with seeds
[03/19/10]
"In recent years, the companies that develop seeds for farmers to sow in their fields have consolidated. Complaints about unfair competitive practices by the few giant firms left have soared. As a result, critics say, the effects of more costly seeds have rippled out to the nation's dining tables. ..."
Zimbabwe hunger crisis plagues over 2
million people [03/12/10]
"The Red Cross has urged for more global donations, highlighting the suffering of more than 2.17 million Zimbabweans who are in dire need of food. ..."
Is There Shit in Your Salad? 39% of Bagged Salads Have Too Much Fecal Bacteria
[02/15/10]
"First the soda fountains at fast food restaurants, and now this--Consumer Reports has just published an investigation revealing that 39% of the packaged salads tested contained "bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal contamination." And this despite the fact that such bagged salads often display claims of 'prewashed' or 'triple-washed' and attract customers who consider them cleaner and safer. ..."
‘Very Serious Shortages of Food Everywhere in the World’
[01/18/10]
VIDEO [4:09]
"Legendary investor Jim Rogers discusses investment ideas and expectations for the future with CNBC on January 14, 2010. ... “The fundamentals [for investing in agriculture] have gotten better. The inventories are now at the lowest they’ve been in decades. Not in years - the first time I told you about it the inventories were the lowest in years, now it’s the lowest in decades. Things are getting worse. Many farmers cannot get loans to buy fertilizer now, even though we have big shortages developing. No, some time in the next few years we’re going to have very serious shortages of food everywhere in the world and prices are going to go through the roof.”
In addition to the problems that farmers are having acquiring lending for general operations and expansion, it is also possible that the world may experience food shortages in the near future due to inclement weather which has reportedly led to massive crop failures. Additionally, for those living in countries with governments and central banks that are printing extreme amounts of physical currency, which is pretty much everyone, prices for essential goods like food will likely begin rising some time in 2010 and this rise could continue for years to come."
Food prices mock India's scorching growth
[12/26/09]
"India's boast of a near 8% economic growth rate is being undermined by food prices rising at twice that pace. A poor monsoon is taking part of the blame, which is also being cast at profiteers, commodity speculators and food exporters. The government is showing signs of concern, and not just because it also is at fault. ..."
Fighting Hunger in a Land of Plenty: Food Banks Busier Than Ever
[11/23/09]
"It has been a good year for food in America: A record soybean harvest, the second highest corn harvest ever, potatoes and apples . . . all up. Good news for bad times. Because America is, more than ever, the land of the hungry. Last week, the government said 49 million Americans are unsure of where their next meal is coming from. That is almost one in six . . . and 17 million of those are kids. ..."
Food Insecurity Is Growing
[11/22/09]
"Global per capita food production has been steadily increasing for decades and the number of people who are overweight has surpassed the number who are undernourished. But according to the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. food insecurity is at its highest rate since the USDA first started reporting on the phenomenon in 1995. What's going on? The ERS reports that in 2008, 14.6% of all U.S households had difficulty securing enough food at some point during the year, up from 11.1% in 2007. And 5.7% of all households had very low food security (eating patterns were disrupted at some point due to lack of food), up from 4.1% in 2007. As you might expect, the main reason for the drop in food security is the economy. More layoffs means higher rates of poverty, and in turn more people who don't have enough food. The government has tried to put a band-aid on the problem with nutrition assistance benefits for the 36.5 million people who participate in the USDA's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (AKA the Food Stamp Program) and the 31 million kids who participate in the USDA National School Lunch program. But it's obviously not enough. ..."
49 Million Americans Going Hungry, Programs Initiating To Raise Food Security
[11/18/09]
"According to a new government report, the number of Americans who lack adequate, consistent access to food rose to a new high of 49 million last year. Especially discouraging is the number of children who live in households with low food security, which rose from 12 million to 17 million in just over a year. The report gives a stark look at how the economy has impacted American families, despite news over the last months that consumer confidence is improving. President Obama promised during his campaign to eliminate childhood hunger in America by 2015. As the report indicates, poverty and food insecurity don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. Many of the families who run out of food before they can afford to buy more earn above the poverty level.
..."
UN Food Summit Fails Before It Begins
[11/13/09]
"The leaked World Food Summit draft declaration falls short of a UN goal of eradicating hunger by 2025. Instead, leaders are expected to to sign a watered down declaration in Rome next week that calls for vague increases in aid for farmers in poor countries but sets no targets or deadlines for action. Leaders are expected to reaffirm their commitment to the UN's Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of hungry people by 2015 - a target that is unlikely to be reached. ..."
UN Warns of Dire Food Shortage:
1 Billion Hungry [10/23/09]
"A growing convergence of the effects of global warming, population growth, increasing hunger, the global recession and a growing demand for biofuels that replace food production, all are leading towards a catastrophic world food shortage. International scientists and agronomists are racing against time to increase worldwide food production by 50 percent over the next two decades, to put food in the mouths of every man, woman and child on the planet, but it’s a daunting task....The next meeting of world leaders will take place in Rome on
Nov.16, when the worldwide food shortage crisis will be at the top of the
agenda ..."
Japan suspends US plant's beef amid mad cow fears
[10/11/09]
"Japan has suspended beef shipments from an American meatpacking plant after finding cattle parts banned under an agreement to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, the agriculture ministry said Saturday. Japanese quarantine inspectors found bovine spinal columns in one of 732 boxes sent by Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., which arrived in Japan last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a statement. The box contained 35 pounds (16 kilograms) of chilled short loin with spinal bones, which were not released commercially, said ministry official Goshi Nakata. ..."
Note: It's scary to realize that Japan appears to have far better mechanisms for preventing the spread of meat-borne illness than the
US does. But, of course.
Lower
Food Prices Hit Farmers, Help Grocers [10/09/09]
"The drop in food prices is hitting
farmers a lot harder than grocery stores. The grocers have lowered prices 2%
on average from a year ago. But margins on raw farm products are rising,
leaving farmers with smaller shares of the consumer dollar...."
Nationwide food recall system unveiled in US
[10/06/09]
"Industry bodies in the US have welcomed the launch of a “unique” on-line food recall portal that will provide a “critical” information link between food processors and retailers. Leading trade bodies were responding to the unveiling of the Rapid Recall Exchange by the Food Market Institute
(FMI) and GS1 US that is designed to spread and speed up the flow of information around a food recall.
The on-line system aims to allow food suppliers, wholesalers and retailers exchange “prompt and accurate information” about food product recalls and withdrawals, said the FMI in a statement. The new initiative replaces and improves on the existing Product Recall System, added the group. ..."
World
food aid at 20-year low [09/17/09]
"Food aid is at a 20-year low
despite the number of critically hungry people soaring this year to its
highest level ever, the United Nations relief agency said Wednesday. The
number of hungry people will pass 1 billion this year for the first time, the
U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said, adding that it is facing a serious budget
shortfall. ..."
Mexico's Water Shortage Turning Into Food Crisis
[09/10/09]
"Regardless of cyclical weather patterns or larger scale changes in rainfall globally, new ways of managing water are going to be needed to avoid this kind of crisis in the future. It's something the entire globe, not just Mexico, is slowly having to come to terms with. Mexico City was once a lake, but now, thanks to over-pumping water reserves and poor management, desertification could be in its future - as is the case with many other
areas ..."
Note: The planet is increasingly being made uninhabitable ... in
anticipation of the endgame here coming to a close.
U.S. Farm Profit Plunging on Lower Crop, Dairy Prices
[
08/30/09 ] "Profits for U.S. farmers will plunge more than expected this year, dropping 38 percent from 2008 as the recession erodes demand for crops, livestock and dairy products, the government
said ..."
Recession Finally Hits Down on the Farm
[
08/28/09 ] "The American farm, which has weathered the global recession better than most U.S. industries, is starting to succumb to the downturn. The Agriculture Department forecast Thursday that U.S. farm profits will fall 38% this year, indicating that the slump is taking hold in rural America. Much of the sector had escaped the harsher aspects of the crisis, such as the big drop in property values plaguing city dwellers and
suburbanites ..."
Scientists develop high-yield deep water rice
[
08/20/09 ] "A team of Japanese scientists has discovered genes that enable rice to survive high water, providing hope for better rice production in lowland areas that are affected by flooding. The team, primarily from the University of Nagoya, reported their findings in Thursday's issue of Nature, the science magazine. The genes, called SNORKEL genes, help rice grow longer stems to deal with higher water levels. Deep-water rice generally produces lower-yield rice plants. But the researchers report they have succeeded in introducing the genes to rice varieties that are higher-yield. According to the report, as water levels rise, accumulation of the plant hormone ethylene activates the SNORKEL genes, making stem growth more rapid. When the researchers introduced the genes into rice that does not normally survive in deep water, they were able to rescue the plants from drowning.
Motoyuki Ashikari, who headed the project, said his team is hoping to use the gene on long grain rice widely used in Southeast Asia to help stabilize production in flood-prone areas where rice with the flood-resistant gene is low in production - about one-third to one-quarter that of regular rice. "Scientifically, the gene that we found is rare but clear proof of a biological ability to adapt to a harsh environment," he said. "It's a genetic strategy specifically to survive flooding." ... Laurentius A. C. J.
Voesenek, at the Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, who was not part of the research team, said the study is significant because high-yield rice varieties cannot survive extremes of inundation ..."
UK: Food crisis could force wartime rations and vegetarian diet on Britons
[
08/13/09 ] "The British people face wartime rations and a vegetarian diet in the event of a world food shortage, a new official assessment on the UK’s food security suggests today. Even though the nation is 73 per cent self-sufficient in food production, higher than during the 1950s, the food chain is at risk from global influences such as a worldwide increase in population, climate change bringing extreme weather patterns, higher oil prices and more crops being grown for bio-fuel instead of food. Supplies in future may also be disrupted by animal disease outbreaks, disruption of power supplies, trade disputes and interruptions for shipping and at
ports ..."
UK
To 'Massively Increase Domestic Food Production'
[
08/10/09 ] "Britain
is to commit itself to a massive increase in domestic food production to feed
the population in the next 40 years, The Independent on Sunday has learnt
..." Note: 'learnt' ... whatever happened to 'learned'?
Stupid people. All the 'victory gardens' in the world will not change the fact
that all these people will be gone very shortly.
World food prices have stabilized: UN
[
08/08/09 ] "World food prices have stabilised but will not return to levels seen before 2008 when commodity prices skyrocketed pushing up inflation in many emerging markets, the U.N. food agency said on
Friday ..."
Food Bank Demand Spiking, Even In Well-Off Suburbs
[
08/06/09 ] "As the national unemployment rate nears 10 percent, more and more people are turning to food banks for help keeping food on their plates. Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity, reports that demand at food banks across the United States is up 30 percent from last
year ..."
UN withdraws Indian energy food
[
08/06/09 ] "The UN says it has withdrawn a high energy food for children in India after the government said it had been distributed without permission. A senior official from the UN's children agency,
Unicef, told the BBC that malnourished children would now be given a locally available product. He said this would be instead of the imported ready-to-use therapeutic food. Unicef had been distributing the food, made of peanut paste, to malnourished children in two Indian states. It said food provided locally in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh was not sufficient for children in a critical
condition ..."
US Gov't Completely out of Wheat
[
07/26/09 ] "Since 1987, the US has sold nearly 800 million bushels of wheat, emptying its reserves. These sales, besides making the US vulnerable to a food crisis, have depressed wheat prices below what they would otherwise have
been ..."
