C
calderhome@yahoo.com
Guest
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/ne...of-billions-of-people-will-be-se/1151741.html
..
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
..
UN issues warning of critical food shortages 'The livelihoods of
billions of people will be severely challenged
..
Rosslyn Beeby
..
Almost 40 countries are facing critical food shortages as world food
prices soar to record levels, the United Nations warns.
..
The world's food supplies are rapidly dwindling due to crop failures
caused by global warming, natural disasters, wars, and a trend away
from farming food crops to growing biofuels and grain to feed cattle,
the agency says.
..
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's global food price index
reached its highest level this year, rising by more than 40 per cent,
compared with 9 per cent last year.
"There is a very serious risk that there will be less people able to
get access to food because of prices," FAO head Jacques Diouf said.
..
The cost of imported food for the world's poorest countries has risen
by 25 per cent this year to about $US107 billion the highest on
record. Countries facing critical food shortages include 20 African
countries as well as Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan.
Food riots caused by shortages and rising prices have also occurred in
Mexico, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Yemen and Senegal.
..
In its monthly analysis of global food prices, the FAO said there had
been an unprecedented "hike in world prices of, not just a selected
few, but of nearly all, major food and feed commodities".
Rarely had the world felt such "a widespread and commonly shared
concern about food price inflation," the FAO analysis said. In
Australia, food prices have increased by 12percent over the past two
years, chiefly because of drought and crop shortages linked to global
climate change.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows prices for bread and eggs
have increased by 17 per cent since 2005, vegetables by 33 per cent,
honey by 100 per cent, dairy products by 11percent and fruit by 43 per
cent.
..
A recent report by economist John Quiggin for the Australian
Conservation Foundation concluded "price shocks similar to those being
experienced by Australian consumers during the currently severe
drought may start to occur every two to four years, rather than once a
decade, unless strong action is taken to reduce global emissions".
Quiggin said some practices proposed as strategies to mitigate the
impact of climate change such as growing corn and sugar cane for
biofuels and the use of forestry plantations as carbon sinks would
inevitably contribute to "upward pressure on food prices".
The impact of biofuels on world food production will be reviewed at a
UN conference on food security next year.
..
It was essential biofuel policies were "coordinated at an
international level taking into consideration the objective of
fighting hunger," Diouf said.
Higher meat consumption in emerging market nations across Asia are
also driving food price increases.
In 1985, China's average consumption of meat was of 20kg, but per
capita meat consumption had now increased to 50kg, Diouf said. This
reduced the amount of grain available because 1kg of beef could take
as much as 8kg of grain to produce.
The British medical journal The Lancet recently published a study
suggesting a 10 per cent cut in global meat consumption by 2050 would
reduce greenhouse emissions from agriculture and also improve health
for rich and poor nations.
..
Agricultural experts have also warned global warming will result in
shorter growing seasons and smaller crop yields across most of the
developing world, affecting the lives of billions of people. A report
by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
estimates wheat production in India could drop by 50 per cent within
40 years, putting as many as 200 million people at risk of worsening
food shortages.
..
Growing seasons in many parts of Africa will decrease by 20 per cent,
with some of the world's poorest farming communities in east and
central Africa including Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Eritrea among
the worst affected.
..
"The livelihoods of billions of people in developing countries,
particularly those in the tropics, will be severely challenged as crop
yields decline due to shorter growing seasons," International Rice
Research Institute director Dr Robert Zeigler said.
The FAO said soaring petroleum prices had contributed to price
increases for agricultural crops by raising farm production costs and
boosting demand for biofuels.
"The combination of high petroleum prices and the desire to address
environmental issues is currently at the forefront of the rapid
expansion of the biofuel sector: this is likely to boost demand for
feedstocks, most notably, sugar, maize, rapeseed, soybean, palm oil
and other oil crops as well as wheat for many more years to come."
..
According to the FAO, the amount of corn used for biofuel production
in the US will double to 110 million tonnes by 2016. In Europe, the
amount of wheat devoted to biofuel will rise twelvefold to 18 million
tonnes by the same date.
Earlier this year, Jean Ziegler, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Food, denounced biofuels as "a crime against humanity" and
called for a five-year moratorium on their production.
--------------------------
SEE "The biofuel hoax is causing a world food crisis!"
http://home.att.net/~meditation/bio-fuel-hoax.html
Don't let this nightmare stupidity continue! Write your politicians
and tell them to stop this disaster before it gets worse!
Other shocking news stories on the biofuel hoax at:
http://home.att.net/~meditation/biofuel-news.html
..
