Monday, January 17, 2011

Global Food Crisis

Experts are threatening once again with Malthusian catastrophe. Malthus was wrong when he first predicted that population growth will outpace agricultural production meaning there won't be enough food for everybody, because he did not consider new agricultural technology. In many places agriculture is still rudimentary, so there is more room for improvement there and with genetically modified food, so he might be proven wrong once again.


The reasons for the global food crisis are well known, and so are some measures governments can take. China realized this potential problem many years ago and ruled the controversial one-child policy to save the nation from starvation. Population growth in Western world is declining naturally, while developing and poor countries are adding 100 million people every year to the world population. And these are the people to suffer the most from increased food prices.

Westerners could eat less meat and use grains for food rather than fuel, but why are people giving birth to children whom they cannot feed in the first place? Because of religion and because they want to outnumber the others at any cost. They figure that by expanding their problem, it will become everybody's problem.

There, I've said what many are afraid to admit.

2 comments:

Skye Frontier said...

A rise in commodity prices, especially of oil, has dramatic knock-on effects with regard to food prices. In the developed world, this can lead to a few percentage points of food price inflation. But in the developing world, especially among populations who live on $2 a day or less, when 50% or more of income go toward food, these increases can be catastrophic. We already saw food riots and looting in a number of developing countries in 2007 when the price of oil was well over $100 a barrel. Expect more social unrest and turmoil if food prices rise at the same rate again.

Robert M. Soran said...

Especially people giving birth to many children, except only the haredim and Palestinians,both of them profiting from excellent social networks feeding them, don't throw children into the world for the demographic strengthening of their nation or ethnic group. They aren't so "smart".
Same applies to the proposed revenge motive ("They figure that by expanding their problem, it will become everybody's problem"). No, they don't. Both proposed motivations reflect a level of social conscience and self-conscience that has as pre-requisite education and a minimum of knowledge by learning and self-reflexion.
Religion, ignorance, social pressure, better health, much longer fertility period, ... and maybe boredom are just some factors that will contribute to have the 7th billion living human being registered on earth already this year, 2011
Regards, Robert