USDA orders recall of 143 million pounds of beef
[
06/30/09 ] "The largest U.S. meat recall before Sunday came in 1999, when about 35 million pounds of product possibly contaminated with
listeria were ordered off shelves. USDA officials said that was Class I recall, involving a known risk to human health. Raymond said
cattle that had lost the ability to walk since passing pre-processing inspections were slaughtered without an inspector having
examined them for chronic illness -- a practice he said violated federal regulations and had been going on for at least two years...."
A 'time bomb' for world wheat crop
[
06/15/09 ] "The Ug99 fungus, called stem rust, could wipe out more than 80% of the world's wheat as it spreads from Africa, scientists fear. The race is on to breed resistant plants before it reaches the U.S. .... "It's a time bomb," said Jim Peterson, a professor of wheat breeding and genetics at Oregon State University in Corvallis. "It moves in the air, it can move in clothing on an airplane. We know it's going to be here. It's a matter of how long it's going to take." ... Though most Americans have never heard of it, Ug99 -- a type of fungus called stem rust because it produces reddish-brown flakes on plant stalks -- is the No. 1 threat to the world's most widely grown crop. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico estimates that 19% of the world's wheat, which provides food for 1 billion people in Asia and Africa, is in imminent danger. American plant breeders say $10 billion worth of wheat would be destroyed if the fungus suddenly made its way to U.S. fields ... Fear that the fungus will cause widespread damage has caused short-term price spikes on world wheat markets. Famine has been averted thus far, but experts say it's only a matter of time. ... "A significant humanitarian crisis is inevitable," said Rick Ward, the coordinator of the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat project at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
..."
Revealed: the bid to corner world's bluefin tuna market
[
06/03/09 ] "Japan's sprawling Mitsubishi conglomerate has cornered a 40 per cent share of the world market in bluefin tuna, one of the world's most endangered fish. A corporation within the £170bn Mitsubishi empire is importing thousands of tonnes of the fish from Europe into Tokyo's premium fish markets, despite stocks plummeting towards extinction in the Mediterranean. Bluefin tuna frozen at -60C now could be sold in several years' time for astronomical sums if Atlantic bluefin becomes commercially extinct as forecast, a result of the near free-for-all enjoyed by the tuna fleet.
..."
Australia: Food bowl on brink of $5bn catastrophe
[
04/30/09 ] "Australia's key food bowl, the Murray Darling Basin, is on the verge of economic collapse as the value of production plunges by at least $5 billion, experts say. Drought and declining irrigation water have plunged inland Australia's heartland into crisis with the loss of at least one third of the basin's $15 billion annual income. Worse is predicted for the coming financial year if the drought continues. The demise of the economic powerhouse has pushed towns throughout the basin, particularly along the River Murray, into a severe downturn and population decline. An ABS report last week showed the population throughout the basin is declining, or static at best, with the District Council of Berri and Barmera suffering the largest and fastest recent drop in SA with 130 people moving out between 2007 and 2008. Authorities warn the problem has become the biggest crisis Australian agriculture has experienced, threatening the nation's food supply."
Walker's World: New food crisis looms [
04/13/09 ] "We tend to forget that the worldwide plunge into recession last year was the result of three separate phenomena that combined to breed disaster. The financial crisis was joined by a food crisis and a fuel crisis as the prices of food and energy soared, triggering food riots across the world. And now there are ominous signs of another food crisis in the making this year, spurred in part by the ongoing credit crunch that has made it difficult for farmers to get loans.
"
One in 10 Americans gets help from U.S. to buy food [
04/03/09 ] "A record 32.2 million people -- one in every 10 Americans -- received food stamps at the latest count, the government said on Thursday, a reflection of the recession now in its 16th month. Food stamps, the major U.S. anti-hunger program, help poor people buy groceries. The average benefit was $112.82 per person in January. The January figure marks the third time in five months that enrollment set a record. "A weakened economy means that many more individuals are turning to SNAP/Food Stamps," said the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger group, using the acronym for the renamed food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program ..."
US Wholesalers Cut Inventories Further In January 2009
[
03/11/09 ] "U.S. wholesalers reduced inventories in January but demand fell faster, suggesting further cutting and more pain for the slumping economy.
Because demand is falling faster than supply, a gauge within the inventory report indicated a growing excess of goods exists - an overhang that must be reduced ... Given the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook and the recent sharp slowdown in retail spending, combined with the turmoil in the financial markets, there are still lots of unintended inventories that will need to be worked
off ..."
OPED: Monsanto's Michael Taylor to control "Food Safety" from the White House
[03/11/09
] "Michael Taylor, perhaps stowed away in Hillary Clinton's trunk as a nostalgic reminder of the good ole days when Bill put him in charge of the FDA and he approved
rBGH, has reentered government along with her. He slipped onto Obama's transition team somehow (just how?) and is now hoping to slip into an office ... in the White
House ..." Related: Monsanto's dream bill, HR 875
"HR 875, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro, whose husband Stanley Greenburg works for
Monsanto. The bill is monstrous on level after level - the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hours GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights, the imposition by the filthy, greedy industrial side of anti-farming international "industrial" standards to independent farms - the only part of our food system that still works, the planned elimination of farmers through all these means. The corporations want the land, they want more intensive industrialization, they want the end of normal animals so they can substitute patented genetically engineered ones they own, they want the end of normal seeds and thus of seed banking by farmers or individuals. They want control over all seeds, animals, water, and
land ..."
Chavez orders food giant Cargill takeover
[
03/11/09 ] "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has renewed nationalizing drive, taking over some of the operations of American food giant Cargill.
