Forget Oil New Crisis Is Food

Originally posted by NWRHINO
Scarcity claims must always be viewed with a certain degree of skepticism.

Scarcity creates dependence, which perpetuates control paradigms.

The most prolific western grains wheat and corn are not healthy choices for a human diet. Wheat uses more human energy to process than it returns as food source. 90% of all corn supplies are contaminated with a fungus. The corn fungus causes the body to produce antibodies to neutralize the fungus.

Eating grains like corn and wheat weaken the immune system of healthy people

The best thing to happen to the worlds food supply would be the extinction of wheat and corn

The absence of wheat and corn will create the opportunity for a return to ancient grains like amaranth, quinoa and millet

When scarcity claims concern the food supply I am cynical , because I don't remember the world ever running out of food before, certain people can't get enough food but that is a political agenda which involves distribution or development, not because the Earth has run out of some type of food or someway to grow or replenish any food

Where do you get this nonsense? Do you not realize that it is exactly because of wheat that society exists at all? Check out Ancient Sumeria. Wheat was a huge crop for them. Not only for bread, but for beer as well. This was all plugged into their religious ideas as well.

When you send plane loads of seed to starving people they either eat the seed or their leaders take it all to control them it is that simple. Many good people have tried to help to no avail.

reply to post by Blaine91555

Hi Bland,
I'm a peace corps veteran with some American Aid experience also (Africa). What you say is true about American Aid being not only waisted but unintentionally benifiting the wrong parties such as war lords. Total waist of resourses IMO. But it has to be done to satisfy the philanthropic goals of the American citizenry.

And I agree also that it is the responsibility of those countries with a rising middle class to provide the resources for their citizens. It's not our responsibility nor can we do anything to help other than what can be done by the free market.

I have heard over the last year or so that corn products, particularly tortillas have become too expensive in Mexico due to the U.S. converting corn crops from food to ethanol. Then I hear today that Mexicans are protesting that U.S. is now going to sell more corn to Mexico, thus bringing down the cost of corn products. Sheesh. Somebody clue me in.

Mexicans are protesting that U.S. is now going to sell more corn to Mexico, thus bringing down the cost of corn products. Sheesh. Somebody clue me in.

reply to post by kyred

Hi dyred,
Since NAFTA the US has exported a lot of corn to Mexico however most of the corn has been yellow corn for animal consumption. Mexicans are eating more meat these days due to their rising middle class and their corn production is small and inefficient (small family plots) so they rely on our yellow corn imports.

Mexican tortillas are made from white corn which is also grown on small inefficient family plots typically 25 acres, low mechanization, low production. Mexico in increasingly needing to rely on US white corn imports so naturally costs will increase. There are Mexican government subsidies of their domestic white corn production so corn prices may not directly reflect market forces.

I'm sure that any tortilla price increases would be accompanied by the usual complaints by consumers along with finger pointing by local news media and the fingers would no doubt point NORTH toward the big bad US!

For some interesting reading on Mexico’s Corn Industries and U.S.-Mexico Corn Trade read this short article about Mexican corn economics!

You guys are missing the big picture, it is not about USA or Europe, it is about the whole world!

Food is getting more expensive, the population is increasing by 80 million per year. Our food distribution is very ineffective. Even today millions starve and die.

Thing is that if we continue like this soon, in places like China and India a huge crisis will emerge. That can expand to USA, Europe and the rest of the world. Rich countries will not be as affected, but from a global view the world will be in crisis.

The problem is that if our global reserves will decrease to 1 months or so, one year of bad weather can lead to a global starvation.

Heck, the way things are moving, no matter what happens, this world will change, either we die en masses or we discover a new technology and save our race from genocide.

Originally posted by Quazga

Originally posted by NWRHINO
Scarcity claims must always be viewed with a certain degree of skepticism.

Scarcity creates dependence, which perpetuates control paradigms.


The best thing to happen to the worlds food supply would be the extinction of wheat and corn

The absence of wheat and corn will create the opportunity for a return to ancient grains like amaranth, quinoa and millet

Where do you get this nonsense? Do you not realize that it is exactly because of wheat that society exists at all? Check out Ancient Sumeria. Wheat was a huge crop for them. Not only for bread, but for beer as well. This was all plugged into their religious ideas as well.

Yes , exactly ! The Sumerians created a civilization that runs on grains.

Although the modern version of wheat is not the healthiest choice for an edible grain. It has been the most cultivated. It was the very religious ideas (solar deities, dualism and social hierarchy) that induces the grain dependence which has created the modern food crisis

reply to post by Pericle

You guys are missing the big picture, it is not about USA or Europe, it is about the whole world!

Thank goodness!!!! You got the big picture. I was wondering when someone would come. We are in a WORLD of hurt. Not a country of hurt.

Originally posted by Pericle
You guys are missing the big picture, it is not about USA or Europe, it is about the whole world!

Food is getting more expensive, the population is increasing by 80 million per year. Our food distribution is very ineffective. Even today millions starve and die.

Thing is that if we continue like this soon, in places like China and India a huge crisis will emerge. That can expand to USA, Europe and the rest of the world. Rich countries will not be as affected, but from a global view the world will be in crisis.

The problem is that if our global reserves will decrease to 1 months or so, one year of bad weather can lead to a global starvation.

Heck, the way things are moving, no matter what happens, this world will change, either we die en masses or we discover a new technology and save our race from genocide.

