Food shortages

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Des · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 255 Location: Isle of Bute

The IMF warns that the world is facing massive food shortages in the near future.There have been food riots recently in a number of countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and Egypt & because of the "credit crunch" (strange term that because we have just sold a house,secured a personal loan & had the limit on two credit cards raised into the 5 figure bracket even though we very seldom use them) that is allegedly happening around the world..

Then there is China whose demands for raw materials is pushing the prices up globally & is only getting worse as they are now in the market for the companies that supply these raw materials.
Napoleon once said that "China is a sleeping giant & when it awakes the whole world will tremble",start trembling folks

For the last few years since moving here I have started getting things like generators,wood burning stove, a small wind turbine (awaiting planning permission to put it up),solar panels on the roof etc & even the wife thought I was a bit loopy,not anymore..
Im not a survivalist freak but I believe that we can not rely on our government to protect us from whats coming in terms of instability in the food markets,fuel etc.

Over 98 million tons of food is binned every year in the UK alone, not because it is un-edible but because of how it looks,out of date , labeled wrong at the production point etc.
Living on an island we are a;ready affected by rising food prices so 3yrs ago we started growing our own veg & this year we are adding chickens (for the eggs only)..
We are not survivalists but have a large stock of food stuffs,tins,flour etc to last at least 3yrs,think on people,we waste so much so grow your own...
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Zaf · Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 278

I grow much of our own vegetables and if necessary could extend the veggie area considerably - at the farm we pump up our own water from a borehole (but need electricity to do so), I'm looking into a windmill too and possibly solar panels.

Being veggie I dont rely on meat products but OH wouldnt want to cope without meat so I'd probably go back to growing our own rabbits and chickens if necessary - not sure about larger animals nowdays though with the price of feed going up so drastically.

The amount of food wasted in this country (and others) is scandalous and its high time something was done to curb the problem. Is the EU still paying for crops to go into intervention then destroying them too?

Des · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 255 Location: Isle of Bute

Nice one Zaf, good to know that im not alone not that I thought I was in this way of thinking..
Not sure about the intervention thingy but the local farmers around here where being paid to leave certain fields fallow but this year they are being paid to grow barley which will go to animal feed & still being getting a payment for leaving it fallow even though it wont be,confusing....

Because of all the flooding last year & the shortages that those troubles brought, it is going to be a bumper year for arable farmers, a case of making hay while the sun shines so to speak

..
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Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.

Zaf · Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 278

I am very concerned about the amount of land being used to grow crops for 'biofuel' - this seems ludicrous to me as its not only more harmful to use biofuel according to recent research but is actually taking land out of food production.

It is high time the farming policy is sorted out in the EU imo, as it seems on the whole to subsidise the inefficient farmers and encourage inappropriate crops to be grown in some areas. It would be much better to help those farmers that have genuine problems than simply pour money into the purse's of those that already make a very good living out of the land.

Des · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 255 Location: Isle of Bute

Yeah it is a scary prospect Zaf & I totally agree with you on this..As from today ,well read this mate

April 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. fuels for cars and trucks must contain biofuels starting today, a move that may do more harm than good to the environment and drive food prices higher, charities including Oxfam and Greenpeace said.

Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, suppliers must ensure that 2.5 percent of fuel sold at U.K. pumps consists of biofuels, which are made from crops and grasses. The requirement will rise to 5 percent by 2010. The Department for Transport says the plan will cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 2.5 million metric tons a year.

Scientists in the U.K. and U.S. have found that the cultivation of biofuels can increase the output of CO2 and other gases blamed for global warming because of changes in land use. U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week wrote to leaders of the Group of Eight nations to say the government is concerned that biofuels are pushing up food costs around the world.

``The sorts of problems that biofuels are causing are irreversible,'' Robert Bailey, policy adviser to the development charity Oxfam, said in a telephone interview. ``If rainforest gets chopped down, it's gone forever. If somebody loses access to food, they become malnourished, their physical and mental development is impaired and they may die.''

Tailpipe emissions from burning biofuels are about the same as those from fossil fuels, the transport department said. The carbon savings are made because the crops for biofuels are replanted, taking the same amount of CO2 out of the atmosphere as burning them puts in. Depleted oil fields don't absorb CO2, as do plants such as corn and wheat used for biofuel stock.

Food Prices

The policy ``helps send a message to industry that it is worth their while to significantly invest in improving existing biofuels and accelerate the development of new ones,'' Jeremy Woods, a scientist with Royal Society biofuels working group, said in a statement. The society is the U.K.'s national science academy.

Food prices have increased 83 percent in three years, according to the World Bank. The rising costs of both food and fuel have caused tensions and riots in developing nations including Haiti, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Indonesia and Ivory Coast.

According to Oxford-based Oxfam, the U.K. policy will cost taxpayers 500 million pounds ($1 billion) a year, and may lead to 60 million people being forced from their land to make way for biofuel plantations. About 30 percent of recent food price inflation can be attributed to biofuel production, the group said, citing the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Sustainable Plantations

Both Oxfam and the environmental campaign group Greenpeace called the policy ``reckless,'' because fuel providers are not yet obliged to source biofuels from sustainable plantations.