Christopher Calder
..
..
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
..
UN issues warning of critical food shortages 'The livelihoods of
billions of people will be severely challenged
..
Rosslyn Beeby
..
Almost 40 countries are facing critical food shortages as world food
prices soar to record levels, the United Nations warns.
..
The world's food supplies are rapidly dwindling due to crop failures
caused by global warming, natural disasters, wars, and a trend away
from farming food crops to growing biofuels and grain to feed cattle,
the agency says.
..
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's global food price index
reached its highest level this year, rising by more than 40 per cent,
compared with 9 per cent last year.
"There is a very serious risk that there will be less people able to
get access to food because of prices," FAO head Jacques Diouf said.
..
The cost of imported food for the world's poorest countries has risen
by 25 per cent this year to about $US107 billion the highest on
record. Countries facing critical food shortages include 20 African
countries as well as Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan.
Food riots caused by shortages and rising prices have also occurred in
Mexico, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Yemen and Senegal.
..
In its monthly analysis of global food prices, the FAO said there had
been an unprecedented "hike in world prices of, not just a selected
few, but of nearly all, major food and feed commodities".
Rarely had the world felt such "a widespread and commonly shared
concern about food price inflation," the FAO analysis said. In
Australia, food prices have increased by 12percent over the past two
years, chiefly because of drought and crop shortages linked to global
climate change.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows prices for bread and eggs
have increased by 17 per cent since 2005, vegetables by 33 per cent,
honey by 100 per cent, dairy products by 11percent and fruit by 43 per
cent.
..
A recent report by economist John Quiggin for the Australian
Conservation Foundation concluded "price shocks similar to those being
experienced by Australian consumers during the currently severe
drought may start to occur every two to four years, rather than once a
decade, unless strong action is taken to reduce global emissions".
Quiggin said some practices proposed as strategies to mitigate the
impact of climate change such as growing corn and sugar cane for
biofuels and the use of forestry plantations as carbon sinks would
inevitably contribute to "upward pressure on food prices".
The impact of biofuels on world food production will be reviewed at a
UN conference on food security next year.
..
It was essential biofuel policies were "coordinated at an
international level taking into consideration the objective of
fighting hunger," Diouf said.
Higher meat consumption in emerging market nations across Asia are
also driving food price increases.
In 1985, China's average consumption of meat was of 20kg, but per
capita meat consumption had now increased to 50kg, Diouf said. This
reduced the amount of grain available because 1kg of beef could take
as much as 8kg of grain to produce.
The British medical journal The Lancet recently published a study
suggesting a 10 per cent cut in global meat consumption by 2050 would
reduce greenhouse emissions from agriculture and also improve health
for rich and poor nations.
..
Agricultural experts have also warned global warming will result in
shorter growing seasons and smaller crop yields across most of the
developing world, affecting the lives of billions of people. A report
by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
estimates wheat production in India could drop by 50 per cent within
40 years, putting as many as 200 million people at risk of worsening
food shortages.
..
Growing seasons in many parts of Africa will decrease by 20 per cent,
with some of the world's poorest farming communities in east and
central Africa including Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Eritrea among
the worst affected.
..
"The livelihoods of billions of people in developing countries,
particularly those in the tropics, will be severely challenged as crop
yields decline due to shorter growing seasons," International Rice
Research Institute director Dr Robert Zeigler said.
The FAO said soaring petroleum prices had contributed to price
increases for agricultural crops by raising farm production costs and
boosting demand for biofuels.
"The combination of high petroleum prices and the desire to address
environmental issues is currently at the forefront of the rapid
expansion of the biofuel sector: this is likely to boost demand for
feedstocks, most notably, sugar, maize, rapeseed, soybean, palm oil
and other oil crops as well as wheat for many more years to come."
..
According to the FAO, the amount of corn used for biofuel production
in the US will double to 110 million tonnes by 2016. In Europe, the
amount of wheat devoted to biofuel will rise twelvefold to 18 million
tonnes by the same date.
Earlier this year, Jean Ziegler, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Food, denounced biofuels as "a crime against humanity" and
called for a five-year moratorium on their production.
--------------------------
SEE "The biofuel hoax is causing a world food crisis!"
http://home.att.net/~meditation/bio-fuel-hoax.html
Don't let this nightmare stupidity continue! Write your politicians
and tell them to stop this disaster before it gets worse!
Other shocking news stories on the biofuel hoax at:
http://home.att.net/~meditation/biofuel-news.html
..
Christopher Calder
..