Chavez ordered Venezuela's Agriculture Minister Elias Jaua on Wednesday to pave the way for the nationalization of a unit of American food, an IRIB correspondent reported. The decision comes in the wake of Chavez's calls for cheaper food prices, demanding food companies produce cheaper rice. Speaking at a nationally televised speech Chavez accused Cargill of growing specialized forms of rice in an attempt to evade price controls. He said that he ordered the nationalization of Cargill because the company had violated the law and disrespected Venezuela's internal regulations. The American food giant however said that it was "respectful" of Chavez decision but sought talks to resolve the dispute and clarify the situation. Cargill, which is privately owned, has been operating in Venezuela since 1986, and its operations include oilseed processing, grain and oilseeds trading, animal feed, salt, and financial and risk management."
Booming preparedness industry says Americans are stockpiling
[
03/10/09 ] "To some, the term "survivalist" conjures images of camouflage-clad men stockpiling freeze-dried food in a mountain cabin, but in the current economic crisis, the people quietly preparing to survive catastrophe may just be your next-door
neighbors ... Last summer, an ABC News report said "there are worrying signs appearing in the United States where some … locals are beginning to hoard supplies." The report said some suppliers were concerned the U.S. government may be competing with consumers for stocks of storable food. Spokesman Bruce Hopkins of Best Prices Storable Foods told WND his company was having trouble obtaining No. 10 cans and other storable foodstuffs, in part, because the federal government was purchasing such large amounts. "We don't know why," Hopkins said. "The feds then went to freeze dried companies and bought most of their canned
stock ... The Toronto Star reports the story of Paul, a man in his mid-50s who only three years ago became alarmed over the possibility of fuel shortage and began a plan to prepare for survival should the worst happen. "When cars stop running? And grocery stores go bare? What do you think is going to happen?" Paul asked the Star. "It's mind boggling once you grasp it."
The End of Farmers Markets? Say Hello to H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009
[
03/09/09 ] "What this will do is
force anyone who produces food of any kind, and then transports it to a different location for sale, to register with a new federal agency called the “Food Safety Administration.” Even growers who only sell only fruit and/or vegetables at farmers markets would not only have to register, but they would be subject inspections by federal agents of their property and all records related to food production. The frequency of these inspections will be determined by the whim of the Food Safety Administration. Mandatory “safety” records would have to be kept. Anyone who fails to register and comply with all of this nonsense could be facing a fine of up to $1,000,000 per violation."
Related: 
Bill to “Ban” Organic Farming
The bill legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept.
See also the PDF
of this bill . What it
Does: * Legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept. * Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn’t actually use the word organic. * Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it. * Effects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game. * Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics which is bizarre considering how long the legislation is. * Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they are going to side with? * Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities. The wording is so broad based that a backyard gardener could be fined and more. * Section 207 requires that the state’s agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment."
Nation's food system nearly
broken
[03/01/09
] "As our government enacts a stimulus package and President Barack Obama announces bold initiatives to stem home mortgage foreclosures, disaster threatens family farmers and their communities. The government's response to plummeting commodity prices and tightening credit markets leads to the basic question: Who will produce our food? This is a worldwide crisis. Many U.S. farmers are going out of business because they receive prices equal to about one half their cost to produce our food. How long could any enterprise receiving half the amount of its input costs stay in business? As an example, dairy farmers in the Northeast and Midwest must be paid between 30 and 35 cents per pound for their milk to pay production costs and provide basic living expenses. Until 1980, farmers received a price equal to 80 percent of parity, meaning that farmers' purchasing power kept up with the rest of the economy. Unfortunately, a 1981 political decision discontinued parity, and today the dairy farmers' share is below 40 percent. "Free trade" and other regressive agricultural policies have decimated
farms".
Drought to cut off federal water to
California farms
[02/22/09
] "Federal water managers said Friday that they plan to cut off water, at least temporarily, to thousands of California farms as a result of the deepening drought gripping the state. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said parched reservoirs and patchy rainfall this year were forcing them to completely stop surface water deliveries for at least a two-week period beginning March 1. Authorities said they haven't had to take such a drastic move for more than 15 years. The situation could improve slightly if more rain falls over the next few weeks, and officials will know by mid-March if they can release more irrigation supplies to growers. Farmers in the nation's No. 1 agriculture state predicted
it would cause consumers to pay more for their fruits and vegetables, which would have to be grown using expensive well
water."
EU Foiled in Bid to Force France, Greece to Allow GM Crop
[02/16/09
] "The European Commission was foiled Monday in its bid to force France and Greece to allow genetically modified maize from US biotech giant Monsanto to be grown in their fields."
Dairy cows head for slaughter as milk prices sour
[02/16/09
] "Hundreds of thousands of America's dairy cows are being turned into hamburgers because milk prices have dropped so low that farmers can no longer afford to feed the animals. Dairy farmers say they have little choice but to sell part of their herds for slaughter because they face a perfect storm of destructive economic forces. At home, feed prices are rising and cash-strapped consumers are eating out less often. Abroad, the global recession has cut into demand for butter and cheese exported from the U.S. Prices for milk now are about half what it costs farmers to produce the staple, and consumer prices are falling. Unless the market can be bolstered, industry officials project that more than 1.5 million of the nation's 9.3 million milking cows could be slaughtered this year as dairy operators look to cut costs and generate cash.
"This could destroy our dairy infrastructure," said Mike Marsh, CEO of the United Western Dairymen trade association. Three months ago, mature milkers would sell for $2,500 to another dairy, but with nobody buying, dairymen are selling them on the beef market for only $1,100 each. It is not just elderly cows that are going to slaughter, said Jon
Dolieslager, owner of the Tulare County Stockyard in the heart of California dairy country. The 262,500 slaughtered nationally in January is 43,500 more than in January 2008. Since September, federal livestock reports show that dairy cow slaughter is up 30 per cent, while beef cow slaughter is down 14 per cent. "If milk was worth something, they'd be keeping them," said
Dolieslager ..." Note: In the U.S. cattle of all kinds
consume an incredible amount of fresh water. Beef would become non-existent at
some point, never mind bovine milk. Droughts are on the rise.
