Guest guest Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 " Summation: Without grain, livestock cannot be fed. Without livestock there is no meat. " Hahaha! Yeah right! There's a thing -- it's called GRASS. :-P I do think food prices are going to keep going up. However, I think this is actually a good thing -- it's going to drive more and more people to small farms and to grow things in their own backyard. I am quadrupling the size of my vegetable garden this year and am buying 1/4 of a cow. I'm also buying chickens and eggs from a local farmer and I've been getting 90% of my vegetables from a local organic farm on their CSA program. I just planted an avocado tree yesterday and a grape vine, and I plan to get more citrus (I already have lemon) and banana (I live in So Cal). When we move to a bigger house in the next few years, I would love to keep bees and chickens, and share a cow with some neighbors. I am reading a great book called " Food Not Lawns " . She says the average lawn could produce several hundred pounds of food per year! She also writes: " Today 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year to maintain more than 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same sized plot of land could still have a small lawn for recreation and produce all the vegetables needed to feed a family of six. The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week — enough to water 81 million acres of acres of organic vegetables, all summer long. Lawns use 10 times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland. These pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides run off into our groundwater and evaporate into our air, causing widespread pollution and global warming, and greatly increasing our risk of cancer, heart disease, and birth defects. " Ann Marie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 Here in the mid-west, I know that spring is around the corner because Tru-Green/Chem Lawn is making their way around the neighborhoods. Too bad they have a HUGE (for our small town) facility in our " industrial " park. I think we had the greenest lawn this past summer because (a) we mowed infrequently; ( we don't use much of anything on it; and © we let whatever grow in it (dandelions, clover, rabbit-foot hops, and so on). It's a mighty pretty and diverse lawn though I'm still trying to figure out how to convert it to somethign more useful, in the face of having an incredibly " black thumb " (I missed out on the " green thumb " gene in our family). -jennifer On Mar 12, 2008, at 11:39 AM, inasnit@... wrote: > > I am reading a great book called " Food Not Lawns " . She says the > average lawn could produce several hundred pounds of food per year! > > She also writes: > > " Today 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year > to maintain more than 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of > over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same sized plot of land > could still have a small lawn for recreation and produce all the > vegetables needed to feed a family of six. > > The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of > water a week — enough to water 81 million acres of acres of organic > vegetables, all summer long. > > Lawns use 10 times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland. > These pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides run off into our > groundwater and evaporate into our air, causing widespread pollution > and global warming, and greatly increasing our risk of cancer, heart > disease, and birth defects. " > > Ann Marie > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 , a lot of common lawn weeds are edible -- dandelion and purslane, for instance. On Mar 12, 2008, at 11:51 AM, Steinbachs wrote: > Here in the mid-west, I know that spring is around the corner because > Tru-Green/Chem Lawn is making their way around the neighborhoods. Too > bad they have a HUGE (for our small town) facility in our " industrial " > park. I think we had the greenest lawn this past summer because (a) > we mowed infrequently; ( we don't use much of anything on it; and > © we let whatever grow in it (dandelions, clover, rabbit-foot hops, > and so on). It's a mighty pretty and diverse lawn though I'm still > trying to figure out how to convert it to somethign more useful, in > the face of having an incredibly " black thumb " (I missed out on the > " green thumb " gene in our family). > > -jennifer > > On Mar 12, 2008, at 11:39 AM, inasnit@... wrote: > >> >> I am reading a great book called " Food Not Lawns " . She says the >> average lawn could produce several hundred pounds of food per year! >> >> She also writes: >> >> " Today 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every >> year >> to maintain more than 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of >> over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same sized plot of land >> could still have a small lawn for recreation and produce all the >> vegetables needed to feed a family of six. >> >> The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of >> water a week — enough to water 81 million acres of acres of organic >> vegetables, all summer long. >> >> Lawns use 10 times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland. >> These pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides run off into our >> groundwater and evaporate into