... combine to mean bad news for the global poor, according to an article in the magazine Egypt Today. It could be better written, but the author does a good job weaving together various strains of news into a coherent fabric. Unfortunately, the outlook is predictably grim: food availability in poor countries--already pretty terrible--is set to get worse.
30 September 2007
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I wonder what the major crops are in Egypt and how the global market impacts their markets. Working on the farm bill, this issue of ethanol is huge. Frankly, corn is not the best grain for producing ethanol - I believe Brazil uses other agricultural waste or crops to do so and we should learn from their model. The corn lobby is in the pockets of many leaders in this country and that's too bad. We could just as easily use switchgrass or other ag waste to produce biodiesel. It's sad that the global south will suffer while the industrialized nations continue to produce. Omnivore's Dilemma is a must read. I'm also in the process of reading - Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. The solutions are so complex, but we can all do our part to eat locally, consume less, live more simply and listen to the voices of those who are struggling to make a living - farmers of small and modest means around the world. Stepping off my soapbox. ;) Hope things are lovely.
For more, here's a NYTimes article from a couple days ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/world/29food.html?em&ex=1191384000&en=039d43ee69d1a3ac&ei=5087%0A
the problem i had with this article is that it was ignorant of the fact that birthrates in literally a 100 countries are already below 2.1 children per woman (replacement level) and falling in most countries of the world. yes population is still growing but at a much slower rate than in the past that continues to slow. this should mitigate the extra demand for food/meat at least somewhat causing prices to not be as bad as this article might indicate.
MILLI AND NATE!! hi! i was just about to reply to your fb post that I will be in the northern part of bangkok (bangkapi) but then i thought, what they heck are they doing in EGYPT?!?! so I saw your site listed there and now will continue to check it out. Gld you guys aren't dying of heat and glad you have each other! enjoy the adventure!!! ~ lexie
but wouldn't the growing demand for beef all across the world exacerbate the situation despite slowed population growth? if there's a higher demand for beef, than there's less space to grow grain, grain will cost more, and beef will cost more. with food prices already rising, it seems like the number of people who have too little to eat must grow.
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