Food banks forced to partner with farms, fishermen
[02/14/09
] "As traditional sources of donations dry up and demand rises amid a worsening recession, food banks and their volunteers are finding creative ways to make the best of a growing challenge--while the hungry try to make less food go further."
Hunger in Australia
[02/14/09
] "Two million Australians rely on food relief every year and half of them are children. These one million children often go to school without breakfast, or to bed without dinner."
Droughts Will Bring Catastrophic Fall in 2009 Global Food Production
[02/10/09
] "After reading about the droughts in two
major agricultural countries, China and Argentina, I decided to research the extent other food producing nations were also experiencing droughts. This project ended up taking a lot longer than I thought. 2009 looks to be a humanitarian disaster around much of the world
..."
Crisis sends French new poor flocking to food banks
[01/09/09
] "The world financial crisis is forcing more and more once relatively comfortable French workers to seek out charity food banks and soup kitchens to get a free hot meal."
World’s hungry ‘close to one billion’, 17% of Planet Population
[12/09/08
] "The food crisis has pushed the number of hungry people in the world to almost 1bn, in what the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation described on Tuesday as a “serious setback” to global efforts to reduce mass starvation. “The ongoing financial and economic crisis could tip even more people into hunger and poverty,” the FAO added. The Rome-based organisation said that a preliminary estimate showed the number of undernourished people rose this year by 40m to about 963m people, after rising 75m in 2007. Before the food crisis, there were about 848m chronically hungry people in 2003-05. “High food prices are driving millions of people into food insecurity, worsening conditions for many who were already food-insecure, and threatening long-term global food security,” the FAO said in its report
The State of Food Insecurity in the World
2008."
UK food and energy prices are rising twice as fast as those in Europe, report finds
"Power and food bills in the UK are rising at twice the rate they are in the European Union. A report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development yesterday showed that British bills surged at the fastest rate of any EU nation in October. Energy costs rose by 24.2 per cent compared with the same time last year, the OECD said. That was twice the gain in Finland, which recorded the second highest rate of power price inflation. And UK grocery bills gained 10.1 per cent, a rate matched only by Finland."
World Bank warns on 'human crisis' of high food prices
"... World Bank president Robert Zoellick urged governments to act to contain a mounting "human crisis" today, as he warned that 44 million of the world's poorest people would be driven into malnutrition this year, as a result of high food prices."
Food Riots Have Already Begun as Global Grain Prices Skyrocket, Supplies Dwindle
"... Riots and other forms of civil unrest have already broken out around the world in response to a global grain shortage and surging food prices. According to data from the World Food Program and the early warning and global information system of the Food and Agricultural Organization, street protests and rioting over high food prices have broken out in Guinea, Indonesia, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Yemen and West Africa in the past several months. Prices of wheat and rice in particular have skyrocketed recently. Rice prices have increased 50 percent in the past year, while wheat prices went up 115 percent in the same time period. The high prices have been attributed to increased fuel and shipping costs, plus a worldwide grain shortage. The prices of foods made with grains, such as bread and beer, are also on the rise. In addition, the increased costs of animal feed are being felt in higher prices for meat, dairy and
eggs." Related: Prices for 16 basic food items shoot up in third quarter
World's Soils in Sharp Decline; Global Food Shortage to Follow
"... The world's soils continue to be degraded at an unprecedented rate that will only exacerbate the current food crisis, scientists are warning. The current surge in food prices has been blamed on factors such as the diversion of food crops into biofuels production, coupled with poor harvests caused by droughts, floods and pests. But the situation was a long time in coming, experts say, with unexpectedly poor harvests stressing an already weakened food production system. According to a report by the World Resources Institute, world agricultural production has fallen by one-sixth, and one-fifth of the world's cropland is now considered degraded. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, almost one million square miles are in "consistent significant decline," according to another report by a worldwide agricultural consortium. This suggests that fixes focused on producing stronger seeds or planting more land are missing the
point ..."
9.6 million
Ethiopians need emergency food, up from 4.6 million in June, UN says
"World Food Program spokesman Barry Came says 9.6 million people need emergency food. This is more than twice the estimate of 4.6 million people released in
June 2008."
UK Farmers fear harvest could be the worst since 1968
"Britain is facing its worst harvest for at least 40 years as 30 per cent of the country’s grain lies in waterlogged or sodden ground. Hilary Benn, the Rural Affairs Secretary, is expected to give the go-ahead today for farmers to salvage what is left of their crops by using heavy machinery on wet fields."
Global
Famine as a Conspiracy
"There is just too much of a pattern, and too many elements all pointing in the same direction."
Speculators Trying to Buy Control of Food Supply
"Given the meltdown in the housing and financial sectors and the weakness in the U.S. economy, large investors figure that everyone has to eat, and so investing in food production is a sure thing. That means that speculators will drive up food prices, which will lead to other events."
The corporate take over of food supplies
Video
US food groups plan hefty price rises
"US food companies are preparing another round of hefty price increases as soaring commodity costs force them to pass on rises to consumers."
Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis
"Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil. Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush. This report, which everyone in the US and the world should be reading, "...has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush"? These policies favoring biofuel production are causing people to die. The World Bank should be less concerned with "embarrassing Bush" than they should be with telling the truth straight up, period, end of discussion."
Belgian Law To Outlaw Food Speculation
"Belgian Law To Outlaw Food Speculation Blames WTO and Unbridled Liberalization."
The Cost Of Food - 2007 Versus 2008
Floods wipe out US crops
"The Midwest flooding and storms are expected to push US and world food prices higher. Up to five million acres of newly planted crops have been lost at the heart of the world's top grain and food exporter. Prices for corn, cattle and pigs all set records this week owing to the floods, as a world economy already hit by inflation from rising energy prices absorbed the blow."