our air, causing widespread pollution >> and global warming, and greatly increasing our risk of cancer, heart >> disease, and birth defects. " >> >> Ann Marie >> >> >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Ha! Ha! Ha! It said the site was updated frequently by " Really_Bad_News " That cracked me up. I read another " prophet " who said the same thing - similar anyways, that the Cubans and Russians and Japanese would bomb the U.S. any time now and cause huge fires in the central US. My Native American friend's daughter has visions and has been awakened by terrifying visions of a " really huge fire " . I guess we'd better look out! Really, though, I read the book " Soil and Blood " recently and it went on and on about all the horrible genocides in the 1400s and 1500s. Compared to that, we're really getting better now. Why would He end it as we improve? There are still a lot of problems, but we seem to be on the brink of making some major shifts toward the better, I think. I read some things about the grain futures also. We've been plagued by low grain prices the last few years, then they shot up recently. I was tempted to buy a bunch of grain for my mill before the prices get even higher, but really, doesn't it seem at least as likely that they'll come back down again when we get our usual surplus? I've read many books that say the problem isn't FAMINE, it's Oversupply and how do the farmers sell enough to keep going in the face of the terrible surplus that is a result of so much fertilizer and improved strains of seeds. --- In , " jojo_meema " <jojo_meema@...> wrote: > > Not to frighten anyone, but if you see that this is even remotely > possible, you may wish to get yourself prepared ahead of time. > > I sure will. > > http://www.theamericannightmare.org/FOOD_SHORTAGE__AAK.html > > JoAnn > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Renate, > Really, though, I read the book " Soil and Blood " recently and it went > on and on about all the horrible genocides in the 1400s and 1500s. > Compared to that, we're really getting better now. Why would He end it > as we improve? There are still a lot of problems, but we seem to be on > the brink of making some major shifts toward the better, I think. Wait, I'm confused. The 20th century had to be the bloodiest century in history. Hitler killed 11 million people, 5 million Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals and others in addition to 6 million Jews. The Soviets killed between 20 million and 100 million of their own people, largely but not entirely due to religious persecution. In Croatia between WWII and the 1990s, possibly as high as 1-2 million Orthodox Christians were killed because of their religion and hundreds of their churches pounded into rubble. The cold war saw a number of bloody genocides, a number financed or otherwise supported by the US, such as the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government in Indoesia that led to the death of at least half a million, and then the subsequent genocide by that government of East Timor. The late 20th century saw the genocide of Christians and unbelievers in the Sudan. Rwanda and other humanitarian disasters and civil wars through Africa. There were two world wars. The atom bomb was invented, and used. Twice. When surrender was already offered. And so on. What exactly is getting better? Are you sure the 15th and 16th century was much worse than the 20th? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 --- Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...> > > What exactly is getting better? Are you sure the > 15th and 16th > century was much worse than the 20th? Here's your answer: After I heard It's a Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall played softly by an accordion quartet through the ceiling speakers at the Springdale Shopping Mall, I understood there's nothing we can't pluck the stinger from, nothing we can't turn into a soft drink flavor or a t-shirt. Even serenity can become something horrible if you make a commercial about it using smiling, white-haired people quoting Thoreau to sell retirement homes in the Everglades, where the swamp has been drained and bulldozed into a nineteen-hole golf course with electrified alligator barriers. You can't keep beating yourself up, I heard the therapist say on television to the teenage murderer, About all those people you killed You just have to be the best person you can be, one day at a time and everybody in the audience claps and weeps a little, because the level of deep feeling has been touched, and they want to believe that the power of Forgiveness is greater than the power of Consequence, or History. Dear Abby: My father is a businessman who travels. Each time he returns from one of his trips, his shoes and trousers are covered with blood- but he never forgets to bring me a nice present; Should I say something? Signed, America. I used to think I was not part of this, that I could mind my own business and get along, but that was just another song that had been taught to me since birth whose words I was humming under my breath, as I was walking through the Springdale Mall. -Tony Hoagland ________________________________________________________________________________\ ____ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile./;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 On 3/13/08, Seay <entheogens@...