THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 96, April 13, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
GLOBAL FOOD FIGHTS
By Alan Caruba
ENVIRONMENTALISM, CLIMATE CHANGE, & FAMINE: THE TREND TOWARD GLOBAL COOLING, RISING FOOD COSTS
DRIVEN BY THE ENVIRONMENTALIST AGENDA, & COMING FOOD SHORTAGES -- THE INCREASING NUMBER OF
FOOD-RELATED DISTURANNCES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD -- NATURE & HUMAN ACTIVITY AS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING
TO THE PROBLEM
FULL STORY:
It takes a decent respect for the obvious truth to admit that mankind has no control over the climate. What is occurring,
however, based on actual and anecdotal information, is a trend toward global cooling. Between rising food costs driven
by an environmentalist agenda and real -- not imagined -- climate change, the word famine is going to be heard more often.
We are seeing (1) weather related crop failures and (2) the artificial increase of the cost of food because crops like corn
have been diverted to make ethanol. In the rush to cash in on the higher price for corn, farmers who would otherwise plant
wheat and other grains are creating shortages.
Take away “biofuels,” and you take away the imbalances being seen and felt worldwide.
However, there is nothing that can be done about the changing weather patterns that are leaving havoc in their wake, i.e.,
lots of snow and ice, followed by lots of flooding. At the same time that Al Gore has announced a $300 million propaganda
campaign to secure global warming legislation, Mother Nature is getting colder.
California experienced a five-day freeze in January, 2007, that ruined $1.42 billion worth of produce. In April, 2007, a freeze
destroyed 95 percent of South Carolina’s peach crop and 90 percent of North Carolina’s apple harvest as colder weather is
increasing around the world.
In late March, 2008, the website www.longrangeweather.com posted an article by climatologist Cliff Harris asking,
“Are We Entering a Period of Sudden ‘Global Cooling’?” In his article, Harris noted:
“The total extent of snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere at the
end of February was at the highest level since the same period 42
years ago in 1966.”
“According to my climatological colleagues in Britain, Japan, and
the U.S., the Winter months of December, January, and February
were likewise the coldest as a whole since at least the late 1970s,
in some cases dating back to either the 1930s or even the 1880s.”
“In southeastern China, the Winter of 2007-2008 has been the
worst since 1210, nearly 800 years ago!”
Severe Winter conditions killed at least 40% of the 2007-2008 rapeseed crop (canola), a staple in China.
On March 24, the Associated Press reported from Asia that the rising cost of food staples was due in part because “freak
weather is a factor.” But it is not freak weather. It is part of a trend toward cooling.
Peter Brabeck-Letmache, the President of Nestle, the world’s largest food and beverage company, spoke out in March,
saying, “If, as predicted, we look to use biofuels to satisfy 20 percent of the growing demand for oil products, there will be
nothing left to eat.”
What makes this shift particularly obscene is the fact that there is ample crude oil to meet the world’s need for gasoline
and diesel fuel. The mandate to use alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel has the secondary effect of
exacerbating food shortages because the cost of fuel to plant, harvest, and transport crops has increased.
The weather, however, is a mitigating factor. As one farming publication noted recently, “Extreme weather shifts over the
past two years have reduced wheat harvest worldwide by nearly ten percent.” Depending on varying analysis, wheat
supplies are at their lowest since either 1973 or 1940.
It’s not just wheat or soy. On March 20, an article in the New York Times reported that, “Rising prices and a
growing fear of scarcity have prompted some of the world’s largest rice producers to announce drastic limits on the
amount of rice they export.” The price of rice has nearly doubled.
Aggravating the shortages and increasing the prices are the steps being taken by nations placing curbs on the export of
some of their food crops. As often as not, this leads to further food shortages because local farmers then change what
they plant.
The result is an increasing number of food-related disturbances worldwide in places like Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia,
Mexico, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Yemen, to name just a few. In the United States, bakers recently marched on
Washington, D.C., to call attention to wheat shortages and its rising price.
A combination of many factors, including government imposed environmental dictates, export curbs and crop losses
resulting from the cooling weather cycle, could generate further shortages of food. My crystal ball tells me we are going
to read and hear a lot more about food protests around the world.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Agriculture, the Economy, & Human Welfare:
Policy Issues Relating to Food Production
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Science, Ethics, & Human Health:
Human Health & Public Policy
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity