|
|
Welcome to Call to Decision
Food
Crisis May Threaten Your Portfolio
by
Sean
Brodrick
Dear David,
The United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that world
cereal production may jump a record 2.6% this year as farmers boost
plantings.
In other words,
supply is fine.
Except ... wait a
minute ... what's that other report I read last month? The one that
said world cereal demand is growing at 3% a year.
Today, I'll
explain why this seemingly insignificant gap between supply and
demand scares the bejeezus out of me, and how you can protect
yourself.
The gap is only
four-tenths of a percent. What could possibly go wrong, you ask?
Well, for
starters ....
The
World's Food Supplies Have Collapsed ...
Worldwide
stockpiles of cereals (wheat, corn, etc.) are expected to fall to a
25-year-low of 405 million tonnes in 2008. That's down 21 million
tonnes, or 5%, from their already reduced level last year.
U.S. wheat
stockpiles are at a 62-year low, even though farmers are planting
from fence-to-fence. And with the U.S. dollar falling fast, foreign
buyers are lining up to scoop up as much of Uncle Sam's grain as
they can carry away. Wheat recently soared to the highest price in
28 years.
Meanwhile rice, a
staple food for three billion people, is becoming increasingly
scarce. World stores of rice have shrunk from 130 million tons eight
years ago to today's stockpile of 72 million tons — enough for
only 17% of annual global demand. Result — the price of rice is up
70% in the past year.
And as for corn
— well, more and more of that is used for ethanol. The price of
corn is up over 70% in the past year and has more than doubled in
the past two years.
So to summarize
— stockpiles are at record lows. The supply on hand can be
measured in days! And growth in production can't keep up
with growth demand.
Now, let me ask
you this question ...
What If
Something Goes Wrong?
What if the
increasingly freaky weather the world has been enduring causes
droughts on one side of the world and floods on the other? What if
there's blight or some other major crop failure?
You can see
why I believe we are one bad harvest away from a serious global food
crisis!
People will put
up with a lot, but they won't put up with going hungry ... not when
they have guns. In fact, blood is already being spilled
over food ...
 Egypt
— food riots! In the time of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra,
Egypt was the bread basket of the Mediterranean. Boy, how times have
changed. Food inflation is so bad in Egypt that people are rioting
over sky-high prices. The government-owned Egyptian Gazette newspaper
says that seven people have died since the beginning of the year in
brawls in bread lines.
And it's not just
Egypt. The World Bank says 33 countries from Mexico to Yemen have
already experienced unrest because of spiraling food costs, and 37
countries may face more social upheavals if food prices continue to
rise.
China
says "no" to hungry Filipinos. The Philippine
government recently asked China to provide 200,000 metric tons of
milling wheat, equivalent to about 10% of annual consumption.
Beijing declined, leaving the Philippines scrambling to find more
wheat.
|
|
|
Internal
Sponsorship |
|
|
Surging
Natural Resource Prices
Mean Monumental Profits for
Latin American Companies
You've
seen oil zoom past $100 per barrel. You know that metals
like copper and iron are going through the roof. And you've
seen the price explosion in wheat, soybeans, and corn.
Even
water — the most basic commodity known to man — is
rapidly gaining value as developing nations struggle to
provide their populations with potable supplies.
And
in my opinion, no region is better positioned to capitalize
on soaring commodity prices than Latin America ...
Click
here for more information ...
|
|
|
|
Trouble
in Uncle Sam's breadbasket. Cold weather is chilling the
fields in the Midwest, and too much rain is sending rivers near
their flood levels.. Farmers who try to till or plant in soils that
are too wet will risk compacting their crops and other problems that
result in lower yields. On my blog last week, I published a
note from a farmer who complained that he STILL can't get a crop
in the ground:
"In 2006,
we finished planting my crops on April 23. In 2007, we were done
on April 18. I don't want to be the first guy planting, but I
don't like being third, either. Early (timely) planting won't
happen this year if the weather forecast for the coming weekend
proves accurate. Soils are completely saturated to the point of
that erosion has already occurred and will get worse with
additional heavy rains, and are COLD. I can't tell you how cold
because I've not even checked temps yet. If planting is not done
by May 1, there will be some nervous farmers in LaSalle County and
I'll be one of them."
