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rat snacks, anyone?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080813/od_afp/indiafoodpovertyinflationoffbeat_080813162159
I really don't know why this would be in the “offbeat news” section, because, unfortunately, the world's food situation is not at all a laughing matter.
The global food system has for some time now been stretched thin, and is quite vulnerable to any number of unforeseen disruptions, particularly disease and climate change. There is one looming disruption, however, that world leaders are well aware of—our food supplies are heavily dependent on petroleum products.
The most obvious dependency is in simple transportation—these days, Americans take it for granted that they have access to fresh produce from South America year-round, and I'm guessing that the same thing could be said of Europeans as well.
The second link to petroleum lies in the nature of mechanized farming itself. Huge tractors, seeders, combines, and other farm equipment are hugely expensive, and were designed for pure power, not fuel efficiency. As the price of fuel rises, farmers costs rise, the price of food rises, and those on the lower end of the economic later suffer the most.
Most troubling of all, modern hybrid seeds and genetically modified crops are heavily dependent on fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which, in turn, are largely derivatives of petroleum. [It should be noted that a large amount of fertilizer is made from natural gas, while some fertilizers are not based on fossil fuels.] Again, small farmers in third world countries will be the most heavily impacted.
If you are not a vegetarian now, I would certainly suggest that it's a lifestyle you might want to consider. Meat is an inefficient way of obtaining protein; by reducing our consumption of meat, we automatically increase the world's food supply.
And now .... having said all that .... I still can't help but smile at the thought of taking the family out to KFR .......
Worth reading:
http://www.amazon.com/End-Food-Paul-Roberts/dp/0618606238/
I really don't know why this would be in the “offbeat news” section, because, unfortunately, the world's food situation is not at all a laughing matter.
The global food system has for some time now been stretched thin, and is quite vulnerable to any number of unforeseen disruptions, particularly disease and climate change. There is one looming disruption, however, that world leaders are well aware of—our food supplies are heavily dependent on petroleum products.
The most obvious dependency is in simple transportation—these days, Americans take it for granted that they have access to fresh produce from South America year-round, and I'm guessing that the same thing could be said of Europeans as well.
The second link to petroleum lies in the nature of mechanized farming itself. Huge tractors, seeders, combines, and other farm equipment are hugely expensive, and were designed for pure power, not fuel efficiency. As the price of fuel rises, farmers costs rise, the price of food rises, and those on the lower end of the economic later suffer the most.
Most troubling of all, modern hybrid seeds and genetically modified crops are heavily dependent on fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which, in turn, are largely derivatives of petroleum. [It should be noted that a large amount of fertilizer is made from natural gas, while some fertilizers are not based on fossil fuels.] Again, small farmers in third world countries will be the most heavily impacted.
If you are not a vegetarian now, I would certainly suggest that it's a lifestyle you might want to consider. Meat is an inefficient way of obtaining protein; by reducing our consumption of meat, we automatically increase the world's food supply.
And now .... having said all that .... I still can't help but smile at the thought of taking the family out to KFR .......
Worth reading:
http://www.amazon.com/End-Food-Paul-Roberts/dp/0618606238/
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http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/07/07/fuel-costs-cut-deeply-into-food-aid.html