The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Solving the food crisis: the causes and the solutions > Comments

Solving the food crisis: the causes and the solutions : Comments

By Eric Holt-Giménez and Loren Peabody, published 2/6/2008

Welcome to the new world food crisis. Except that it has been brewing for decades.

  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. All
“Starting in the 1960s, the Green Revolution marketed “technological packages” of hybrid seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides to developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. While yields increased, hunger was not successfully alleviated. This is in part because Green Revolution technologies were more easily adopted by large farmers who took over rich bottomlands, displacing the peasantry.”

Nowhere in the article is there any mention about the extra need brought about by ever-increasing numbers of people – especially in those areas of the most-needy.

Before the “green revolution”, in 1950, world population was passing the 2.5 billion mark; In 2007 it passed 6.5. The most-needy (less-developed) areas continue to expand at 1.8% - populations will double in 40 years, more-or-less two of their generation intervals.
Whatever good points the author makes, how can he be expected to be taken seriously when the most critical aspect of the problem is ignored in totality?
Posted by colinsett, Monday, 2 June 2008 10:25:20 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
What rubbish. The authors conveniently forget that before the 1950s there was massive food insecurity in the world, so turning the clock back will be of no benefit at all.. The Green Revolution solved some of the issues by allowing more food to be grown on the same land in many devolping countries. Populations have increased in most of those countries, making the situation even worse.

It seems the lessons of history only start only start in the 1980s for some people - everything was sweetness and light before that.
Posted by Agronomist, Monday, 2 June 2008 10:44:31 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
The dominance of agriculture by corporations is indeed a worrying development. However the climate change/peak oil hysteria is a much bigger threat. These threaten to divert ever increasing amounts of food into fuels regardless of the yields from one year to the next. The Rudd government has at least recognised this threat and suspended funding for ethanol based biofuel projects. Long may this continue.
Posted by alzo, Monday, 2 June 2008 10:49:12 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
From time to time some Australians do the following in support of various causes:

From midnight you stop eating. Next morning you will feel uncomfortable - but mainly due to the ritual of breakfast being missed. By dinner time your stomach feels like it is growling. You drink a cup of water which momentarily easies the feeling of emptyness.

Next day you feel uneasy all day and drink more water. You wonder how long you can keep this up.

Another uncomforatable day follows. But, surprisingly it is not as bad as yesterday. What is happening is that you stomach is beginning to forget about big meals and is shrinking.

The third day you are uneasy - but not in mental agony. However you cannot exert yourself - such as climb up stairs at the normal pace.

So hunger is only horrible when you have to keep active. This is the reason that the hard working but hungry dogs of Antarctic explorers end up eating their leather harness.

The millions of hungry people are living at a level not much above that of hybernation.
Posted by healthwatcher, Monday, 2 June 2008 5:01:34 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
In the Country Philippines today were suffering food crises almost people in the Philippines were getting die because of rapid increasing of rice price. Now the rice price are still increasing, plenty people living in hunger. The salary of government employee doesn't increase. But basic commodities were now increasing. People living in poverty are now doubled compared the past. As of now the solution still searching i don't know if these are only plan by the president to cover the previous case.

_________________________________
ai2
Don't be a victim. Stop credit card debt now. We can help. http://www.stop-credit-card-debt.com
Posted by John Caven, Monday, 2 June 2008 5:32:51 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Alzo,
It is too early to congratulate Rudd or Iemma

A 38.143 cents per litre ethanol excise rebate is still in place. This is a subsidy protecting a grain ethanol industry totally unsuited to our variable climate and harvests.

A grain ethanol industry needs secure grain supplies, year after year. The only way this can happen is for our most precious resource, water in our river valleys, will be commandeered to grow food to be converted to fuel.

So allowing for the less energy content in ethanol compared to petrol the taxpayers are to being given the privilege of paying about $A0.57 per litre of petrol ‘saved’, every litre, every year while this excise remains in place.

I am sure better public transport would not cost us $A0.57 for each litre of petrol saved and that’s not counting the provision of roads, wasted time in traffic jams and so on.

On top of this the NSW Government is about to mandate that 10 percent of ethanol ( made from 2 million tonnes of grain) be added to all unleaded petrol to ensure the taxpayer is fleeced of more of these $A0.57’s.
Posted by Goeff, Monday, 2 June 2008 7:02:17 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy