Soaring Price Of Food 'Leads To Riots'

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | James Kirkup

[ashtanga]

The birkenstockers, coffee-shop prognosticators, pony-tailed Sixties retreads and optional reality spokespeople never could understand the concept of unexpected consequences. Hence food riots on the heels of conversion of foodstuffs to politically correct fuels.

[vaudine]

I won't be flying on any planes running on ethanol.

Personally, I think ethanol, global baloney and such are an elitist plot to bring down the number of people in the world to a number acceptable to the "elites." Food shortages and riots, along with the revolutions in various countries could cause a lot of casualties.

A few years ago, Ted Turner made a callous remark about the deaths of a large number of people in a cult--then added that ideally, the world should only be populated by about 90,000,000 people. Global warming, UN pushed regulations and taxes, are a pretty good beginning for the proposed outcome.

[Mike Darancette]

Let them eat Carbon Credits

[txhurl]

I think I could learn to eat bugs.

Simply collect a batch of your favorite species, grind ‘em up in your blender, dump, add flour and mix until they can be made into a patty, and fried.

Is this what we’re reduced to? I’m starting to worry.

[fzx12345]

Hate having to sound like a nanny-stater on this, but hopefully this can spur the food companies to stop dumping High Fructose Corn Syrup in everything.

[ehit88]

I’d go with the cannibalism, since it’s technically recycling and is therefore “green”.

Now thats a modest proposal.

[Marie2]

A serious question -

Why would ethanol promotion reduce the amount of corn?

Say I’m Farmer Joe. I grow corn. I get $10/bushel. Then, ethanol gets popular. I get $12, $14, whoa, it’s up to $20/bushel.

So, I have more money. So, I buy more land. So I plant more corn.

Others also see me making money and start buying land and planting corn.

So why does ethanol production increase cause a destabilization of the world’s food supply?

Any serious insights welcomed.

[wendy1946]

The production of ethanol should be viewed as a criminal activity on a par with producing PCP or crack cocaine.

[patch789]

why should farmers sell corn
for less that they could otherwise get,
just to have people
that hate the US, feed the corn to animals?

better to burn the corn in the US.

[OldMissileer]

“So, I have more money. So, I buy more land. So I plant more corn... Others also see me making money and start buying land and planting corn.”

Farmers see, in their best interest, the price of a commodity rise and many turn to that crop. This means that wheat and other commodity productions falls.

Since farmers are not ignorant by any means, they refrain from purchasing land because history has proven that crop prices are cyclical and that they will eventually get stuck paying for high-priced land and have reduced incomes to pay their bills in the future. It is in their interest to want to keep their homes and farms so they just convert to planting the currently higher priced crop on the land they already own.

Also, the amount of corn required to create ethanol is huge and thus reduces the amount and type of corn grown as food for humans.

Another point: Government programs still pay farmers large sums of money to keep large tracts of arable land fallow. This to the point of giving them higher incomes than if they grew crops on that land.

[VanShuyten]

Earthworms are easier to grow and catch, and have more protein.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Yeah. It’s weird agreeing with the rapist.

[TexasRepublic]

Thank you, Algore.

Gore and his minions should eat used food.

[Pistolshot]

If you go to the pasta riots, you’ll probably have a better selection for dinner.