Tensions rise as world faces food crisis

Tensions rise as world faces food crisis

www.alertnet.org

WASHINGTON/PARIS, March 31 (Reuters) - Food prices are soaring, a wealthier Asia is demanding better food and farmers can't keep up. In short, the world faces a food crisis and in some places it is already boiling over.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Is the world on the verge of a Malthusian collapse? Well I hope not. Food riots have already broke out in Africa, and protests around the world. Biofuel production, oil prices, crazy weather, birdflu, and crazy pests are sending food prices skyrocketing. If we dont get control of this, we could be sending a good chunk of the human race off an Olduvaian Cliff.

www.alertnet.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

It shouldn't really come as a major suprise. There have been plenty of doomsday models over the years projecting that the population of the planet would grow so large and their demand for resources so great that, sometime early in this century, the planet could no longer sustain them.

It looks like we may be approaching that point.

reply to post by vor78


There's more than enough food to sustain everyone, it's just a matter of caviar vs. steamed rice. Not to mention the amount of food that wealthier nations waste.

reply to post by MikeboydUS


As i just replyed in your other post, this is a massive problem which the western world needs to face immediatley. My own country recently just reclaimed alot of unused farmland from wildlife preserves in anticipation of a worsening crisis, all this waste of water and space on bio-fuels is a disgrace as they only worsen global warming.

reply to post by Rasobasi420


The UN would seem to disagree with you.

www.boston.com...

Its not something that will be felt so much in nations such as the US or Russia, with relatively low population densities and high agricultural output. But it may start hitting home soon, worse than it ever has, in poor third world counties and possibly even developing ones with enormous populations like India and China.

Long time coming, global warming is going to make this worse, with flash floods and droughts and what not. Not to mentionable greater and greater desertification, we are actually lowering our yield potential. We just pump fertilizers into soil that is completely sucked dry of nutrients. Its only a matter of time before this comes back to haunt us.

There is enough food to go around, some people have too much and others not enough.

Soya is easy to grow and high in protein but it needs watering, we can go to Saturn and look at its moons/rings but we let people die of starvation through lack of water mainly !!!!


Your right about the crazy pests

news.bbc.co.uk...

www.space.com...

There is absolutely enough food to feed the entire world, but not everyone has the means to procure this food, or the ability to grow it themselves.

The US alone wastes 96 Billion pounds of food each year. That's enough to feed at least a few people.

If you read the article, you'll notice that it raises the possibility that GM crops may be the solution. How deliciously ironic!

Haven't we been eating GM/hybrid food for years, look what we have done with the wild/natural plants and animals??

reply to post by fish69


I'm not sure where you're going with that, please elaborate. Also, in the article it states that some countries, such as Mexico, have banned GM crops.

It's not that there is a shortage of food, it's that there is a shortage of people willing to be independent and just depend on a few farmers to feed everyone.

I love how people goto fast food restaurants and suck down 6 or 7 cheeseburgers and think nothing of it just to do it again later on. However the same person is absolutely not inclined to learn the basics of growing a small garden.

Do you know why this was never a problem in the 1800's? because everyone grew their on food, hunted just what they needed and didn't waste anything. Then when the industrial revolution rolls around people decide hey, I can be a lazy piece of crap and get away with it.

I don't know how many of you enjoy munchin on veggies, but the next time you do just take notice of all the seeds inside. If you like instead of easting them remove them(it takes 2 min of your time) dry them out with paper towel. Get some sterile soil from a hardware, garden store, and plant them accordingly. Water your babies and watch them grow.

It's amazing how many tomatoes you can get from a single tomato, or how many peppers from a single pepper. Plants are like people they just wanna reproduce, and they do so as best they can. With a bit of help you can grow an abundance of your own food in about 40 - 100 days.

Try it out, you will be amazed!!!!

People are protesting that they don't have food? And they're rioting? haha
Ignore them, it's their problem that they don't have food.

If I'm hungry I'm not going to start a riot, I'm going to go bum a cigarette and a dollar off someone and head to Mc Donalds for a burger.

I don't know about other countries but, the united states also has these nifty places called food banks where you can get bags of food for free! :O

Africa? Who cares..

reply to post by 1Crisis


I'm just bumping beyond that unfortunate post so anyone who's reading out there knows that heartless views like this on ATS are in the tiny minority.

Originally posted by parry noid
It's not that there is a shortage of food, it's that there is a shortage of people willing to be independent and just depend on a few farmers to feed everyone.

I love how people goto fast food restaurants and suck down 6 or 7 cheeseburgers and think nothing of it just to do it again later on. However the same person is absolutely not inclined to learn the basics of growing a small garden.

Do you know why this was never a problem in the 1800's? because everyone grew their on food, hunted just what they needed and didn't waste anything. Then when the industrial revolution rolls around people decide hey, I can be a lazy piece of crap and get away with it.

I don't know how many of you enjoy munchin on veggies, but the next time you do just take notice of all the seeds inside. If you like instead of easting them remove them(it takes 2 min of your time) dry them out with paper towel. Get some sterile soil from a hardware, garden store, and plant them accordingly. Water your babies and watch them grow.

It's amazing how many tomatoes you can get from a single tomato, or how many peppers from a single pepper. Plants are like people they just wanna reproduce, and they do so as best they can. With a bit of help you can grow an abundance of your own food in about 40 - 100 days.

Try it out, you will be amazed!!!!

i agree...in this new age, you have to know how to grow ur own food...you have to know about your body, if not your gonna die quicker and there's no dream for you...live and not be lazy

The cereal crops you exist on to-day come from natural plants, grasses and oats , man found the fattest seed head and collected the seeds to grow even fatter seed heads, people do the same with animals, dogs , cats etc

reply to post by fish69


"In the US, by 2006 89% of the planted area of soybeans, 83 percent of cotton, and 61 percent maize was genetically modified varieties."

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by thought


Hows it heartless? I have a big heart and I love a lot of people. I do not love anyone in Africa. I don't know anyone there, I don't care about anyone there. Why do you? Are you donating money to them? Are you sending food? Do you have relatives there that are in need of help?

Or are you just concerned about people you don't know?

And please don't think my views are heartless. Last time I checked that was an insult, and last time I checked that is against the T&C.

reply to post by 1Crisis


I never said you were heartless, just that your views expressed here were. Nevertheless, I don't like the thought of anyone suffering, even people I don't know.