Starving Nations Reject U.S. Food Donation

Fox News ^ | June 12, 2003 | Fox News

[Constantine XIII]

Talking to environmentalist:

"You wanna help reduce the earth's population, huh? Well, you wait right here while I go get something out of the truck..." :oP

[TexasRepublic]

Amen! However, I wish you would stop pulling punches and tell us what you REALLY think! ;-)

[Billthedrill]

many reject them solely based on pressure from the EU. They are threatened if they accept GM food.

That is correct. The EU has two issues at hand here - first, protection of its market, i.e. the (principally) French farming cartels' market from U.S. competition. These are heavily unionized and very politically influential and they export to Africa in direct competition with cheaper (and more robust) U.S. GM drops. And second, protection from competition from African farmers. The issue there is that they fear the latter will use GM grain as seed crops (it isn't uniformly sterile), grow it on their own, and end up competing with the EU crops.

The "threat" to which you allude is a real one - a total embargo on the importation of African crops because of suspected "contamination" by GM grain. The African farmers have a hard enough time as it is competing with subsidized competition (both the U.S. and the EU subsidize farm products) without being threatened with this.

What is pernicious about all this is that the one hope African people have of becoming self-supporting is free-market farming, the very thing this EU policy is killing. This is not a benign policy. It keeps the Africans dependent and it forces them to choose between starving today or starving tomorrow. It ends up, ironically, forcing their governments to accept grain from the U.S. for free, which is well-intentioned and necessary to solve the short-term starvation problem, but only makes the long-term problem of self-support worse.

It should be remembered that the very same people in the EU who criticize the U.S. for being selfish and unilateral are the ones doing this to the Africans for reasons that are nothing more than selfish and by policies that are nothing less than unilateral.

[Old Professer]

It's the Darwinian Way.

[TheBigB]

I should stop being so darn subtle! 8-D

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Why, certainly. Are there requirements? :)

Easily irritated with government officials and bureaucrats in general. Impatience with stupid, illogical questions or wild ass speculative answers. The ability to see through BS no matter where it originates, and the ability to laugh in the face of anyone who asks or replies with the illogical.

A concealed carry permit and some martial arts trying is a plus.

[Guillermo]

the very same people in the EU who criticize the U.S. for being selfish and unilateral are the ones doing this to the Africans for reasons that are nothing more than selfish and by policies that are nothing less than unilateral.

Environmentalism/Sustainable Development is the Highest Cause, it trumps all others.

[McGavin999]

They need to take a picture of a frail, skinny frenchman and a hale and hearty American and over the frenchman say Eats Regular Grain and over the American Eats Genetically Altered Grain. Let the people decide if it's healthy or not.

[walford]

"...What is pernicious about all this is that the one hope African people have of becoming self-supporting is free-market farming, the very thing this EU policy is killing. This is not a benign policy. It keeps the Africans dependent and it forces them to choose between starving today or starving tomorrow..."


That is a penetrating insight, Bill. Mind if I build on that for an upcoming column for AIM [provided I can get it approved]?

[Republican Wildcat]

I love hearing liberals call the U.S. selfish and ungiving all the time--then read stories like this. This is far from the first story we've seen along these lines.