About half of Africa is starving

[dArKeR]

About half the countries in Africa have serious food shortages, primarily due to drought, with 93 percent of the continent's arable land depending on rainwater, the chief of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Tuesday.

Jacques Diouf, who arrived here Tuesday for a regional food conference, told reporters that about 23 out of 53 African states suffered from dire food shortages, the SAPA news agency reported.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1078240320822S162&set_id=1

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. It's not due to drought.

That may affect the growing of food.

People in Africa are starving because of the decisions of human beings, many of them in Washington.

[demsrule4life]

2. How is that?

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. World food production is more than enough to feed everybody

Anyone who does not have food does not have it because of the conscious decision of another human being.

[demsrule4life]

10. I agree

And it is usually due to the leaders of that country and not ours. Nobody sends out more food then we do, the tricky part is getting the corrupt govts of Africa to distribute the food to everyone and not just to their cronies.

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. The US prefers "leaders" who can be counted on to put US business

interests first.

That's what democracy means.

How native overseers choose to police problem populations is their own internal matter. As long as they keep a tight leash on any rogue elements that might present a threat to investors.

[bpilgrim]

17. but

thats not true... 'Nobody sends out more food then we do'

japan is the leading donor nation

america is waaaaay behind, especially when you take out MILITARY 'aid'

and then there is our direct military intervention from time to time not to mention our monetary policies.

:hi:

peace

[NickB79]

26. To play Devil's Advocate for a moment

Donating food to countries in the midst of a drought is an admirable goal. However, at the same time, does anyone expect US farmers to invest time and money into growing crops without compensation? Where would the money come from to reimburse US farmers for their crops sent overseas?

[kalian]

6. ...

[Robbien]

9. "Free Trade"

For instance, instead of growing crops to feed themselves, they are growing non-edible crops for trade with other countries.

[cprise]

14. Here is an excellent article:

Growers' market

Felicity Lawrence heads to Kenya to find out who wins and who loses as hundreds of tonnes of fresh vegetables are cut and packed each day to be flown to UK supermarkets...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/focus/story/0,13296,956536,00.html


Countries that can't feed their own people are often food exporters.

[SharonAnn]

27. The young men with guns usually have enough food. It's the

women, children, the old and sick who are without food.

Might makes right and it gets the food.

[ManneredChild]

8. I'm curious too

How does Washington get any more blame than London, Moscow, Tokyo, Paris or any others? I send Oxfam a thousand bucks to help. How much did you send?

[mike1963]

3. Drought and too many people. I do not mean this to sound racist, as it

might be perceived...it's a global problem. Drought is generally temporary, the population explosion probably isn't.

[ManneredChild]

4. I sent $1000.00 to Oxfam around Christmas

Have you sent yours? I just hope it helps.

[thebaghwan]

20. No, I am trying not to starve here after Bush got my wife and my job.

n/t

[sadiesworld]

7. Clearly, this calls for more birth control interference by Bushco.

[bobbieinok]

11. didn't one country object to US 'franken food'?

...

[NickB79]

24. I believe that was Zimbabwe

When they were in the midst of a food crisis a year or two back, they refused GM corn from the US. Their initial reasons were understandable; they were worried farmers would plant the seeds and they would be forced to pay royalties on them. They would also lose their market in Europe if their crops were contaminated with GM genes. Therefore, the US offerred to grind the corn into cornmeal before donating it to prevent it being used as seed. Strangely enough, Zimbabwe still refused. I don't recall if the situation was finally resolved or not.

[izzie]

13. Sounds like the Empires left a mess.

N/T

[MasonJar]

15. America is culpable. Our pollution travels to the African

continent and causes the droughts that bring starvation to the natives. Our constant insistence of multiple cars a household; our coal and gas expulsion into the air; our consistent disregard for other peoples, etc. create global warming and other emissions that blanket other civilizations with our crud.

[ManneredChild]

16. And that's why half are starving?

Have a link to that study?

[bpilgrim]

18. one of the reasons

sure

peace

[shamanstar]

19. atleast we can drive hummers

thats really all that matters.
am i right?

[PartyPooper]

21. And, the aids epidemic isn't helping either.

Many adults are dying off with so many children left suffering without parents. As a result, very few people can perform any work at all...including farming (drought or no drought).

And, didn't Junior withhold several million dollars in the aids package he "promised" to Africa?

:-(

[beanball]

22. The fat Americans

we as a nation throw away enough food every day to relieve most of the hunger on the planet,we are fat and greedy because we don't give a damn about others.The the ruling class(fat cats)want to keep things as they are,keep selling us food we don't new in order to fatten their bank accounts.

[beanball]

23. that should say don't need.

[Nevernose]

25. "There has never been a famine in a nation w/ a free press"

"There has never been a famine in a nation w/ a free press"

Anyone else ever hear that? An ultra-left wing professor once told me that, and I've yet to find any evidence to the contrary (I always think of India, with a billion people in an area smaller than Texas, and they now produce enough food to export some).