Thread: Soaring food prices send millions into poverty, hunger

When someone wonders why there is war, revolution or violence in the world, this is part of the reason.

Soaring food prices send millions into poverty, hunger - USATODAY.com

Corn has soared 52% the past 12 months. Sugar’s up 60%. Soybeans have jumped 41%. And wheat costs 24% more than it did a year ago.

For about 44 million people — roughly the population of the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago metropolitan areas combined — the rise in food prices means a descent into extreme poverty and hunger, according to the World Bank..........In the U.S., the effect of higher food prices has been modest. U.S. consumers spend about 9% of their income on food, and another 3% for dining out...........In many emerging markets, however, 50% or more of a family budget goes toward food — not because food is so expensive, but because income is so low. Kick up the price of wheat or rice or corn, and you’re spelling the difference between having two meals a day or one.

One of the reasons I support a return to the draft is so more Americans can experience what it is like overseas. We have it really good in the United States. When I hear people on this forum bitch about how "bad it is these days", I laugh to myself.

Some said recently "if you want to experience what half the world's population goes through every day, turn off your electricity. If you want to experience what a third of the population experiences every day, turn off your water."

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

When someone wonders why there is war, revolution or violence in the world, this is part of the reason.

Soaring food prices send millions into poverty, hunger - USATODAY.com

One of the reasons I support a return to the draft is so more Americans can experience what it is like overseas. We have it really good in the United States. When I hear people on this forum bitch about how "bad it is these days", I laugh to myself.

Some said recently "if you want to experience what half the world's population goes through every day, turn off your electricity. If you want to experience what a third of the population experiences every day, turn off your water."

Agreed.

The misfired experiment with burning corn for ethanol under Bush but advocated for decades by the Left is an example of how a slight rise in the prices of staple foods can cause great harm to others across the world.

Most of the world's conflicts, especially internal strife, are struggles between the haves and the have nots.

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

The misfired experiment with burning corn for ethanol under Bush but advocated for decades by the Left is an example of how a slight rise in the prices of staple foods can cause great harm to others across the world.

Most of the world's conflicts, especially internal strife, are struggles between the haves and the have nots.

I seriously doubt that there has ever been a war fought that did not have as it;s true root cause a struggle for control over a natural resource, even it the resource was people. It doesn't matter what the powers that be claimed it was over in order to "sell" the war to the people that would have to do the killing and the dying.

I don't support the draft, for the simple fact that if the government wants to engage in militaristic tourism, they need to do it with the resources they already have. The draft, if persisting, should only be used in the event of invasion or insurrection, but on the main topic...

Food prices are soaring in part because oil prices are rising. Everything is tied back to oil. It doesn't matter what we're talking about, if it involves money, it is tied back to oil. It is the litteral blood of the economy. This, coupled with overpopulation in the poorest places of the world, is a recipe for a clusterfuck. You made a good point about ethanol too. Ethanol from corn actually has a negative effect on oil costs. It actually makes gasoline prices higher, while agri-business corporations gather huge profits from government subsidies.

There's not a lot we can do here, unless we wanted to take a hit to our kingly lifestyles, which I'd be okay with. The problem is, I'm not sure if we have the resources to reverse our current trajectory. We're so dependent on mass consumption of fossil fuels, that moving towards a less dependent lifestyle would drain so many more resources, but it's becoming apparent that we're going to have to change whether we want to or not. I believe the drive-through, 3000 mile caesar salad days are waning.

Yeah but, they don't pay 35% of their income in taxes.....Pffft.

Your 100% correct.

Originally Posted by Hollywood

I seriously doubt that there has ever been a war fought that did not have as it;s true root cause a struggle for control over a natural resource, even it the resource was people.

or real estate. Until we come up with cheap renewable energy, which really does drive all things, then we'll never see the end of war.

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

or real estate. Until we come up with cheap renewable energy, which really does drive all things, then we'll never see the end of war.

Probably not. As a species mankind can be pretty disgusting.