South African food crisis seen from space:

Adriana Stuijt's "journalism during apartheid "site | 09-22-02 | staff

[backhoe]

	Announcement from Managers of Adriana Stuijt's "journalism during apartheid "site

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South African food crisis seen from space: Sept 19, 2002 -- This image shows the difference between August 2002 and the average over the years 1995 to 1999. This data shows a further reduction in vegetation in Southern Africa -- compared to the short term average and the data for August.   The bottom image clearly shows the reduction in vegetation growth at this stage in the year compared to the average, with yellow and red colours apparent. Especially grain production has dropped dramatically throughout the region, including in South Africa itself.   This is mainly due to the vastly reduced surface area now used by commercial farmers in South Africa and also Zimbabwe and Namibia --  whose lands are being alienated by both their governments and handed to inexperienced subsistence families which do not produce many excess food crops.   The maize price in South Africa has thus already soared to more than R2000/ton from R400/ton two years ago. In spite of this growing food shortage inside their own country however, South Africa's government approved the shipment of 2-million tons of maize to Zimbabwe and other famine-struck neighbours.   Grain SA's manager Steve Shone, representing 8000 grain farmers,  has urged feeding schemes for the millions of poor South Africans who now can no longer afford to buy grain products because of these soaring food prices.   At least 22-million South Africans now go to bed hungry each night as they can only afford one meal a week, and 19-million SA children face malnutrition -related diseases.   Official data on Tuesday showed that overall South African food prices had risen an average 18,1 percent in the year to August.   An interim report from the Department of Agriculture showed grain prices had risen by up to 44 percent, meat by up to 25 percent and vegetables by up to 17 percent. Some regions such as the Eastern Cape, which suffer the most serious food shortages and the largest number of unemployed people, showed even higher staple-food price increases. Shone said the high food prices were also due to the Rand's depreciation against foreign currencies, now at R11/1 $. And this was worsened by the dramatic food shortages in the region -- with more than 17-million of Southern Africa's 120-million people now already at acute risk of famine.   And the presently worsening El-Nino weather pattern - which inevitably brings long-term droughts to the region --  together with the "fast-track"political (xenophobic-) campaigns by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia -- to alienate a total of 60,000 highly efficient, commercial crop producers from their farms only because of their skin colour -- and house many millions of subsistence families on carved up 1-hectare plots where they produce very little excess food,  is expected to worsen the growing food insecurity in this region over the next few years. http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/satelliteimages/511045

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[backhoe]

AfricaWatch:

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Rhetoric of blame is now a white lie (AFRICA, HEAL THYSELF)
The Daily Telegraph ^ | September 3, 2002 | Tim Butcher
"I remember Africa in the 1960s, everyone was filled with high expectations after independence. Forty years on, Africa is a series of kleptocracies, many worse off than they were under colonial rule. Almost all of the common people in relative worse shape to the rest of the world than they were before independence. Africans after 40 years have no one to blame but their own leadership for their problems. The leaders want to deflect blame to the West. The West's not buying it anymore..."

CIA -- The World Factbook -- Zimbabwe

First it was Rhodesia then SA now America paying the price of silence.

-A Capsule History of Southern Africa--

Parallels between Apartheid SA & USA today

South African Crime Report

ZWNEWS.com - linking the world to Zimbabwe
... Books & Videos. Degrees in Violence: Robert Mugabe and the Struggle for Power
In Zimbabwe This book tells the story of Zimbabwe from the hopeful era of ...

MPR Books - Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African ...

Title: "Cry, the Beloved Country" - Topics: World/South Africa

-South Africa - The sellout of a nation--

[11B3]

It's too bad that the ugly effects of racism have to be played out before the world in macroscopic fashion. In this case, the racism is black against white - as it usually is these days everywhere. The same hand outstretched demand for money from "whitey" to fix the ills of the black race, the same lack of acceptance that "whitey" had jack to do with it. The African continent is facing what Darwin preached to some degree - I doubt that very many sub-Saharan people will survive. They've returned the balance to pre-colonialist days, and the land will only support so many using the ancient ways of African agriculture.

Memo to Jesse, Al, and the rest of the race baiters: Look REAL CLOSE at what happens when whole nations follow what you preach. They should have been more careful what they wished for. Sometimes one gets that wish.

[backhoe]

Thanks for looking, and the comments. The silence of "the watchdog press" on this is deafening...

[txzman]

Amen to that. The press is afraid that reporting the facts will get them held up to charges of racism.

"How dare you write that after illegally taking over white's property in South Africa and eslewhere you dare to assume that the blacks don't know a thing about farming and aren't interested in raising crops for the common good!!"

[snopercod]

Liberate Zimbabwe!

[concerned about politics]

whose lands are being alienated by both their governments and handed to inexperienced subsistence families which do not produce many excess food crops.

That's what happens when you keep turning more and more over to the unproductive welfare crowd.
Imagine what that would do to America if the social vampires got to rule again. Elect another Democrat government with their "share the wealth" socialist mentality, and this is Americas future. Those who work to create it all would just say "Screw it. I'm not working my butt off to feed, clothe, medicate, educate, and house you anymore. Enough is enough", and America would become a starving nation, too.
The world needs to understand who works to feed it, and start showing a little respect to those who do.

[backhoe]

Appreciate the comments!

[backhoe]

Thanks for stopping by- word is slowly getting out.

[Yeti]

The two pictures are not pictures of the same thing. On the bottom, the grey/beige is used to represent "no change." On the upper map, the similar color is used to represent "no vegetation."

The visual effect is to see all the green disappear and turn beige, which seems to indicate that all the vegetation disappeared. Really most of it stayed the same, although some areas experienced increased vegetation and some experienced decreased vegetation.

Look at the color key in the lower left corner of each map. They are graphical representations of two different things.

[backhoe]

Look at the color key in the lower left corner of each map. They are graphical representations of two different things

I see what you mean- good point.

[AndyJackson]

I am not sure that I understand the interpretation of these maps. Much of the commercial agriculture is in the Free State and other areas which appear to be unchanged on this map. A lot of the changes are in coastal "wilderness" areas.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

These maps are misleading and irrelevant to the average dumb jerk.

[staytrue]

The way I read the maps is that much like most of the US and Australia, there really is a drought as most of the devegetation has occurred north of Zimbabwe. The US and Aussie droughts have pushe up the price of corn, wheat and soybeans up 60% the last few months.