Rise in food prices sends inflation to 18-year high
"Rising global food prices last month pushed the inflation rate up to its highest for nearly 18 years
... Milk, cheese and eggs have increased in price by nearly a fifth since May last year along with cooking oils and fats. Meat and bread were up by 9% with fish and vegetables rising by 7%. But fruit increased by a more modest 2.4%. Riots have broken out in many poor countries due to surging bread prices. A succession of bad harvests in countries such as Australia, as well as competition for land space from
bio-fuels, have combined to push food prices higher. This is exacerbated by the fall in the dollar, in which most commodities are priced ... The other main reason for the jump in inflation last month was rising energy bills."
Surging Oil and Food Prices Threaten the World Economy, Finance Ministers Warn
"The global economy faces a one-two punch from slowing growth and soaring fuel and food prices, finance ministers from the world’s richest nations warned Saturday, though they stopped short of offering concrete solutions. Finance ministers from the Group of 8 industrialized nations wrapped up a two-day meeting in Japan that was dominated by talk of rising petroleum prices, which have set off street protests across the world. In a statement, the ministers said higher prices of oil and other commodities threatened the world economy at a time when it was still reeling from the collapse of the housing market in the United States."
UK:Fears grow that MRSA variant has entered food chain
"Scientists revealed yesterday that three patients in separate hospitals were infected with the ST398 strain, which is found in factory-farmed pigs in the Netherlands. None of the humans had a close association with farm animals, raising the possibility that the superbug has entered the food chain."
Scientists warn G8 of climate peril to food
"Scientists from Group of Eight countries and the five biggest emerging nations urged next month's G8 summit to ratchet up action against global warming, warning that climate change threatened food and water supplies."
The
United States Has No Remaining Grain or Dairy Reserves
"Larry Matlack, President of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), has raised concerns over the issue of U.S. grain reserves after it was announced that the sale of 18.37 million bushels of wheat from USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.
According to the May 1, 2008 CCC inventory report there are only 24.1 million bushels of wheat in inventory, so after this sale there will be only 2.7 million bushels of wheat left the entire CCC inventory,” warned Matlack. “Our concern is not that we are using the remainder of our strategic grain reserves for humanitarian relief. AAM fully supports the action and all humanitarian food relief. Our concern is that the U.S. has nothing else in our emergency food pantry. There is no cheese, no butter, no dry milk powder, no grains or anything else left in reserve. The only thing left in the entire CCC inventory will be 2.7 million bushels of wheat which is about enough wheat to make ½ of a loaf of bread for each of the 300 million people in America.”
Food crisis: Britain just nine meals from anarchy
"The scenario goes like this. Imagine a sudden shutdown of oil supplies; a sudden collapse in the petrol that streams steadily through the pumps and so into the engines of the lorries which deliver our food around the country, stocking up the supermarket shelves as soon as any item runs out. If the trucks stopped moving, we'd start to worry and we'd head out to the shops, cking up our larders. By the end of Day One, if there was still no petrol, the shelves would be looking pretty thin. Imagine, then, Day Two: your fourth, fifth and sixth meal. We'd be in a panic. Day three: still no petrol. Note also, as posed in another article today, that Larry Matlack, President of the American Agricultural Movement, has stated that "...the U.S. has nothing else in our emergency food pantry. There is no cheese, no butter, no dry milk powder, no grains or anything else left in reserve. "
UN sounds alarm as Rome hosts talks on food crisis
"UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for a huge rise in food production Tuesday as world leaders opened a summit on the food-price crisis that threatens hunger, poverty and
conflict. In talks clouded by controversy over the presidents of Zimbabwe and Iran, Ban said food output had to rise 50 percent by 2030 to meet rising demand."
Some U.S. Farms Outsourced To Mexico
"Antonio Martinez used to pay smugglers thousands of dollars each year to sneak him into the United States to manage farm crews. Now, the work comes to him. Supervising lettuce pickers in central Mexico, Martinez earns just half of the $1,100 a week he made in the U.S. But the job has its advantages, including working without fear of immigration raids. Martinez, now a legal employee of U.S.-owned VegPacker de Mexico, is exactly the kind of worker more American farm companies are seeking. Many have moved their fields to Mexico, where they can find qualified people, often with U.S. experience, who can't be deported. "Because I never moved my family to the U.S., I was always alone there," said Martinez, 45, who could never get a work permit, even after 16 years in agriculture in California and Arizona. "When I got the opportunity to be close to my family, doing similar work, I didn't even have to think about it." American companies now farm more than 45,000 acres of land in three Mexican states, employing about 11,000 people, a 2007 survey by the U.S. farm group Western Growers
shows ..."
Canadian Family Seed Business Takes On GMO Giant
"Since the dawn of civilization, farmers have saved seeds from the harvest and replanted them the following year. But makers of genetically modified (GM) seeds -- introduced in 1996 and now grown by some 70,000 Canadian farmers, according to Monsanto, the world's largest seed company -- have been putting a stop to that practice. The 12 million farmers worldwide who will plant GM seeds this year sign contracts agreeing not to save or replant seeds. That means they must buy new seeds every year."
Field studies find lower productivity with GM seeds
"Genetic modification actually cuts the productivity of crops, an authoritative new study shows, undermining repeated claims that a switch to the controversial technology is needed to solve the growing world food crisis. The study - carried out over the past three years at the University of Kansas in the US grain belt - has found that GM soya produces about 10 per cent less food than its conventional equivalent, contradicting assertions by advocates of the technology that it increases yields."
Privatisation Making Seeds Themselves Infertile
"Seeds were once for ever. After harvest, a few from the crop would be planted for the following year, and so it went on. Now, biochemical industry giants are making seeds themselves infertile. You sow them this year, and that's it. For next year's crop, you need brand new seeds -- you would have to buy them, of course. Twenty-five years ago, there were at least 7,000 seed growers worldwide, and none of them controlled more than one percent of the global market. Today, after a takeover spree, 10 major biochemical multinationals, including Monsanto, DuPont-Pioneer, Syngenta, Bayer Cropsciencie, BASF, and Dow Agrosciences, control more than 50 percent of the seeds market."