``Right now, rainforests are being destroyed to make way for biofuel crops in places like Indonesia,'' Belinda Fletcher, forests campaigner at Greenpeace, said in an e-mailed statement. ``This destruction leads to massive greenhouse-gas emissions and completely undermines the point of these so-called green fuels.''

Deforestation accounts for about a fifth of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions, according to Greenpeace. Destruction of peatland forests in Indonesia, driven by the expansion of plantations of the biofuel palm oil, now contributes about 4 percent of global emissions, the group said.

Converting new land to cultivate fuel crops can cause emissions of carbon dioxide 420 times greater than the annual savings, U.S. scientists said in the journal Nature in February. A U.K. parliamentary committee said Jan. 21 that the European Union and U.K. should scrap targets to expand the use of biofuels because of the potential harm to the environment.

New Agency

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly on Nov. 5 said the government was setting up the Renewable Fuels Agency to ensure that biofuels used in the U.K. come from sustainable sources. Under Department for Transport rules, companies will have to report on the source of their biofuels, starting today. There will be no mandatory requirements to meet sustainability standards until 2011.

``If we're going to have mandatory standards, we need to be sure they can work, and this reporting system will give us the evidence we need,'' a ministry official said yesterday in a telephone interview. ``We will be naming and shaming those that don't perform well in this area.''

The government should drop the obligation until they can guarantee the crops used are sustainable, Oxfam's Bailey said.

``People aren't going to look at these reports to try and work out who the most sustainable supplier of biofuels is,'' Bailey said.

Consumer Survey

Almost 90 percent of consumers don't even know that biofuels will be added to their petrol and diesel, said the environmental charity Friends of the Earth, citing a YouGov survey it commissioned. The group said that European governments should scrap biofuels targets and instead focus on improving public transport and vehicle fuel efficiency.

``People want to see real green transport solutions that will make a difference to their lives, like better public transport and smarter cars that burn less fuel,'' Kenneth Richter, biofuels campaigner for the group, said yesterday in a statement. ``Most people will be horrified to know the government is putting biofuels in our petrol when the damage they do to forests could make climate change worse.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Did we get a say in this?, i dont think sooooo

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Zaf · Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 278

Its really frightening Des, Westminster has again been guilty of bringing in legislation without thinking it through or taking proper advice, as have other governments. All parties in this country are guilty of pandering to the 'green' lobbies by simply making knee jerk reactions in the hope they will woo a few voters without seriously considering the consequences of their actions.

Sadly the world will suffer because of their self-serving stupidity - this may sound horribly selfish but I really am so glad I'm not in my first flush of youth as I fear the problems facing the younger members of this world will be almost overwhelming in a couple of decades :(

Meanwhile I will continue recycling fanatically, using my car less and less (atm an average of about 10 miles per week) and conserving energy as and when possible. It is high time those in their ivory towers made provision for me to cycle to the shops in safety (to be honest after 3 very frightening close calls with vehicles on the minor roads around here I dont any more :( )

Do we ever get a say in anything?? :(

Guest · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:42 pm Post subject:

Des · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 255 Location: Isle of Bute

Thing is we suffer from apathy in this country when it comes to forcing a change in laws being passed (apart from the odd big demonstration that brings out the loons & the wanabees so they can tell their grandchildren that they where there) & that is why successive governments do what they please..

We gave them a mandate (not this time though

) to run the country but not to rule with total disregard,they have a responsibility to us & that is not being met.

Iraq/Afghanistan,GM Crops,10p tax done away with,biofuels, the list is endless & last but not least a referendum on Europe which most of the population with half a brain cell want..
Bye,Bye Labour

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Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.

Zaf · Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 278

I get the feeling that whenever any government is voted in for a second term they think they can do whatever they like

As for no referendum regarding the EU that is simply going back on their election promise imo - as far as I'm concerned we shouldnt be in the effing thing anyway. Mini rant over

Des · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 255 Location: Isle of Bute

Too right Zaf but somehow I think even with independence up here Salmond & Co will still steamroll us into Europe..

We are not part of Europe though,we are an island race & thrive on being so & having a unique identity apart from the trolls of fortress Europe..

As much as I disagree with a lot of things about America I would still rather stay aligned to them than the fickle Europeans, we have both benefited from this friendship albeit the USA to a larger extent but they are the best friend e have in this increasingly unsettled world..
_________________
Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.

Des · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 255 Location: Isle of Bute

Too right Zaf but somehow I think even with independence up here Salmond & Co will still steamroll us into Europe..

We are not part of Europe though,we are an island race & thrive on being so & having a unique identity apart from the trolls of fortress Europe..

As much as I disagree with a lot of things about America I would still rather stay aligned to them than the fickle Europeans, we have both benefited from this friendship albeit the USA to a larger extent but they are the best friend we have in this increasingly unsettled world..
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Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.

Zaf · Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 278

Much as I dislike the way Blair fawned to Bush I have to agree that friendship with the US in preference to being in the EU is the lesser of two evils....