Tch Tch the US is the centre of the universe. The vast areas of Russia where wheat is grown is a myth! The vast areas of paddy fields in india and china is a myth!

Back to the real world: the problem will be water. As the mythical global warming (according to the US) starts to affect glacial run-offs, altered climates with changing flora and fauna, the balance of the worlds water changes. It's already happening even in the US, ironically enough. The use of grain for fuel is a short term distraction. It is unfeasable to use bio-fuels as an oil alternative the required volumes for mass market changes don't add up.....well unless billions of people starve to death so a few hundred million can drive around treeless landscapes!

So short term (next decade): food shortages due to climate change and crop yields lowered. Long term (2020+): water shortages.

China has been mentioned as one of the countries affected by the coming food shortages. Probably no one really knows shat is really happening there because China is not an open society. They do hold billions of dollars in surplus from trade. If they do get into food shortages these funds could be used to purchase a lot of grain! China usually finds a way as that is their nature!

The countries I'd be worried about are those with little reserves and low production capability.

reply to post by palehorse23


Yeah cloned foods, that's perfect. While the masses are starving we have an opportunity to experiment on them with frankenfoods. Great idea, kills two problems with one stone.

reply to post by palehorse23

The European Union bans the importation of U.S. meat amid concerns over the use of hormones and U.S. food companies face obstacles in European markets that are unlikely to respond favorably to consuming cloned products.

Hi Pale,
Cloned food, I fail to see how it can potentially be so bad for humans. Protein is protein, it is made up of amino acids, cloning doesn't adversely affect the protein. The USDA concurs. A lot of people in the would are dieing of protein malnutrition.

If you want to get upset about something, I'd worry about animals that have been treated with hormones. People have been consuming these animals for as long as I can remember. Hormones can affect people, esp. adolescents. eg. Male femenization, premature puberty in females.

reply to post by plumranch


Oh believe me, I am very upset about the hormones in food. What do you think plays a major role in the diseases we see? I do not the fact of cloning for food as again, you will not know what goes into the food. And, do any of us really know what goes into the process of cloning? All of the chemicals that are involved in that process I'm sure are not good for you.

I'm looking to buy a place with acreage so I can do organic farming,sounds like a fun thing to do plus could turn out to be profitable as well,maybe I'll get my own livestock as well,my oldest son is a butcher,thats my plan,doubt I will get any subsidys from government

What happens when a corn blight hits the GMO corn that America is pumping out? Instead of regional heirloom seed varieties, you have millions of acres of the exact same seed stocks. Irish Potato famine anyone?

I wonder what happens to a body hyper inflated on high fructose corn syrup, that then starves to death. Would it happen so fast that the shin would be loose on the bones?

Scary.

In regard to cloned plants, they already do that by taking branches or stems and grafting to mature rootstocks or hormonally encouraging that stem to make roots. It is a very popular technique with fruit and nut trees. In fact, because Avocados take 4-6 years to mature enough to fruit, and each generation changes, about 80% of the avocados that reach the plates of American homes come from one 'mother' with clones taken from clones over the years.

While dozens of cultivars are grown in California, Hass (commonly misspelled "Haas") is most common, accounting for more than 80% of the crop. Hass avocado fruits have a dark, rippled skin and rich, creamy flesh. All Hass avocado trees are related to a single "mother tree" that was bought as a seedling by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass.[citation needed] He bought the seedling from A.R. Rideout of Whittier, California, in 1926. Hass planted the seedling in his front yard in La Habra Heights, California, and patented the tree in 1935. All Hass avocados can be traced back to grafts made from that tree. The "mother tree" died of root rot in 2002.

from Wikipedia article for Avocado

So I wonder if that 'cloning' article has more to do with shifting public opinion about 'cloning in a test-tube' and less about cloned organisms reaching our plates. We should be way more upset about GMO foods on our plates if you ask me. We have no idea what the dna they insert will actually do. Or if somehow it could alter the bacterial flora in our own intestines. Guinea Pig barely begins to describe the ordeal we may be in for.

DocMoreau

reply to post by palehorse23

Hi pale,
Cloning is a well understood process, no hormones are involved. With cloning you simply end up with a new individual with the same genetics as the tissue of the individual of the donar. These days it is difficult and expensive and IMHO more just a novelty procedure. Here is an explanation of the cloning procedure.

In the case of a cloned sheep it would be just as wholesome to eat as any other lamb if raised properly!

reply to post by plumranch


Hey there plum,

I got your point. What I am referring to though is the fact that there are many reagents involved when it comes to growing and culturing cells. I have to do this at my laboratory every day. Many different medias, buffers, etc. go into the process. That is the stuff that they neglect to tell you as to laboratory people, it is a minor detail. We use these medias and reagents all day everyday. You should see some of the ingredients in these things. Heavy metals, multiple chemical compositions and that sort of thing.

reply to post by palehorse23

What I am referring to though is the fact that there are many reagents involved when it comes to growing and culturing cells. I have to do this at my laboratory every day

Hi Pale, Yeh, I worked in a tissue culture lab once too so I know a little about that. I don't mean to say that there are no chemicals involved in cloning as they need to keep the cells alive and stimulate them at some point but..
They take that tiny cell away from the culture and inject it into a the seregate mother's uterus where it implants and grows. Any chemicals in that original cell would be negligable by the time it replicates and finally formes the newborn.