Now sure, that's
a local story, but it's not the only one. In fact, just this week,
the USDA reported that corn and rice plantings are being delayed by
excessive rain. A hungry world is depending on a good U.S. crop —
if we don't get one, those 37 countries the World Bank is talking
about could erupt in food riots.
How We
Got Here ...
Global food
prices surged 57% last month from a year earlier, according to the
FAO. There are a number of forces driving that price explosion ...
Weather: Part
of it is weather. Too much rain in the U.S. in 2007, flooding in
Indonesia and Bangladesh and drought in Canada and Australia curbed
world stockpiles. As a result, the poorest countries may spend 56%
more on grains this year than a year ago. Global warming will affect
crop yields, and mostly not in a good way.
Food or
fuel? Ethanol production is on course to account for some
30% of the U.S. corn crop by 2010. The International Monetary Fund
estimates that corn ethanol production in the U.S. fueled at least
half the rise in world corn demand in each of the past three years.
As corn prices go up, animal feed goes up, and prices of other crops
rise as farmers switch their fields over to government-supported
corn.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
As
the economic boom in China raises the standard of living,
1.3 billion people have drastically increased their
consumption of meat. |
Rising
Demand: World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently told
a conference: "As the Indian commerce minister said to me,
going from one meal a day to two meals a day for 300 million people
increases demand a lot."
And he's only
talking about the poorest of the poor. There are 1.1 billion people
in India, and they're all improving their diets and eating more
Western foods. Meanwhile, 1.3 billion people in China are eating a
lot better and eating a lot more meat — and it takes 7 pounds of
grain to make one pound of meat! It's no wonder why food prices in
China jumped 28% in February.
Political
pressures: China isn't the only large, populous country
that is curbing exports to ease prices — and internal unrest —
at home.
- Vietnam,
one of the world's three biggest rice exporters, will reduce
shipments by a million tons this year to 3..5 million tons to
ensure supplies domestically and curb its highest inflation in
more than a decade (20% year over year — ouch!). The
government also said it's considering a tax on rice exports.
Egypt, Cambodia and Guyana have all also put export bans on rice
in place.
- Kazakhstan
just suspended its wheat exports to tame domestic inflation.
Kazakhstan is the breadbasket of Central Asia, and the only
state in the region that exports grain, about 50% of the 21
million tons it says it harvested last year.
|
|
|
External
Sponsorship |
|
|
"It
was so easy ..."
That's
what 32-year-old Erin Herrera — a graphic designer from
Chicago — told the Chicago Tribune after staking
a small $200 investment. Since then, she's had the chance to
collect 20 dividend checks boosting her tiny stake to an
estimated $5,099.24.
How
did she do it?
Herrera
is among the thousands of smart Americans who have been
collecting surprisingly large sums of income because of a
unique British Gov't initiative my colleagues and I call
"Commonwealth Shares."
Click
here to read my full report ...
|
|
|
|
- Ukraine
stopped wheat exports this month and reduced barley exports.
- Argentina
— the world's fourth largest wheat exporter — has
effectively pushed back the date that new shipments can leave
the country.
- India has
already put restrictions on its rice imports. And its wheat
output, second only to that of China, may drop 1 million tons to
74..81 million tons in the March-April harvest because of a drop
in acreage.
Coming
Next — Hoarding!
What's more,
India may import up to two million tons to build stockpiles — up
from imports of 1.8 million tons in 2007 — with an eye on creating
a strategic reserve of five million tons of wheat and rice to meet
emergencies. Pakistan is also talking about doubling its wheat
imports this year.
If other
countries start building strategic reserves, it could send prices
skyrocketing. And that raises the specter of countries fighting each
other over food reserves.
