Manufacturing Panic?

[Hannah Bell]

On the 21st, an article was published in the NY Sun. The Sun
began as a Conrad Black (neo-con) paper, & still has that slant.

http://nysun.com/news/food-rationing-confronts-breadbasket-world

The article is titled: "Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the
World".

Sounds ominous. But when you read the story, the only attributed
information is: one California Costco is limiting purchase of 50-
pound bags of rice to one per customer, & one NY Costco is not limiting
rice, but is limiting unspecified flour/oil purchases.

The rest of the story is unattributed innuendo, smoke & mirrors. To my knowledge, this was the first media report discussing food shortages in the US.

FOX News picked up the story the same day.

Today someone at DU reported Glen what's-his-face, the right-wing pundit, repeated the story on CNN, & the (respectable?) Seattle PI has related reporting, which it attributes to the Reuters wire service (owned by Canada's Thompson Corporation).

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/360096_foodshortage23.html

For various reasons, I don't trust the stories that have been circulating about the world food crisis.

The origin of this story in the worst of the right-wing media, on such flimsy evidence, & the way it's quickly moved into more "center" outlets with no additional investigation is somewhat shocking, as these kind of reports will create hoarding & shortage even where it doesn't exist.

I started this thread to document the spread of this meme, & also to document some backgound information on global harvests, commodities markets, & the like.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Thank You!

There have been several threads started today discussing this. No one bothered to be a little skeptical about the info, or the source.

Your thread is appreciated.

[Quantess]

2. Here's the spokesman of CNN (spocksman for the spelling-challenged)

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/8966/

Edit: The transcript is "Where's The Wheat" which is halfway down the list.
I tried twice to link directly to the transcript, but apparently it's forbidden, or something.

[bananas]

3. Unbelievable

I found the article - it had this ad on it - he's selling these t-shirts,
the link goes to a "Glenn Beck Studio Store" https://members.premiereinteractive.com/ows-img/glennbeck/pages/28585/41410_6307.htm
I can't believe how far downhill CNN has gone.

[Hannah Bell]

4. Thanks, I was able to get it. He's actually not talking about the

Costco thing, but about wheat: low stores, wheat rust, no butter in japan, we're all going to die. Panic city. Stampede the masses. I hate the Bush administration.

[Quantess]

7. "Food Shortage" was Monday's rant.

"The Really Inconvenient Truths" was a recent airing on CNN's Headline News channel, of which I had the great misfortune of missing.

[JDPriestly]

5. Costco is a wierd store.

Some very small businesses shop there. Maybe the limits are to prevent huge purchases by a few such businesses. 50 pounds of rice is a lot of rice. I would not use that much rice in a couple of years.

[Quantess]

8. Costco is a very BLUE store, I might add!

COSTCO is pretty good to their employees, so I've heard. I shop there! I doubt anyone here wants to knock them.

[Hannah Bell]

6. Here's the reuters link.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWEN511620080422

[fed-up]

9. they want people to SHOP & consume/increase sales-while there is still some value to the dollar nt

[Javaman]

10. there is another one posted from the moonietimes (washingtontimes) also

about "food shortages".

[Matariki]

11. Thanks for this thread.

Could you post some of the stats you mentioned about 2007 being a record year for rice production?

[KoKo]

12. Agree....and have wondered if it's put out by Wall St. Traders to increase hoarding to drive up

Commodity prices and in doing so destabilize areas of the world along with making themselves billions.

We know that Wall St. is pretty much an "unregulated casino" these days. Crime Crookery and swindling is done with little accountability...or penalty.

We do know that there is a problem with floods and drought and farmland being turned into development that has long term consequences for all of us with the food supply.

I wonder if the big bucks of Monsanto couldn't have a hand in this in some way, too. Create a world food crisis so that they can push for more buying of their seeds or incentives in some way.

Thanks for posting this.

[Union Label]

18. You nailed it and I'm not to surprised that this manufactured "shortage" will

screw everyone except the fucksticks on wall street.

