B
B1ackwater
Guest
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,2145,12215_cid_3276983,00.html
IMF head says food crises may worsen
The head of the International Monetary Fund has said that the worst of
instability and rioting caused by fast-rising food prices and
shortages may yet come. Dominique Strauss-Kahn told French radio
station Europe 1 that wars might break out because of the food crises
in many countries, saying that history was full of conflicts that
began because of similar events. The IMF chief also made a plea for a
stop to the production of biofuels using food commodities. High
staple-food prices recently sparked violence in several countries,
including Egypt and Haiti.
- - - - -
This IS just the beginning folks. Be it 'GW' or ordinary
climate change, world agriculture is beginning to feel
the pinch of erratic weather. On top of that, we've seen
a huge push to convert food and food-producing land into
'bio-fuel' profits. Add in the perpetually-escalating
price of fuel needed to harvest, process and transport
food and we have the rude start of a global food crisis
already upon us.
While large food-producing areas - the USA, Canada, parts
of central europe and central/south America - should still
be able to produce enough for their own people, albeit at
markedly higher prices, they will not have enough over-
production to export to nations which are less suited to
growing food. In truth, that's a LOT of nations. When food
runs critically low, you TAKE it or die. Riots, territorial
incursions and resource wars will be the pattern of the
near future if events continue to proceed in the current
direction.
And is there anything anyone can do to significantly ALTER
this path ? Aside from a few, temporary, band-aid measures
I fear the answer is "No". The weather isn't going to settle
down, vast new land and water resources aren't gonna be pulled
out of anyones ass and fuel prices will continue to rise in
the face of rapidly-escalating demand.
Take heart though, things WILL settle down in 50 or 75 years,
once the worlds population drops to around 1.5 billion and
mass-sterilization laws are enacted to KEEP it that way ...
So that's it.
Cue REMs "It's the end of the world (as we know it)" .....
IMF head says food crises may worsen
The head of the International Monetary Fund has said that the worst of
instability and rioting caused by fast-rising food prices and
shortages may yet come. Dominique Strauss-Kahn told French radio
station Europe 1 that wars might break out because of the food crises
in many countries, saying that history was full of conflicts that
began because of similar events. The IMF chief also made a plea for a
stop to the production of biofuels using food commodities. High
staple-food prices recently sparked violence in several countries,
including Egypt and Haiti.
- - - - -
This IS just the beginning folks. Be it 'GW' or ordinary
climate change, world agriculture is beginning to feel
the pinch of erratic weather. On top of that, we've seen
a huge push to convert food and food-producing land into
'bio-fuel' profits. Add in the perpetually-escalating
price of fuel needed to harvest, process and transport
food and we have the rude start of a global food crisis
already upon us.
While large food-producing areas - the USA, Canada, parts
of central europe and central/south America - should still
be able to produce enough for their own people, albeit at
markedly higher prices, they will not have enough over-
production to export to nations which are less suited to
growing food. In truth, that's a LOT of nations. When food
runs critically low, you TAKE it or die. Riots, territorial
incursions and resource wars will be the pattern of the
near future if events continue to proceed in the current
direction.
And is there anything anyone can do to significantly ALTER
this path ? Aside from a few, temporary, band-aid measures
I fear the answer is "No". The weather isn't going to settle
down, vast new land and water resources aren't gonna be pulled
out of anyones ass and fuel prices will continue to rise in
the face of rapidly-escalating demand.
Take heart though, things WILL settle down in 50 or 75 years,
once the worlds population drops to around 1.5 billion and
mass-sterilization laws are enacted to KEEP it that way ...
So that's it.
Cue REMs "It's the end of the world (as we know it)" .....