Speaking of
reserves, since China reportedly has as much as 200 million tons of
grain reserves, you have to wonder why they turned down the
Philippines' request for wheat exports ... unless, maybe, they don't
have as much as they say they have.
Why would they
lie? How about a powder keg with 1.3 billion hungry people sitting
on it!
Or maybe the
Chinese can see the way that forces in the agriculture market are
falling into place and they believe that no stockpile can be big
enough!
How You
Can Protect Your Portfolio ...
No one wants to
get rich off hunger. But you do want to protect your portfolio from
market turmoil, and the profits on agriculture could cushion the
blow for other sectors you own that might be getting hurt.
One way to do it
is with the PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (DBA).
It tracks an index composed of futures contracts on corn, wheat,
soybeans and sugar. It's up 17% year-to-date — pretty good
compared to the 9.5% loss for the S&P 500.
Yours for trading
profits,
Sean
About
Money and Markets
For
more information and archived issues, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com
Money
and Markets (MaM) is published by Weiss Research, Inc. and
written by Martin D. Weiss along with Tony Sagami, Nilus Mattive,
Sean Brodrick, Larry Edelson, Michael Larson and Jack Crooks. To
avoid conflicts of interest, Weiss Research and its staff do not
hold positions in companies recommended in MaM, nor do we
accept any compensation for such recommendations. The comments,
graphs, forecasts, and indices published in MaM are based
upon data whose accuracy is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Performance returns cited are derived from our best estimates but
must be considered hypothetical in as much as we do not track the
actual prices investors pay or receive. Regular contributors and
staff include Kristen Adams, Andrea Baumwald, John Burke, Amber
Dakar, Dinesh Kalera, Mathias Korzan, Red Morgan, Maryellen Murphy,
Jennifer Newman-Amos, Adam Shafer, Julie Trudeau and Leslie Underwoo!
d.
Attention
editors and publishers! Money
and Markets issues
can be republished. Republished issues MUST include attribution of
the author(s) and the following short paragraph:
This
investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets. Money
and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin
D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing
news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips
and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a
leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial
safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe,
visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com.
From
time to time, Money and Markets may have information from
select third-party advertisers known as "external
sponsorships." We cannot guarantee the accuracy of these ads.
In addition, these ads do not necessarily express the viewpoints of Money
and Markets or its editors. For more information, see our terms
and conditions..
View our
Privacy
Policy.
Would
you like to unsubscribe
from our mailing list?
To make
sure you don't miss our urgent updates, add Weiss Research to your
address book. Just
follow these simple steps.
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:50:43 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: Bush Replaced REX84 With New Martial Law EO
To: com4@winco.net
- Bush Replaced REX84 With
New Martial Law EO
- Once In Control - Martial Law Will
Stay
- By Ted Twietmeyer
4-14-8
-
-
- In May 2007, Bush signed executive
new orders NSDP51 and HSDP20 to replace REX84. The
older order REX84 was an older directive to
establish martial law in the event of a national
emergency. Everything done in government is done for
a reason, and these two new orders are no exception.
-
- These new directives surprised and
alarmed many real conservatives and true patriots at
the time. These two orders established that the
White House administration would take over all local
governments under a national state of emergency,
instead of Homeland Security.
-
- In May 2007, The Washington Post
apparently saw nothing wrong with it and placed the
story back on page 13 (a fitting unlucky number for
it), according to a CSPAN television interview with
well known author and writer Jerome Corsi:
-
-
-
-
- Page 13 of Washington Post from
May 2007 reports that Bush claims he will
- run the "Shadow
Government"
-
-
-
- Close-up of page 13
-
-
- A contradiction appears to exist
here. It cites a nuclear attack or a decapitating
event in Washington as the reason for this,
according to security analysts. If all the leaders
and the administration in Washington are dead from a
nuclear attack, who will be left to take over
leading the nation under executive orders NSDP51 and
HSPD20?Who would be left to sign the martial law
orders? This implies that martial law must be
activated BEFORE an attack takes place while the
administration is out of town, which clearly implies
a false-flag operation by traitors of the worst
kind. The administration was in Florida on 9-11,
too.