[windoe]

13. K & R

for keeping it real. Cable TV free since 2003!

[Hannah Bell]

14. FAO rice production stats as of 4/18

2005/06: 418.1 million tons
2006/07: 420.6 million tons

China 05/06: 126.4 million tons
China 06/07: 127.8 million tons

India 05/06: 91.8 million tons
India 06/07: 93.4 million tons


Where's the biggest drop between 06 & 07?

Not in China, not in India, the countries who supposedly are growing their incomes & demand: they're basically self-sufficient, & India was planning to export millions of tons until the prices spiked & they pulled back to protect their domestic market from speculation.

The pullback in rice exports from big exporters like India came AFTER the quick rise in futures prices, in order to protect their home markets from price-driven shortage - in effect, creating shortage in importing countries where none previously existed.

The biggest drop in production was right here in the US, & it wasn't because of bad harvests: it was because rice farmers planted less because prices had been below average for several years:

US 2005/06: 7.1 million tons
US 2006/07: 6.2 million tons

The biggest rice exporters in the world are: Thailand, Vietnam, the US, China, Pakistan, & India. These countries supply 4/5 of world exports, with Thailand & Vietnam supplying half. Vietnamese production was up last year, Thai production slightly down.


http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdgetreport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=BVS&hidReportRetrievalID=425&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=2

[avenger64]

32. thanks for the facts!

excellent post

[hootinholler]

15. This needs rec'd up people!

This tactic is akin to shouting fire in a movie theater.

-Hoot

[Matariki]

16. Especially in light of how many times that Sun article was posted at DU in the past couple days.

This needs to be discussed - who will benefit from a run on commodities? And do they have any right-wing media connections? Important questions.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. I agree. n/t

[uppityperson]

17. I see a combination of factors, and been thinking about runs on banks next.

There are places in the world where food is short. Food prices here have raised a whole lot also.
But, I don't believe there is a shortage here yet.

I've been thinking about runs of banks happening next. I have no problem planning ahead and stocking up. I have bought a bunch of dried goods over the last year because I knew costs were going up fast. But not to panic. "If we run out, we're usually back in stock the next day,"

Although with food costs raising fast, I can see how people are concerned. I certainly am, since my income has dropped due to my customers being able to afford less and less.

[Hannah Bell]

19. Ramping up panic:

Wal-Mart-owned Sam's Club limits rice purchases 2 hours, 27 minutes ago


BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Sam's Club, the membership warehouse division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what it calls "recent supply and demand trends."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080423/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_rice

[suffragette]

21. Two things I noticed

1) Some sectors are using this to press for acceptance (or the relaxation of resistance) to GMO crops:

From the P.I. article:
The causes are scattered -- rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather, and demand from India and China -- and the solutions are controversial -- ration cards, genetically modified crops, the end of pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap supermarkets.

and

"Now is not too soon to be thinking about the longer-term solutions," said Alex Evans, a former adviser to Britain's Environment Secretary Hilary Benn.

He said world leaders must help increase food production, rethink their push on biofuels -- which many blame for pushing up food prices -- and consider anew the once taboo topic of growing genetically modified crops.

In NY Times, full article on it:
"In Lean Times, Biotech Grains Are Less Taboo"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/business/21crop.html?ref=science

My question there is "Who does this benefit and what role are they playing in the coverage of it?"
Ok, that's really two intertwined questions. :-)


2) Some of these articles are citing the Costco info from an interview with Sinegal, the CEO, but, not surprisingly, are being pretty selective about it.
Here's part of what I noticed is not being highlighted since it doesn't mesh with the slant you rightly noticed:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWEN511620080422?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Sinegal said customers can buy pallet-loads of products at its locations.

He said he believed the surge in demand was prompted by media reports in recent weeks discussing rising global demand and shortages in some countries for basic food items like rice and flour.

"If we run out, we're usually back in stock the next day," he said of these popular items.

He said store managers may have taken "precipitous action," by putting limits on sales of certain items, and he added: "We don't want to add to the furor here."

