Global food supply

[riddler 0]

The billboard stories on both CNN and MSNBC both have to do with food. One is about the rising price of food affecting consumers' willingness to pay for organics, and the other is about a series of events that have led the world food supply to fall short(er). The latter story is a bit more interesting to me, and can be summarized a bit - more droughts, countries halting exports to feed their own people, Wall Street investors pulling out of mortgages and investing into agriculture, foreign markets buying up all the available US grain, rising oil prices contributing, etc.

When I was a young lad, there was a gas crisis in the U.S. Several years ago, it was an energy crisis. Will a food crisis be next in the U.S.? People can live without gas and electricity, but not without food. Normally, Americans don't pay much attention to all the people in the world that are starving, but what happens when it comes home, like it did in the 30s? The difference between a recession and a depression is when people start starving.

Edit - fixing my clickys.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[kelpdiver 2]

if the food shortage proves more than just a bad crop year, we'll see some pullback from the ethanol fuel trend. In the US, much of that drive was politics to use the excess corn anyway.

In the 70s there was concern that the world couldn't support all the people, even with a desire to do so. That problem doesn't exist yet. It is still our choice to produce more grains, unlike the fish supply.

[Amazon 7]

Do you remember the movies called the Omen.. or Damien...

Remember what they went after to control... HUGE agribusiness.

Controling the worlds energy is one thing but those who control the worlds food do indeed have a stranglehold on most of the world....

Just "food" for thought

[jumpinfarmer 0]

I don't think it's anything for you to worry about now. There really isn't any food shortage just more media hype. All this talk about rice being rationed at Sam's Club is a bunch of bull. Yes they are limiting the amount you can buy but it isn't even U.S. rice, it's imported rice there is plenty of U.S. rice for everyone. It is true that a lot of money is flowing into comodities including grains but if it was only flowing into oil futures then there wouldn't be any grain grown since it would be too costly to grow. In the last year the cost to raise a crop has almost doubled. While some of this is because the suppliers realise farmers have more money to spend it is also being driven by globle demand for raw materials, fuel fertilizer seed steel land it has all gone up in value for a host of differant reasons.

[billvon 2,396]

>we'll see some pullback from the ethanol fuel trend.

If we do that, oil prices will rise considerably; ethanol already makes up about 3% of our fuel supply, and losing even that percentage in a tight market will have a significant impact on cost. Rising energy prices will then drive food prices up even further.

The best outcome would be to get a cellulosic ethanol (or other non food crop biofuel) on line as rapidly as possible. This will slow the rise of energy costs and help keep a lid on rising food prices.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

It is a bit difficult to get a good overall picture.
The drought in Australia, fuel prices, ethanol demand, increased demand from China and India. This year I expect to see the price of hay and other feeds to impact cattle herd sizes as farmers plant more wheat and rape. One thing that is very concerning is that farmers are increasing pressure on the land as they choose to grow rape and other oil seeds on land three of four years where in the past they only could one or two years in four. I am guessing this creates a nutrient deficit in the land that will have to be paid back.
Look to see more international fishing disputes soon as well.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

farmers plant more wheat and rape

you have interesting agricultural processes where you are from

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Gene03 0]

Quote

>we'll see some pullback from the ethanol fuel trend.

If we do that, oil prices will rise considerably; ethanol already makes up about 3% of our fuel supply, and losing even that percentage in a tight market will have a significant impact on cost. Rising energy prices will then drive food prices up even further.

The best outcome would be to get a cellulosic ethanol (or other non food crop biofuel) on line as rapidly as possible. This will slow the rise of energy costs and help keep a lid on rising food prices.

If the farmers where allowed to grow hemp again, a lot of those problems would be solved. Food, fiber, fuel and replenishes soil fertility. Nah, we can't have any of that.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[billvon 2,396]

> Will a food crisis be next in the U.S.?

Nope. We grow about six times the amount of food we need to eat; most of it goes to feeding livestock. All we'd have to do is reduce the amount of meat we eat and we'd have enormous reserves of food available. (If it came to that, of course.)