> wrote: > > What exactly is getting better? Are you sure the > > 15th and 16th > > century was much worse than the 20th? > > Here's your answer: That was awesome! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 14, 2008 Report Share Posted March 14, 2008 Depends on how many points you count, war, genocide, living conditions and the number of people who live at substenece and below, etc... Genocides have been going on for forever... And don't forget population.. we have billions more so percentage wise, we may not be killing off any more counting all the ways we kill people including famine and natural disasters. And if you think about it, the only reason the war machinery comes up with more efficient ways to kill more people is because of the population increase... Re: Re: PREDICTED FAMINE Renate, > Really, though, I read the book " Soil and Blood " recently and it went > on and on about all the horrible genocides in the 1400s and 1500s. > Compared to that, we're really getting better now. Why would He end it > as we improve? There are still a lot of problems, but we seem to be on > the brink of making some major shifts toward the better, I think. Wait, I'm confused. The 20th century had to be the bloodiest century in history. Hitler killed 11 million people, 5 million Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals and others in addition to 6 million Jews. The Soviets killed between 20 million and 100 million of their own people, largely but not entirely due to religious persecution. In Croatia between WWII and the 1990s, possibly as high as 1-2 million Orthodox Christians were killed because of their religion and hundreds of their churches pounded into rubble. The cold war saw a number of bloody genocides, a number financed or otherwise supported by the US, such as the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government in Indoesia that led to the death of at least half a million, and then the subsequent genocide by that government of East Timor. The late 20th century saw the genocide of Christians and unbelievers in the Sudan. Rwanda and other humanitarian disasters and civil wars through Africa. There were two world wars. The atom bomb was invented, and used. Twice. When surrender was already offered. And so on. What exactly is getting better? Are you sure the 15th and 16th century was much worse than the 20th? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 I've been mulling over what said, tho and another point struck me - before, people may not have had money but they owned their own land or had title to it or whatever, so they could grow their own food and their homes were assured. Take that away, as has happened in most Third World countries as the rich displace the powerless off the best agricultural land and you have homeless people with no means to get food or shelter. They may have gone from an average income of $.25 a week to $1 a day, but how much more do they need? That is to say, the overall quality of life of the powerless is taking a huge nosedive. The very people Price studied and seemed to admire were " poor " according to dollar amounts but rich in health and community. These days they are increasingly poor in every meaning of the word. Raw milk and whole grains are increasingly being replaced by our surplus milk, powdered, and Ramen noodles or white rice. When taxes are forced on people who have no means to make money by the programs of the World Bank and IMF, men must leave their families to search out jobs, leaving the women and children alone to fend for themselves. From what I read they often never come back, so marriage and community are destroyed. If they do return, they've picked up diseases like typhoid, dysentery, TB, and VD from the overcrowded slums in the cities where they live and spread them to the country people. The " Yes Men " had a skit in which they were extolling the benefits of the new system over slavery because you didn't have to buy the slaves, didn't have to transport them, feed them, or provide shelter; but still you had the nearly free workforce to do all the labor for you. When they die, there are many more teeming to take their places. In studying history with my kids I've seen quite plainly that in a society with strata of rich and poor, it's taking from the poor more than one's share that elevates some to wealth. The more you're willing to take from the poor, the wealthier you can be. --- In , " C. " <lecody2001@...> wrote: > > Depends on how many points you count, war, genocide, living conditions and the number of people who live at substenece and below, etc... Genocides have been going on for forever... And don't forget population.. we have billions more so percentage wise, we may not be killing off any more counting all the ways we kill people including famine and natural disasters. > > And if you think about it, the only reason the war machinery comes up with more efficient ways to kill more people is because of the population increase... > > > > Re: Re: PREDICTED FAMINE > > > Renate, > > > Really, though, I read the book " Soil and Blood " recently and it went > > on and on about all the horrible genocides in the 1400s and 1500s. > > Compared to that, we're really getting better now. Why would He end it > > as we improve? There are still a lot of problems, but we seem to be on > > the brink of making some major shifts toward the better, I think. > > Wait, I'm confused. The 