[Hannah Bell]

22. I think you're right. I've seen some reports of countries who formerly

rejected GMO, even for food aid, being pressured to take it, since there are "shortages".

Does the international "free market" resemble a Mafia economy? You be the judge.

"Dat's some nice kids ya got dere, too bad ya got no dinner, got some nice GM rice here..."

[suffragette]

35. Yep, using strong arm tactics

to "persuade" people to accept GMO. And using the media to explain why it's "necessary."

[Matariki]

23. kicking this

as a counter balance to all the 'shortage' threads that are cropping up.

[Hannah Bell]

24. more ramping up....

So Cal big box stores are rationing sales of rice and flour.....really! -->
interesting story on KNX 1070 news radio station: http://www.knx1070.com / center of web site page

some big stores like Costco are imposing limits on sales of big bags of rice, flour, and a few other commodities, due to the spread of customers who are coming in to buy large numbers of these items.

according to the news story I heard on the station (did not read the website article), rice prices are going up fast because american farmers are trying to sell more in Asia where they will get a higher price, wheat prices are skyrocketing because farmers are switching from raising wheat to raising corn for the biofuels market, and so forth.

[Matariki]

25. sort of off topic, or not - Haiti

You posted some very good information about Haiti and I thought this might interest you. I got an email today from a friend who just returned from Haiti this week - Port-au-Prince and the countryside. She says the news of danger in Haiti, food riots and so forth have been *greatly* exaggerated in the media. She even mentions a lot of improvement to infrastructure since she was there a year ago. On the other hand I also know people with ties to Haiti who say that food prices are rapidly increasing, so I don't doubt that people are struggling there - even more than usual.

The news media might be deliberately playing up the food riot and shortages stories in places outside the US. Have to wonder if it's a 'fear sells' thing or something more insidious.

[Hannah Bell]

27. That IS interesting, thanks. n/t

[Matariki]

29. this is worth repeating - hope my friend doesn't mind me quoting her email

" - then headed back into Port au Prince for some local shopping at the market (which was full, by the way - of produce, goods and people of all sectors, buying like mad). Bought coffee, vanilla and honey-laced clarion. Folks were spending money, the place was packed..."

[Hannah Bell]

30. Why was your friend in Haiti? Was it just a regular public market?

[Matariki]

31. Regular market, yes.

I'll pm you w/ the rest...

[penguin7]

26. The USA is exporting food like crazy

Of course the price is going to go sky high and for real reasons.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

28. Yes & No

There is definitely a worldwide food crisis but it has zero to do with lack of food and all to do with prices-markets-investments-deregulation.

[Catherine Vincent]

33. It was just reported on the local news here in the Houston area.

Rice Rationing, they called it. Now the next time I go out and buy rice, I won't be able to find any because of the people panicking. This is Y2K all over again.

[Hannah Bell]

34. Yep. only since the economic picture is a bit worse, people are

possibly more fearful. My hope is that if they didn't panic after 9/11, it won't get too bad now either.

Does the local news you mention have any political slant? Can you mention the station? I'm trying to see if there's a pattern as to who's spreading the panic - ownership, political slant, etc.

[Hannah Bell]

36. More fear, from the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120881517227532621.html

Just 2 days from the (right-wing) NY Sun to the (newly right-wing, but still prestigious WSJ).

Brett Arends’ Call for Food Hoarding

Brett Arends published an incomprehensibly crass article in today’s
Wall Street Journal calling on Americans to hoard food. Not because
he expects a shortage, but because “food prices are already rising
here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping
your money in a bank or money-market fund.”

This is exactly the sort of unconscionable speculative greed that
turns a bad but temporary situation into an all-out crisis and
famine.

I’m not against making money; I’m against starving other people to
make money. Arends has the privilege and the luxury to direct
millions of investors from his perch at the Journal, and with such a
position comes a great responsibility. His words move markets, and
he does not appear to appreciate the magnitude of what he is doing.
...He is brazenly and openly calling for food profiteering and price
gouging.

http://www.economaton.com/economics/brett-arends-food-hoarding/