Posted on 04/12/2008 4:31:07 PM PDT by Lorianne
It is the constant sensation of hunger that makes Kamla Devi so angry. She argues with shopkeepers in New Delhi over prices and quarrels with her husband, a casual labourer, over his wages - about 50 rupees (60p) a day.
'When I go to the market and see how little I can get for my money, it makes me want to hit the shopkeepers and thrash the government,' she says. A few months ago, Kamla - who is 42 - decided she and her husband could no longer afford to eat twice a day. The couple, who have already sent their two teenage sons to live with more prosperous relatives, now exist on only one daily meal. At midday Kamla cooks a dozen roti (a round, flat Indian bread) with some vegetables fried with onions and spices. If there are some left, they will eat them at night. The only other sustenance that the couple have are occasional cups of sugared tea.
'My husband and I would argue every night. In the end he told me it wouldn't make his wages grow larger. Instead we went down to one meal a day to cut costs.'
It is a grim, unsettling story. Yet it is certainly not an exceptional one. Across the world, a food crisis is now unfolding with frightening speed. Hundreds of millions of men and women who, only a few months ago, were able to provide food for their families have found rocketing prices of wheat, rice and cooking oil have left them facing the imminent prospect of starvation. The spectre of catastrophe now looms over much of the planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Well thank goodness, now the media can quit yammering about how fat everyone in the world is.
Coming to a neighborhood store near you in the not so distant future.....
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Haven’t these people heard of McDonalds?
My wife just came back from India (2nd time) and had a wonderful time. No missed meals, plenty of parties, and I don’t mean company sponsored stuff. Real people.
B. S.~!
“The spectre of catastrophe now looms over much of the planet.”
As Al Gore laughs all the way to the bank.
'My husband and I would argue every night.
Sounds like a personal problem to me....
"Zoellick was also clear that action was now urgently needed. 'In the US and Europe over the last year we have been focusing on the prices of gasoline at the pumps. While many worry about filling their tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs. And it's getting more and more difficult every day,' added Zoellick, who made an impassioned plea to the world's rich nations to provide emergency help, including $500m in extra funding to the UN World Food Programme."
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
We have a winner!
On the surface, it seems like biofuels are taking food off the table, but what about the cost of oil making food transport more pricey?
I have been amazed at how rapidly food prices have been shooting up here in Japan. Everything is up a minimum of 10 to 60 percent in the last six months, and it looks like it is getting worse.
Manufacturers and packagers are trying to be sneaky about it too. A small bag of macaroni that would normally sell for 120 yen now costs 130 yen. A modest increase, but while the package size is the same, the contents have been reduced from 200 to 150 grams.
I am starting to stockpile some things now. I want to have at least 30kg of rice and a good assortment of canned goods stashed away. Call me paranoid if you want, but I have a very uneasy feeling about the way food prices are rising now.
I am so confused, do we want people to be fat or skinny? I thought starvation was a good thing. I thought eating too much was the biggest problem the world had, right behind Climate Change and of course Overpopulation. Could this actually be the cure for overpopulation. I just want to make the liberal whiners happy.
Same here in southern California: produce, meat, staples, condiments, they're all going up and up. I also observed that the same-size-looking container actually holds less. A pint jar of mayo is actually 15 oz.
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