Diet Coke to drop additive in DNA damage fear
"Coca-Cola is phasing out a controversial additive that has been linked to damage to DNA and hyperactivity in children.
Sodium benzoate, also known as E211, is used to stop fizzy drinks going mouldy. Coca-Cola said it had begun withdrawing the additive from Diet Coke in January in response to consumer demand for more natural products."
But the aspartame stays, of course, because partial brain undermining is
better than nothing.
U.S. rice farmers want class action against Bayer
"Germany's Bayer AG is battling to keep thousands of U.S. rice farmers from becoming part of a massive class-action lawsuit over the contamination of commercial rice supplies by a Bayer biotech rice not approved for human consumption."
Commodity traders bidding up food, fuel prices
"Traders share a laugh in the crude oil options pit of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the price of oil futures swept toward $130 a barrel. The record-shattering run-up in energy and food prices has prompted Congress to consider taking action against speculative investing."
Rice price dives as US and Japan set to unlock grain pact
"Rice prices nosedived today as Japan moved closer to unlocking its massive hidden surplus and bullish supply forecasts routed speculators. The price collapse came as commodity experts called on Japan and the US to urgently unwind one of the biggest “invisible” distortions in global rice markets: a quirk of World Trade Organisation rules that obliges Tokyo to buy grain it does not need and effectively turns millions of tons of high-grade American rice into feed for Japanese pigs. If that distortion were removed, said researchers at the Washington-based Centre for Global Development (CGD), and the 1.5 million tons of unwanted US rice were released from Japan’s storage silos, the crisis that has sent the price of the crop that feeds half the world would be instantly solved. Rice prices, suggested the group’s forecasts, could even halve between now and June.
Standing in the way of that, however, is a rule that prevents Japan from re-exporting its reserves of US rice without permission from Washington – permission that has not been forthcoming until now, but which The Times has learned may be just hours away from being
granted ..." 5/16/08
Rice Prices Rise Despite Record Crop
"World rice production will hit a record high this year but increasing demand and restrictions on exports will keep prices high, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said on
Monday" 5/12/08
Concentration in the fertilizer market
"Agribusiness giant Cargill and rival IMC Global recently combined their fertilizer production businesses to form the #2 fertilizer company in the world. The new company will be 66% owned by Cargill and 33% owned by
IMC, so essentially controlled by Cargill. IMC's potash and phosphates business is added on to Cargill nitrogen products. The #1 fertilizer company in the world is
Yara, a division of Norsk Hydro (soon to be spun off). That company has sales of around $4.9 billion a year. The new Cargill-IMC company will have sales of around $4.1 billion. Number #3 is
Potash Corp, of Saskatchewan, with sales of around $2.6 billion a year...
also included are: Uralkali Fertilizer, the main Russian supplier, Agrium, the Canadian company just making large acquisitions, a major supplier of nitrogen products, a major distributor in North America,
K+ S AG, a German company spun off from BASF, Mosaic, another Canadian company owned in part by Cargill with strong holdings in potash and phosphate mining,
and even more significant, a trading association called Canpotex Ltd., looks after the Asian interests of
Agrium, PCS, and Mosaic. " Related: Artificial
Shortages of Fertilizer
Corporate Vultures Lurk Behind the World Food Crisis
"A new report from GRAIN, Making a Killing from the Food
Crisis, shows Cargill, the world's biggest grain trader, achieved an 86 percent increase in profits from commodity trading in the first quarter of 2008;
Bunge had a 77 percent increase in profits during the last quarter of 2007;
ADM, the second largest grain trader in the world, registered a 67 percent per cent increase in profits in 2007.
Other companies: ConAgra (US) 30% profit increase, Noble Group (Singapore) 92% profit increase,
Marubeni (Japan) 43% profit increase. Behind the chieftains of the capitalist system are powerful transnational corporations, traders, and speculators who trade food worldwide, determine commodity prices, create and then manipulate shortages and surpluses to their advantage, and are the real beneficiaries of international trade agreements. The
vultures of greed are circling the carcasses of growing hunger and poverty as another 100 million join the ranks of the world's poorest - nearly 3 billion people who live on less than $2 a day. Agriculture is fundamental to the well-being of all people, both in terms of access to safe and nutritious food and as the foundation of healthy communities, cultures, and environment. The answer to the current crisis must be centered on small-scale farmers producing for local and regional markets. It is time for the developing countries to uphold the rights of their people to food sovereignty and break with decades of ill-advised policies that have failed to benefit their people."
Related stories: Making a Killing from Hunger
| Global warming rage lets global hunger grow
Biofuel: Criminal Path Leads To Global Food Crisis
"The United States and the European Union have taken a "criminal path" by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices through using food crops to produce
biofuels, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food. Speaking at a press conference today in Geneva, Jean Ziegler said that fuel policies pursued by the US and the EU were one of the main causes of the current worldwide food crisis. Mr. Ziegler said that last year the US used a third of its corn crop to create
biofuels, while the European Union is planning to have 10 per cent of its petrol supplied by
biofuels. The Special Rapporteur has called for a five-year moratorium on the production of
biofuels. Mr. Ziegler also said that speculation on international markets was behind 30 per cent of the increase in food prices. He said that companies such as Cargill, which controls a quarter of all cereal production, have enormous power over the market. He added that hedge funds are also making huge profits from raw materials markets, and called for new financial regulations to prevent such speculation. The Special Rapporteur warned of worsening food riots and a "horrifying" increase in deaths by starvation before reforms could take effect. Mr. Ziegler was speaking before a meeting today in Bern, Switzerland, between Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon and the heads of key UN agencies. Meanwhile, speaking in Rome today, a nutritionist with the UN World Food Programme
(WFP), said that "global price rises mean that food is literally being taken out of the mouths of hungry children whose parents can no longer afford to feed them." Andrew Thorne-Lyman said that even temporarily depriving children of the nutrients they need to grow and thrive can leave permanent scars in terms of stunting their physical growth and intellectual potential. He said that families in the developing world are "finding their buying power has been slashed by food price rises, meaning that they can buy less food or food which isn't as nutritious."