-
- As of this writing in April 2008,
we are coming up on a year since these two
directives was written and signed. There have been
many rumors of false-flag attacks being prepared for
2008. Are these repeated rumors designed to destroy
the credibility of whistle blowers, so when the real
event is announced by a whistle-blower no one will
listen? This question doesn't appear to have been
asked by anyone, but it must be. This many not be
unlike the proverbial story of the boy who cried
wolf. But in this case the wolf isn't coming - he's
already inside. Now it's a question of when the wolf
will make his move.
-
- Hitler took power through
completely legal means. Laws were previously
established in plain view of the German people
before he made his dictatorial power grab.. We
appear are witnessing the very same thing happening
today some seventy years later. Apparently no one on
Capitol Hill has learned a thing from history as it
repeats itself. They also have clearly forgotten
Bush's words in December 1999 - "This job would
be a heck of a lot easier if this were a
dictatorship...just so long as I'm the
dictator." He meant what he said, he's acting
exactly like one and it's happening right now.
-
- America's case for a repeat of a
Hitler type power grab is clearly underway. First
there was the infamous 1200 page Patriot Act that
appeared a few days after 9-11 but almost no one on
Capitol Hill took time to read, but almost everyone
signed off on it anyway. Some on Capitol Hill have
said that soldiers with machine guns were in the
hallways on Capitol Hill the night the Patriot Act
was signed, and many felt intimidated they must sign
it without reading it. If true, then it implies that
martial law may have already been declared in
secret. Soldiers in hallways have no place on
Capitol Hill in civilian government. Again, another
sign of a dictatorship IN ACTION.
-
- Technically, Congress could
nullify the Patriot Act overnight by claiming it was
signed under duress.
-
- There have been other draconian
follow-on homeland security type acts which simply
were given less intimidating names. All are good
examples of political BS at work.
-
- Are NSDP51 and HSPD20 the last of
them all? Most likely they are not. We have no idea
how many other orders have been signed in secret,
such as the torture orders which were leaked to the
media. When confronted about the torture order, Bush
simply has shrugged his shoulders about in total
disregard and boldly claimed he signed off on it.
-
- Like paving stones, all the pieces
have come together in plain sight to pave the
highway to a completely legal totalitarian police
state, with all of America to be controlled by the
White House. But is this legal? Bush has abused his
executive order powers countless times like previous
presidents. Executive orders were originally created
by Congress to establish relatively harmless laws
without the need for Congressional approval, such as
new legal holidays. Congress can revoke that
privilege at any time that is, up until the time
when martial law is declared. Military troops will
send Congress home making them powerless. At that
point we shall have passed the point of no return.
That is, if we haven't already.
-
- A look at the history of numerous
third world countries around the globe proves one
common thread exists once the military takes
control of its home country, it usually doesn't
return control to civilian authorities once a war or
threat to security is over. And today America has
been reduced to the status of a third world country
as well. American manufacturing is now almost
totally defense industry-driven, which makes the
return of government to civlian hands after war ends
even less likely in the foreseeable future.
-
- With a 100 year war boldly
proclaimed by the administration, civilian control
will never be returned to Congress - for at least
FIVE GENERATIONS.
-
- Martial law will require the full
support of US military personnel to enforce it.
Foreign troops are called into enforce martial law
will still require both direct and indirect support
from US military personnel, or a military-military
civil war could ensue. But in the end, that may be
what's needed to end the madness.
-
- Here is the REAL acid test - will
military personnel voluntarily turn America into a
police state virtually overnight? Will these same
military personnel do nothing while they watch their
friends and loved ones crushed under absolute law
and absolute terror? Bread lines and soup kitchens
will return, but most likely only within the
confines of American POW camps on American soil.
