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The Forum > Article Comments > Agriculture is in the news > Comments

Agriculture is in the news : Comments

By Derek Byerlee, published 8/2/2008

Social tensions, record food and grain prices, and a rush to develop biofuels: agriculture is in the news.

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*The western media has been very slow to pick up on the biggest story around--- that western nations
are using taxpayers money to starve the poor (a bit extreme but I think factual).*

I don’t think its factual at all Geoff, as you are so busy reading one page, you
conveniently forget the rest of the book! Look at the big picture, not the
small picture.

Fact is that huge subsidies previously paid by the US, EU etc, have kept food
prices below the cost of production, so in many places people stopped growing
it. On top of that, they paid for set asides etc, to grow less crops. Dumping
their products in the third world also put many third world farmers out of
business.

The EU, US etc are now free to use those subsidies to help the starving, if that
is their choice. But if you want food production, you won’t get it unless its
price covers the cost of producing the stuff. That’s basic economics 101.

There are lots of options for the third world. Permaculture etc, would make
far more sense then Western agriculture, in many of these areas.

But you are pissing in the wind if you don’t address the population question
at the same time, no different to a puppy chasing its tail.

Ethanol, biodiesel etc, are only stage one of the biofuel story. Biofuel is not
just about cost, but also energy supply. Relying on a bunch of Arabs to
keep the wheels of the world’s economy ticking, was not the smartest move
by the West. At the moment, 1.5 Trillion $ is being transferred from energy
consumers to energy producers. Given that another 15 years and they will
simply buy the West, no need to fight at all.
Posted by Yabby, Monday, 11 February 2008 11:05:33 AM
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