20th century had to be the bloodiest century > in history. Hitler killed 11 million people, 5 million Slavs, > Gypsies, homosexuals and others in addition to 6 million Jews. The > Soviets killed between 20 million and 100 million of their own people, > largely but not entirely due to religious persecution. In Croatia > between WWII and the 1990s, possibly as high as 1-2 million Orthodox > Christians were killed because of their religion and hundreds of their > churches pounded into rubble. The cold war saw a number of bloody > genocides, a number financed or otherwise supported by the US, such as > the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government in > Indoesia that led to the death of at least half a million, and then > the subsequent genocide by that government of East Timor. The late > 20th century saw the genocide of Christians and unbelievers in the > Sudan. Rwanda and other humanitarian disasters and civil wars through > Africa. There were two world wars. The atom bomb was invented, and > used. Twice. When surrender was already offered. And so on. > > What exactly is getting better? Are you sure the 15th and 16th > century was much worse than the 20th? > > Chris > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 We don't own anything anymore. In Texas I don't know how many stories there are of elderly people who paid off their mortgages years and years ago but they lose their home because they can't afford the new property tax hikes. How is it right that you can lose ALL your property for not paying a tax??? That's the most fundamental right, the right to property. I have also read that the 3rd world countries where people are starving is because they leave the farm lands to make money in the cities (or they are often forced out) and though they make more per hour they no longer have their gardens, family cow/goat etc. I saw a charity where they were giving people a family cow and teaching them to care for her. And providing a bull to the village. I don't remember what it was called though. Dawn From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of haecklers Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 8:42 AM Subject: Re: PREDICTED FAMINE I've been mulling over what said, tho and another point struck me - before, people may not have had money but they owned their own land or had title to it or whatever, so they could grow their own food and their homes were assured. Take that away, as has happened in most Third World countries as the rich displace the powerless off the best agricultural land and you have homeless people with no means to get food or shelter. They may have gone from an average income of $.25 a week to $1 a day, but how much more do they need? That is to say, the overall quality of life of the powerless is taking a huge nosedive. The very people Price studied and seemed to admire were " poor " according to dollar amounts but rich in health and community. These days they are increasingly poor in every meaning of the word. Raw milk and whole grains are increasingly being replaced by our surplus milk, powdered, and Ramen noodles or white rice. When taxes are forced on people who have no means to make money by the programs of the World Bank and IMF, men must leave their families to search out jobs, leaving the women and children alone to fend for themselves. From what I read they often never come back, so marriage and community are destroyed. If they do return, they've picked up diseases like typhoid, dysentery, TB, and VD from the overcrowded slums in the cities where they live and spread them to the country people. The " Yes Men " had a skit in which they were extolling the benefits of the new system over slavery because you didn't have to buy the slaves, didn't have to transport them, feed them, or provide shelter; but still you had the nearly free workforce to do all the labor for you. When they die, there are many more teeming to take their places. In studying history with my kids I've seen quite plainly that in a society with strata of rich and poor, it's taking from the poor more than one's share that elevates some to wealth. The more you're willing to take from the poor, the wealthier you can be. --- In <mailto: %40> , " C. " <lecody2001@...> wrote: > > Depends on how many points you count, war, genocide, living conditions and the number of people who live at substenece and below, etc... Genocides have been going on for forever... And don't forget population.. we have billions more so percentage wise, we may not be killing off any more counting all the ways we kill people including famine and natural disasters. > > And if you think about it, the only reason the war machinery comes up with more efficient ways to kill more people is because of the population increase... > > > > Re: Re: PREDICTED FAMINE > > > Renate, > > > Really, though, I read the book " Soil and Blood " recently and it went > > on and on about all the horrible genocides in the 1400s and 1500s. > > Compared to that, we're really getting better now. Why would He end it > > as we improve? There are still a lot of problems, but we seem to be on > > the brink of making some major shifts toward the better, I think. > > Wait, I'm confused. The 20th century had to be the bloodiest century > in history. Hitler killed 11 million people, 5 million Slavs, > Gypsies, homosexuals and others in addition to 6 million Jews. The > Soviets killed between 20 million and 100 million of their own people, > largely but not entirely due to religious persecution. In Croatia > between WWII and the 1990s, possibly as high as 1-2 million Orthodox > Christians were killed because of their religion and hundreds of their > churches pounded into rubble. The cold war saw a number of bloody > genocides, a number financed or otherwise supported by the US, such as > the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government in > Indoesia that led to the death of at least half a million, and then > the subsequent genocide by that government of East Timor. The late > 20th century saw the genocide of Christians and unbelievers in the > Sudan. Rwanda and other humanitarian disasters and civil wars through > Africa. There were two world wars. The atom bomb was invented, and > used. Twice. When surrender was already offered. And so on. > > What exactly is getting better? Are you sure the 15th and 16th > century was much worse than the 20th? > > Chris > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 >>We don't own anything anymore. In Texas I don't know how many stories there are of elderly people who paid off their mortgages years and years ago but they lose their home because they can't afford the new property tax hikes.<< My parents' home has an association fee. It clearly states on the quarterly bills that they can put a lien on your home if you don't pay the association fees, they can put a lien on the house. The annual fees for the association add up to $2,000 or $2,500. I don't know how many times you have to miss your payment before they can legally put a lien on your house, but it's ridiculous! They can put a lien on a $7-800,000 house for a debt of a couple grand???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Well this discussion is very interesting indeed, but I wanted to go back to the original post. I'm absolutely clueless about this kinds of things and I'm too pragmatic to believe any prophecies etc, and after briefly looking over the website I've absolutely discarded it. But yesterday we went out to eat and on the menu they had a small notice something like " Due to huge rise in wheat prices the bread will be served only when requested " . So of course (ignorant me) I went and googled all the wheat prices and they are, indeed are rising... Is that a sign? I'm not an easily scared kind, but the problem with bees had been bothering me for a long time, and now the wheat, what's next? I'm not worried about my family - we would never go hungry - we don't eat much bread, have a huge garden and good connections with local farmers, in the extreme situation we would just get a whole bunch of chickens and a goat and live on chicken meat, eggs, veggies and goat milk if we have to..., but what about all others? Those who do need bread, those who don't have the means/space/land etc. Are they just all would have to survive on corn from now on? It's really depressing... My question is - is there anything we can/should do about it??? Thanks, Elena > > Not to frighten anyone, but if you see that this is even remotely > possible, you may wish to get yourself prepared ahead of time. > > I sure will. > > http://www.theamericannightmare.org/FOOD_SHORTAGE__AAK.html > > JoAnn > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Elena, My family is about as self-sufficient as yours sounds. Whenever my thinking steers toward the welfare of the masses, I affirm gratitude that one day others will become as self providing as we have, even if it means turning kitchens into kitchen-greenhouses & yards into pastures of sorts, the day will come that others too will find a way to become more autonomous & less consumer driven attitude. I believe positive examples like ours will make a mark & someday have an impact on the masses. I do admit however that this whole process is in its infancy. Best Always, Jim Elena <elena.forums@...> wrote: Well this discussion is very interesting indeed, but I wanted to go back to the original post. I'm absolutely clueless about this kinds of things and I'm too pragmatic to believe any prophecies etc, and after briefly looking over the website I've absolutely discarded it. But yesterday we went out to eat and on the menu they had a small notice something like " Due to huge rise in wheat prices the bread will be served only when requested " . So of course (ignorant me) I went and googled all the wheat prices and they are, indeed are rising... Is that a sign? I'm not an easily scared kind, but the problem with bees had been bothering me for a long time, and now the wheat, what's next? I'm not worried about my family - we would never go hungry - we don't eat much bread, have a huge garden and good connections with local farmers, in the extreme situation we would just get a whole bunch of chickens and a goat and live on chicken meat, eggs, veggies and goat milk if we have to..., but what about all others? Those who do need bread, those who don't have the means/space/land etc. Are they just all would have to survive on corn from now on? It's really depressing... My question is - is there anything we can/should do about it??? Thanks, Elena > > Not to frighten anyone, but if you see that this is even remotely > possible, you may wish to get yourself prepared ahead of time. > > I sure will. > > http://www.theamericannightmare.org/FOOD_SHORTAGE__AAK.html > > JoAnn > Well done is better than well said..., Jim Igo --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Someone else found this yesterday - from Al Jazeera news about the grain problem in Egypt. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/958CC5D2-638C-428E-AF84- 91041B355EF0.htm One thing about having chickens, goats, etc. is can they get their own food all year or will they need grain? Farmers are already grumbling about the costs of feed grains going up. It's really hard to grow your own grain enough to supply a flock of chickens through the winter; let alone a goat. Corn is expected to go up as well, due to the use of it as biofuel; they're already predicing hunger in places like Mexico from the rising corn prices making it so the poorer Mexicans can't afford it. I imagine most of us in the US wouldn't be more than inconvenienced - the third world people are the ones who will starve. You'd think we could get together and ask people to stop consuming junk food using the grains that are in shortage - like white bread, corn chips, beer, etc. to lower demand and keep the prices low so the poor people could afford them, but I guess it doesn't work like that. --- In , " Elena " <elena.forums@...> wrote: > > Well this discussion is very interesting indeed, but I wanted to go back to the original post. > I'm absolutely clueless about this kinds of things and I'm too pragmatic to believe any > prophecies etc, and after briefly looking over the website I've absolutely discarded it. But > yesterday we went out to eat and on the menu they had a small notice something like " Due > to huge rise in wheat prices the bread will be served only when requested " . So of course > (ignorant me) I went and googled all the wheat prices and they are, indeed are rising... Is > that a sign? I'm not an easily scared kind, but the problem with bees had been bothering > me for a long time, and now the wheat, what's next? I'm not worried about my family - we > would never go hungry - we don't eat much bread, have a huge garden and good > connections with local farmers, in the extreme situation we would just get a whole bunch > of chickens and a goat and live on chicken meat, eggs, veggies and goat milk if we have > to..., but what about all others? Those who do need bread, those who don't have the > means/space/land etc. Are they just all would have to survive on corn from now on? It's > really depressing... > > My question is - is there anything we can/should do about it??? > > Thanks, > Elena > > --- In , " jojo_meema " <jojo_meema@> wrote: > > > > Not to frighten anyone, but if you see that this is even remotely > > possible, you may wish to get yourself prepared ahead of time. > > > > I sure will. > > > > http://www.theamericannightmare.org/FOOD_SHORTAGE__AAK.html > > > > JoAnn > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Here's one to counter the alarmism of the " grain shortage " tho - from TWNSide - Third World Network - they have very interesting perspectives on issues! http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr118c.htm - their story is that grain shortages are never an issue of supply but rather of moving the food to those who need it and them being able to afford it. With Monsanto leveraging to try to get it's GM wheat accepted (did you hear they " gifted " to Iraq and Afghanistan GM wheat - after the countries signed non-revokable agreements to honor US patents), this could be just a PR move on their part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 This is playing into the hands of Monsanto and GM/Ag-business so nicely that I wonder how much of the hype is marketing PR to push countries toward accepting their new GM wheat. Read up on it, they hired some big time consulting firm that helped them decide the best way to high profits is to control the world's food supply. Since then they've been involved in even more questionably ethical practices than before in their push to get their patents honored by other countries and their GM DNA into the food supply - corn, rice, wheat, etc. I tried googling the food shortage thing and still saw articles about Canadian farmers forced to plow under their wheat, etc. because more than the quota was grown. I think there is still more of a shortage due to political/economic problems than an actual shortage. Of course if the price of wheat goes up by $20 a bushel, we will easily be able to afford our bread, eggs and meat, but the people who live on less than $1 a day are going to be hurting, which is about 1/3 of the world population, according to recent estimates. Americans and Europeans could easily make up some of the difference by refusing to buy empty calorie foods like beer, crackers, white bread and other bakery items, etc. And it would actually improve our health. Wait and see, tho, people won't curb consumption to save the starving poor, they'll deny it has anything to do with them and their gluttinous habits. Boy, I think I'm in a bad mood today! > > Not to frighten anyone, but if you see that this is even remotely > possible, you may wish to get yourself prepared ahead of time. > > I sure will. > > http://www.theamericannightmare.org/FOOD_SHORTAGE__AAK.html > > Sam > > P.S. I just heard that Arkansas lost its winter wheat in the floods > they have experienced this last week, and at least 5 other farming > states experienced those same floods. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.