Corn Futures Advance to Record as Weather Delays U.S. Planting
"Corn futures in Chicago climbed to a record on supply concerns after a government report showed farmers in the U.S., the world's biggest producer, had planted only half as much as a year ago because of cold, wet weather."
Well, here is a double body-blow to the global warming people, first because it is the COLD weather than is the problem here and because their much vaunted biofuels program eroded away the safety margins in US corn production which would have made it far easier to survive a shortage.
United Nations expert condemns growing of food crops to produce biofuels
"A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity."
Grain Shortages, Rising World Food Prices - and Ethanol Backfires?
"President Bush has set a target of replacing 15% of domestic gasoline use with biofuels (ethanol and
biodiesel) over the next 10 years, which would require almost a fivefold increase in mandatory biofuel use, to about 35 billion gallons. With current technology, almost all of this biofuel would have to come from corn because there is no feasible alternative. However, achieving the 15% goal would require the entire current U.S. corn crop, which represents a whopping 40% of the world's corn supply. This would do more than create mere market distortions; the irresistible pressure to divert corn from food to fuel would create unprecedented
turmoil ..."
The Biofuels Scam, Food Shortages and the Coming Collapse of the Human Population
"It was one of the dumbest "green" ideas ever proposed: Convert millions of acres of cropland into fields for growing ethanol from corn, then burn fossil fuels to harvest the ethanol, expending more energy to extract the fuel than you get from the fuel itself! Meanwhile, sit back and proclaim you've achieved a monumental green victory (President Bush, anyone?) all while unleashing a dangerous spike in global food prices that's causing a ripple effect of food shortages and rationing around the world."
Wheat Crop Failures Could Be Total Due to Ug99
Fungus
"David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors, said the deadly fungus, Puccinia
graminis, is now spreading through some areas of the globe where "crop losses are expected to reach 100 percent.” Losses in Africa are already at 70 percent of the crop, Kotok said. "The economic losses expected from this fungus are now in the many billions and growing. Worse, there is an intensifying fear of exacerbated food shortages in poor and emerging countries of the world,” Kotok told investors in a research note. "The ramifications are serious. Food rioting continues to expand around the world. We saw the most recent in Johannesburg. "So far this unrest has been directed at rising prices. Actual shortages are still to come.”
Last month, scientists met in the Middle East to determine measures to track the progress of "Ug99,” which was first discovered in 1999 in Uganda."
Note: Africa is a known western testing ground for biological weapons.
Americans Hoard Food As Commodities Speculators Drive Up World Prices
"Farmers and food executives appealed fruitlessly to federal officials yesterday for regulatory steps to limit speculative buying that is helping to drive food prices higher. Meanwhile, some Americans are stocking up on staples such as rice, flour and oil in anticipation of high prices and shortages spreading from overseas. Their pleas did not find a sympathetic audience at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC), where regulators said high prices are mostly the result of soaring world demand for grains combined with high fuel prices and drought-induced shortages in many countries. While farmers here and abroad generally are benefiting from the high prices, even they have been burned by a tidal wave of investors and speculators pouring into the futures markets for corn, wheat, rice and other commodities and who are driving up prices in a way that makes it difficult for farmers to run their businesses. "Something is wrong," said National Farmers Union President Tom
Buis, adding that the CFTC's refusal to rein in speculators will force farmers and consumers to take their case to Congress. "It may warrant congressional intervention," he said. "The public is all too aware of the recent credit crisis on Wall Street. We don't want a lack of oversight and regulation to lead to a similar crisis in rural America." Food economists testifying at a daylong hearing of the commission said the doubling of rice and wheat prices in the past year is a result of strong income growth in China, India and other Asian countries, where people entering the middle class are buying more food and eating more meat. Farm animals consume a substantial share of the world's grain."
Who Is Responsible for the World Food
Shortage? " ... This is the last phase of an era of food-as-a-weapon politics, officially ushered in in 1974, when
then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (now Sir Henry KCMG) gave the keynote speech at the Rome World Food Conference, the predecessor to the 1996 Food Summit. In 1974, Kissinger publicly talked of food security, while privately he worked to use food control as a weapon against a target list of
nations ..." Good article by LaRouche. Also, there is the fact that speculation in commodity futures took
off as the rest of the market went into a tail spin. Futures=manipulation.
There are related articles by the same author: Control by the Food Cartel Companies: Profiles and Histories
| The Cartel `Experts' Decide Who Eats
| The
Windsors' Global Food Cartel: Instrument for Starvation | Kissinger's 1974 Plan for Food Control Genocide
| World Food Shortages Crisis Follows Decades of Imposed Import-Dependency
Spectre of Food Shortages Casting Shadow Across Globe
"The spectre of food shortages is casting a shadow across the globe, causing riots in Africa, consumer protests in Europe and panic in food-importing countries. In a world of increasing affluence, the hoarding of rice and wheat has begun. Argentina has delayed the reopening of its wheat export registry until April to protect domestic supplies, and China, a net exporter of corn, rice and wheat last year, has imposed export quotas on grain in order to stem runaway food price inflation. A surge in its inflation index in December was blamed entirely on rising food prices, notably pork, which rose 48 per cent.
Farmers worldwide are worried about feed costs."
Rich countries launch great land grab to safeguard food supply
[11/24/08 ]
"Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies. The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Jacques Diouf, has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neo-colonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people."
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