Posted on 05/04/2008 5:45:50 AM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
Even as the world spins into a global food crisis, a popular theory — voiced by the likes of US President George W Bush and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice — is that the Chinese and Indians are responsible. The 'logic': due to zooming incomes, they are eating more, causing worldwide shortages. But is that true?
Due to their huge populations, countries like India and China may appear to consume gigantic amounts of food. But the real elephant in the room that nobody is willing to talk about is how much each person gets to eat. And the answer will shock many.
Total foodgrain consumption — wheat, rice, and all coarse grains like rye, barley etc — by each person in the US is over five times that of an Indian, according to figures released by the US Department of Agriculture for 2007.
Each Indian gets to eat about 178 kg of grain in a year, while a US citizen consumes 1,046 kg.
In per capita terms, US grain consumption is twice that of the European Union and thrice that of China. Grain consumption includes flour and by conversion to alcohol.
In fact, per capita grain consumption has increased in the US — so actually the Americans are eating more. In 2003, US per capita grain consumption was 946 kg per year which increased to 1046 kg last year.
By way of comparison, India’s per capita grain consumption has remained static over the same period. It’s not just grains. Milk consumption, in fluid form, is 78 kg per year for each person in the US, compared to 36 kg in India and 11 kg in China.
Vegetable oils consumption per person is 41 kg per year in US, while Indians are making do with just 11 kg per year. These are figures for liquid milk, not for cheese, butter, yogurt and milk powders which are consumed in huge proportion in the more advanced countries.
A significant proportion of India’s population is vegetarian, and so, this is all the food that they get, apart from vegetables and pulses. But the source of carbohydrates and fats is mainly derived from food grains and oils.
As far as meat consumption is concerned, the US leads the world in per capita consumption by a wide margin. Beef consumption, for example, is 42.6 kg per person per year, compared to a mere 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 kg in China. In case you are thinking that perhaps Indians might be going in for chicken, think again. In the US, 45.4 kg poultry meat is consumed every year by each person, compared to just 1.9 kg in India.
Pork consumption is negligible in India, while it is a major item elsewhere. In the European Union, 42.6 kg pork is consumed per person every year, while in the US, 29.7 kgs are consumed. Pork is a staple for Chinese, and so over 35 kg are consumed per person per year. And, we are not talking about various other types of meat, like turkey.
All these comparisons are for powerful economies, whether of the west or the east.
But the story would not be complete without mentioning the plight of Africa, where foodgrain consumption in 2007 was a mere 162 kg per year for each person, or about 445 grams per day. Don’t forget they are not getting any meat or milk products out there.
Perhaps, it is time to include the lifestyle choices of the West in the whole feverish debate on how to tackle the global food crisis.
These figures are collated by the US Department of Agriculture. US per capita grain consumption rose from 946 kg in 2003 to 1046 kg last year. India’s per capita consumption remained static in this period.
Hah!
Maybe they will force my diet!!
And the Times of India (the target of my derision in my comment) is trying to inflame academe and the power brokers in India against America.
Typical Leftist crap that will eventually harm the Indian people.
They would have more food if they wouldn’t worship it. I don’t feel too sorry for them at all.
Both bourbon and burgers are on my food pyramid. I would be remiss to the hard-working statisticians who made the chart not to consume some quantities of both. Thus, I am an employer of people who gather numbers and tell us what they mean
Plus when I go shopping, I grab a case of beer first. On top of that is stacked the bourbon, burgers, potato chips, chocolate fudge (for the females) and cigars. It’s all carried to the SUV without the use of either plastic or paper bags. Thus, I am an environmentalist, too.
My contribution to society is hereby publicly noted. If Chicoms and Indians want to consume rice and pork, that’s their business. Save me a drumstick, please.
I do my part as an American. The world is complete, balanced and spinning around. All is well.
Yes. That’s what newspapers do. Screaming headlines get them more coverage.
Leftist capitalism, perhaps?
Nobody is asking you to, either.
India is not begging anyone for food; they grow enough for their own, and for export.
Why don’t they just admit the are a Third World country?
“The math that is the foundation of this story is just plain wrong.”
Oh, it’s worse than that.
I added it all up:
Wheat, Milk, Oils, Beef, Chicken, Pork in the proportions they claim are per-capita consumption in the US - then compared it against a calorie-counter.
Your mileage may vary, but this works out to 12,402 calories per day per person.
Now, I know I could stand to lose a few pounds but this is ridiculous!
When the article mentions “consumes” I doubt the consumption is as food alone.
They’ve probably just divided annual output of each food, by the population to get a crude per-capita figure.
Saw a high school class out on a field trip waddling down the sidewalk toward the Univ yesterday. They’ll need pickup trucks for graduation gifts so they can transport their bulks around to visit each other.
I guess their caste system still isn’t working, this is just a bunch of BS.
Americans actually consume LESS grain than Indians.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err50/err50.pdf
From the report: 6.3 oz of TOTAL grain (refined + unrefined) per day is consumed by the average American.
2299.5 oz / year
2299.5 oz = 65.2 kg
Does that mean we’re five times bigger?
bump for later B.S. read
I agree...I thought when I saw the 1,000 kg per year number, that seemed high.
Two words: Loose money. The US is exporting its inflation through flooding the world with money. Commodities priced in dollars are therefore considerably more expensive. Simple answer to a simple question.
The problem isn’t the lack of food, it is the lack of freedom and capitalism.
We're not eating all that food. We're putting it into our gas tanks.
Why Indians all look like skeletons. There is not enough food to go around at any price. American just bitch about the price. Wait until we deliver all our food to India and China.
Mark
hmmm.... It's almost lunch time... I wonder what I'm going to have... Maybe I'll go to the Indian buffet and have 5 helpings of something!
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