Reading The Signs And Knowing When It's Time To Prepare For A Major Food Crisis!

Tags for This Article:

Populum Tag Cloud Control Panel
	Fine tune your search to access content

Articles	Links
Diaries	Products
Events	All

All time
Last 6 mos
Last month
Last week
Last 24 hrs

From:
Month Day Year

To:
Month Day Year

Alphabet Popularity	Count ON Count OFF
This Level	Sub-levels

Tag(s): Denial; Drought; Flood; Food For The Poor; Food Rationing; Food Supply; Food-Agriculture; Oil; Riots; Survival; Sustainable
Add to My Group

March 26, 2008 at 16:01:44

Reading The Signs And Knowing When It's Time To Prepare For A Major Food Crisis!

by William Cormier Page 1 of 3 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com

Unfortunately, too many Americans are ignoring warning signs that have been present for years, and now, rather than attempting to decipher “the chatter” that assails us on a regular basis - many of us are burying our heads in the sand and hoping that all of the doom and gloom is nothing more than the pessimistic writing of people whom are paranoid and always live in a world of fear and uncertainty. Based on several indicators I’ve been tracking, it isn’t paranoia - and is a glimpse into the world that our MSM has been attempting to hide from the American people. Now, even the MSM is beginning to raise the alarm - but like everything else they have done to protect the Bush administration and the corporations that control their views, their efforts are far too late and too little to effectively convey the danger that each and every one of us will face in the very near future. Like everything else that comes through the MSM, nothing can be taken at face value - and if they say it’s a problem, we have to understand that it is far more serious than they are reporting, likely in an effort to stave off panic, their assessment of the situation only scratches the surface!

Food prices on the rise worldwide

A perfect storm of factors, including high commodity prices and growing demand, will affect costs for the next 10 years, the U.N. says.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — If you’re seeing your grocery bill go up, you’re not alone.

Many factors in play. Freak weather is a factor. But so are dramatic changes in the global economy, including higher oil prices, lower food reserves and growing consumer demand in China and India.

Among the driving forces are petroleum prices, which increase the cost of everything from fertilizers to transport to food processing. Rising demand for meat and dairy in rapidly developing countries such as China and India is sending up the cost of grain, used for cattle feed, as is the demand for raw materials to make biofuels.

No foods left untouched. What’s rare is that the spikes are hitting all major foods in most countries at once. Food prices rose 4% in the U.S. last year, the highest rise since 1990, and are expected to climb as much again this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As of December, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. MUCH MORE

The CNN report, while accurate to a certain degree, fails to delve deeper into the problem and does not reveal the true danger we face; the food crisis that is building throughout the world has been predicted for decades - and while a logical person would “assume” that our government is prepared and has stockpiled essential grains and other staples so the US will be able to weather the coming storm - exactly the opposite has happened. In fact, it appears that a crisis is being manufactured by our own government. We know that recent weather patterns and drought have impacted our ability to feed our own country, and instead of addressing the issue - the government is largely ignoring a situation that could plunge us all into martial law if food riots develop in the United States - and even worse, cause the deaths of untold thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocents, especially the elderly, sick and disabled, and those who are living in poverty:

US Food Riots Much Closer Than You Think

— Nothing is stored for very long in a supermarket. One day grain travels (by rail) from Kansas to Seattle to a flour mill. The next day the flour mill makes the flour and sends it to a bakery. The next day the bakery makes it into bread (and other baked things) and the next day it is at the store where it is purchased that day. Nobody stores anything. The grain is produced and stored in the Midwest and shipped daily in a single railroad pipeline to the rest of America where the people live.

– Up until the 1980s there was a system that stored a lot of grain in elevators around the country. At one time, a whole year’s harvest of grain was stored that way. But since taxpayers were paying to store it, certain urban politicians engineered the movement of that money from providing a safety net or backup for their own food supply in order to give the money to various other social welfare things. So now, nothing is stored. We produce what we consume each year and store practically none of it. There is no contingency plan.

— In order for riots to break out the whole food supply doesn’t have to be wiped out. It just has to be threatened sufficiently. When people realize their vulnerability and the fact that there is no short term solution to a severe enough drought in the Midwest they will have no clue as to what they should do. Other nations can’t make up the difference because no other nation has a surplus of grain in good times let alone in times when they are having droughts and floods also. It takes two or three months to raise grain, yet people have to eat usually at least once a day, usually more than that.

–So, basically, we have in place a recipe for a disaster that will dwarf any other localized disasters imaginable. The important thing to note is that there is no solution for this event. There is no contingency plan for this. (Emphasis added) People living in certain parts of the US will fare better than others (which is another story) but those who live in big cities, where most of the US population live, are done for. MUCH MORE

As this crisis gains in momentum, I believe the United States should temporarily halt wheat exports until we build-up at least a two-year supply for our own country. Charity does “begin at home”, and until we have taken measures to protect ourselves, the inaction of the government is causing a major rift in our national security - and since they know of the danger and refuse to properly address it, the logical conclusion is they are allowing this crisis to ripen for socio-economic and political reasons - all of which is detrimental to the American public:

Food Riots in Egypt

Al Jazeera
March 13, 2008

The UN secretary general has warned that millions of people are at risk of starvation as global food stocks have fallen to their lowest levels for decades.
1 | 2 | 3

http://justanothercoverup.com/

I am nothing more than a patriotic American that is doing whatever I can to further the cause of democracy, the rule of law, and am absolutely outraged on how the Bush administration is defying our Congress, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights! Footnote: I write in a style that I believe is appropriate in today's world where we can't trust the Mainstream News Media, and rather than concentrating on one article alone, which may or may not receive the exposure and emphasis it should, I prefer to meld several relevant stories together, that each taken alone may not expose the entire situation, but when taken-in as a whole, tend to give the reader a better understanding of the subject. One article or story alone does not represent the "Big Picture" - but when several are effectively tied-together it often reveals a trend or broader view of the subject matter that is important to completely understand any given situation. http://justanothercoverup.com/

	Contact Author
	Contact Editor
	View Other Articles by Author

Bookmark this page: (what's this?)

(More...)

3 comments

I am nothing more than a patriotic American that is doing whatever I can to further the cause of democracy, the rule of law, and am absolutely outraged on how the Bush administration is defying our Congress, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights! Footnote: I write in a style that I believe is appropriate in today’s world where we can’t trust the Mainstream News Media, and rather than concentrating on one article alone, which may or may not receive the exposure and emphasis it should, I prefer...

to see more of bio, click on member name
William CormierI am nothing more than a patriotic American that is doing whatever I can to further the cause of democracy, the rule of law, and am absolutely outraged on how the Bush administration is defying our Congress, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights! Footnote: I write in a style that I believe is appropriate in today’s world where we can’t trust the Mainstream News Media, and rather than concentrating on one article alone, which may or may not receive the exposure and emphasis it should, I prefer...

to see more of bio, click on member name

In regard The US Building-Up A Stockpile of Wheat

In the above article, I mentioned that we need to stockpile wheat and halt exports until we do. We could also import wheat from Canada in the short-term as we work to build-up our own stockpile. On the surface, it sounds like I'm stating we should let people go hungry until we stockpile our own reserves.

The food crisis the world faces is as much a national security threat to us as it is to other countries - and with the concentration of millions of people in cities, we face a particular vulnerability for most if not all of our large metropolitan areas; We have an enormous ability to grow and STORE huge quantities of wheat and still be able to export the surplus rather than selling much of our production on the open market. It would also help to stabilize rising food costs in our own country.

Granted, the first year we implemented such a policy, on a global basis, we would face one year or possibly two where our wheat exports were slightly diminished. The above would have to be accomplished via turning more farmland to wheat production, however, in the long-term, if there is a continuation of drought conditions (which are predicted) and adverse weather patterns, by stockpiling our own supply - we mitigate the chances of famine in our own country and help to retain the ability to spring back the next year IF conditions are favorable to again produce an excess amount of wheat that can be used to supplement other counties who are experiencing famine.

If we allow ourselves to be exposed to famine, considering the consequences and the subsequent social unrest and the possibility of riots that would occur throughout the country, there's a huge possibility it would impact our ability to replenish our own supplies and would diminish our own ability to spring-back when and if conditions improve. Further, as our popularity across the world suffers and considering the tense conditions that exist because of our current political ideology - I also believe that it's essential that we have the ability to sustain our own population in the event of a boycott of the US based on future military deployments and war that are possible if the GOP should win the 2008 Presidential elections.

From a humanitarian standpoint, we do have a responsibility to help those who are less fortunate than us, but risking our own survival and placing ourselves at risk when other countries are curtailing exports in the face of diminished supplies impacts our own national security to the point that it has the possibility to plunge our own country into a situation where recovery becomes hard - or downright impossible if we allow the US to continue with a policy that risks our own survival. Food is as much a national security issue as oil is – which we do stockpile in the strategic oil reserve, but short-sighted politicians that favor profit over the safety and welfare of our own citizens is nothing short of a recipe for disaster. If we stockpile oil because it impacts national security – why wouldn’t the same type of policy also be considered as it pertains to food? What good is it to have the ability to put gas in your auto while ignoring the fact that humans need “fuel” too, and in my opinion, one is worthless without the other.

William Cormier

by William Cormier (106 articles, 5 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 266 comments) on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 8:20:31 PM

I'm an old hippie chick who was part of the Woodstock Generation and the New Left back in the 1960s and '70s. I was enamored with Stephen Gaskin, who led his group to settle on The Farm in Tennessee. For the last few years, though, I've joined a small group of others who are trying to spread the word about the work of the messenger who goes by the pen name of Joseph J. Adamson. I believe that his work, even though it has been rejected by his generation so far, will eventually be spread and help ...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Sarah MorganI'm an old hippie chick who was part of the Woodstock Generation and the New Left back in the 1960s and '70s. I was enamored with Stephen Gaskin, who led his group to settle on The Farm in Tennessee. For the last few years, though, I've joined a small group of others who are trying to spread the word about the work of the messenger who goes by the pen name of Joseph J. Adamson. I believe that his work, even though it has been rejected by his generation so far, will eventually be spread and help ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Thanks, William

We all should be aware of the food crisis.

My post below is not to be critical of your pointing it out. My point is to point out what we can and should do about it.

Thanks again.

by Sarah Morgan (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 162 comments) on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:21:53 AM

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Not that we do not have good reason to be alarmed and to take action to resolve the world's growing problems. Obviously, we do. There are huge problems that have been caused by the greed and folly of careless, short-sighted and thoughtless people in power, not only in this country, but all over the world.

However, we shouldn't let fear be our rallying cry, and we should not fall into dispair and fear that catastrophy is unavoidable.

Actually, we can turn all this horrible stuff around in fairly short order, IF we would only face the fact that our partisan political-economic system has become fatal to truly representative government, and if we would then enable our government to be of, by and for the people and set a truly good example for the rest of the world.

But that will take acknowledging what must be done, and having the courage and the faith to do it. And the way to do it has been provided for us:

http://reformationcomingsoon.bravehost.com/NewDeclaration.html

Then there's this relevant article:

http://reformationcomingsoon.bravehost.com/InheritTheEarth.html

And this explains why our present partisan political-economic system should and will become obsolete:

http://reformationcomingsoon.bravehost.com/PartisanPolitics.html

by Sarah Morgan (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 162 comments) on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 8:44:23 PM