Global Food Crisis May Hit Us ‘Very Soon,’ IFPRI’s Fan Says

[Javaman]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-14/food-crisis-may-hit-us-very-soon-ifpri-s-fan-says.html

A global food crisis may “hit us very soon” as a drought ravages corn crops in the U.S., the world’s largest grower, the International Food Policy Research Institute said.

Governments must act to prevent the crisis, Shenggen Fan, director-general of the institute, said today. The U.S. should end its biofuel program that uses 40 percent of its corn output, to boost supplies to meat producers, Fan said. The Washington- based institute, supported by governments and international organizations, is part of the Agricultural Market Information System formed by the United Nations to monitor food costs.

“The major problem is policy,” Fan said today in an interview with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up”. “Biofuel production has to be stopped. That actually pushed global food prices higher and many poor people, particularly women and children, have suffered.”

The price of corn, used in everything from food to livestock feed to sweeteners, surged to a record $8.49 a bushel on Aug. 10 and is up 57 percent since June 15. That helped drive up global food inflation tracked by the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization 6.2 percent in July from a month earlier, the biggest monthly jump since November 2009.

more at link...

[kestrel91316]

1. We don't have a population problem. We don't have a government corruption and food

distribution problem. We don't have an environmental or global climate change problem. We have always been at war with EastAsia.

[FedUpWithIt All]

2. I've already seen pretty drastic price hikes on things that have HFCS.

And this is just the beginning, i fear.

[Javaman]

3. corn is in everything...

from the gasoline to the food, to the clothing.

everything will go up.

we bow before the all mighty cargill, agra-corp and monsanto.

[Junkdrawer]

4. Buckle up kids, things could get rough....

If this drought were just a one year phenomena, and we had decent backup stores, this would be bad.

BUT:

1.) We don't have decent backup stores:

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&Itemid=74&jumival=8645

2.) The Arctic Sea Ice is disappearing WAY faster than even the most pessimistic models suggested:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014191296

3.) One of the big effects of disappearing Arctic Sea Ice is that the polar jet moves north and that means more and longer lasting droughts:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1127&pid=21876


Add hunger on top of high unemployment and political unrest can turn violent.

History never repeats, but it rhymes and America 2012 looks to me one whole hell of a lot like France 1889.