This will force people to voluntarily turn
themselves in to eat. Perhaps a
"guns-for-food" type program will be
established to encourage the American people to
disarm themselves, even though the door kickers will
be sent out anyway.
-
- In military history it's well
known that if you control the food supply, you
control the people. Few people know that a secure
area inside Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, AR
has a sign declaring that secured area belongs to
Homeland Security. Wal-Mart will become the food
distributor for America under a rationing program.
There is no other larger food store chain that can
provide the required logistics that store can. In
the 1990's, the military quietly did walk-throughs
of all the major food store chains around the
country taking notes. Somewhere there is a document
detailing what the plans are. Certainly at the very
least, it will entail securing ALL the grocery
stores of any size. Small corner grocery stores will
be cleaned out in a day or two, and would be of no
interest to the military.
-
- To believe such horrors could
never happen in America, when it's now down on its
knees already economically would be pure stupidity
at the very least. Those in real estate swore for
decades that real estate prices would always go up,
too. Now these same people are panicking and on they
are on their knees, too. So much for greed, as they
have earned their reward. But what about innocent,
hard working people that have always lived within
their incomes? Do they deserve to suffer as well?
-
- We live in a time when absolutely
anything is possible. A military coup is now
required to prevent declaration of martial law, kick
the foreign troops out of America and restore true
civilian government. Dangerous centralized
dictatorship laws must also be nullified and this
time, the lesson learned once and for all.
-
- No civilian militia can restore
American law at this point. They would only be
labeled as terrorists and dealt with under new laws
already in place. We have reached the point where
restoration to civilian law and government
checks/balances can only come from the inside.
-
- But time is quickly running out.
-
- Ted Twietmeyer
- tedtw@frontiernet.net
- www.data4science.net
|
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:31:28 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: BEING A RICH NATION IS NO PROTECTION AGAINST HUNGER: DIRE
WARNING
To: com4@winco.net
Subject: BEING A RICH NATION IS NO PROTECTION AGAINST HUNGER: DIRE
WARNING
In modern times, Japan, especially Japan, one would think, after the
WWII U.S. blockade of its land locked nation and the terrible
consequences it suffered, would take more pains to be self
sufficient. Instead, its position is just as precarious
and urgent. Talk about not learning from history, although
Japan is certainly not alone. In an updated report yesterday
from the U.S. food banks, about the growing shortage of food due to
price increase pressures, as the growing ranks of the hungry needing
food bank assistance grows alarmingly, our food situation is
something to be quite concerned about too. ac
A 130% rise in the global cost of wheat in the past year, caused
partly by surging demand from China and India and a huge injection
of speculative funds into wheat futures, has forced the Government
to hit flour millers with three rounds of stiff mark-ups. The latest
a 30% increase this month has given rise to speculation that
Japan, which relies on imports for 90% of its annual wheat
consumption, is no longer on the brink of a food crisis, but has
fallen off the cliff.
According to one government poll, 80% of Japanese are frightened
about what the future holds for their food supply.
Japan's biggest concern, however, is its weakening ability to
sustain its population with domestic produce. In 2006 the country's
self-sufficiency rate fell to 39%, according to the Agriculture
Ministry. It was only the second time since the ministry began
keeping records in 1960 that the population derived less than 40% of
its daily calorie intake from domestically grown food.
Japan's hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations
Food fears: Being a rich nation is no protection for Japan, which
faces the fallout of relying too heavily on foreign food to supply
domestic needs.
- Justin Norrie, Tokyo
- April 21, 2008
MARIKO Watanabe admits she could have chosen a better time to take
up baking. This week, when the Tokyo housewife visited her local
Ito-Yokado supermarket to buy butter to make a cake, she found the
shelves bare.
"I went to another supermarket, and then another, and there was
no butter at those either. Everywhere I went there were notices
saying Japan has run out of butter. I couldn't believe it this is
the first time in my life I've wanted to try baking cakes and I
can't get any butter," said the frustrated cook.
Japan's acute butter shortage, which has confounded bakeries,
restaurants and now families across the country, is the latest
unforeseen result of the global agricultural commodities crisis.
A sharp increase in the cost of imported cattle feed and a decline
in milk imports, both of which are typically provided in large part
by Australia, have prevented dairy farmers from keeping pace with
demand.
While soaring food prices have triggered rioting among the starving
millions of the third world, in wealthy Japan they have forced a
pampered population to contemplate the shocking possibility of a
long-term perhaps permanent reduction in the quality and
quantity of its food.
A 130% rise in the global cost of wheat in the past year, caused
partly by surging demand from China and India and a huge injection
of speculative funds into wheat futures, has forced the Government
to hit flour millers with three rounds of stiff mark-ups. The latest
a 30% increase this month has given rise to speculation that
Japan, which relies on imports for 90% of its annual wheat
consumption, is no longer on the brink of a food crisis, but has
fallen off the cliff.
According to one government poll, 80% of Japanese are frightened
about what the future holds for their food supply.
Last week, as the prices of wheat and barley continued their
relentless climb, the Japanese Government discovered it had
exhausted its ¥230 billion ($A2.37 billion) budget for the grains
with two months remaining. It was forced to call on an emergency ¥55
billion reserve to ensure it could continue feeding the nation.
"This was the first time the Government has had to take such
drastic action since the war," said Akio Shibata, an expert on
food imports, who warned the Agriculture Ministry two years ago that
Japan would have to cut back drastically on its sophisticated diet
if it did not become more self-sufficient.
In the wake of the decision this week by Kazakhstan, the world's
fifth biggest wheat exporter, to join Russia, Ukraine and Argentina
in stopping exports to satisfy domestic demand, the situation in
Japan is expected to worsen.
Bakeries, forced to increase prices by up to 30% in the past year,
are warning that the trend will continue. Manufacturers of miso, a
culinary staple, are preparing to pass on the bump in costs caused
by the rising price of soybeans and cooking oil. And the nation's
largest brewer, Kirin, is lifting beer prices for the first time in
almost two decades to account for the soaring cost of barley.
"In the past, Japan was a rich country with a powerful yen that
could easily buy cheap imports such as wheat, corn and
soybeans," said Mr Shibata, who directs the Marubeni Research
Institute in Tokyo. "But with enormous competition from the
booming Chinese and Indian economies, that's changed forever. You
also need to take into account recent developments, including the
damage to crops caused by drought and other disasters in exporting
countries like Australia," where the value of wheat exports has
tumbled from $3.49 billion to $2.77 billion in the past three years.
The situation has been compounded by a surge in demand for bio-fuels
such as ethanol, made from maize, encouraging farmers around the
world to divert their efforts away from wheat and barley and into
maize, further driving up prices.
Arguably Japan's biggest concern, however, is its weakening ability
to sustain its population with domestic produce. In 2006 the
country's self-sufficiency rate fell to 39%, according to the
Agriculture Ministry. It was only the second time since the ministry
began keeping records in 1960 that the population derived less than
40% of its daily calorie intake from domestically grown food.
Shinichi Shogenji, dean of the University of Tokyo's graduate
school of agricultural and life sciences, said Japan's meat
consumption had increased by 900% since 1955, in part because
expanding incomes had enabled families to supplement the sparse
national diet of rice, fish and miso soup with more Western-style
food.
This trend, combined with rapid ageing and declining rural
populations, had placed the country's self-sufficiency at a
perilously low level, Professor Shogenji said.
In view of recent predictions by Goldman Sachs analysts that
commodities could experience "explosive rallies" in the
next two years, many are wondering if Japan could become an example
to other rich nations that have relied too much on foreign supplies
to put food on their tables.
Last week, as the prices of wheat and barley continued their
relentless climb, the Japanese Government discovered it had
exhausted its ¥230 billion ($A2.37 billion) budget for the grains
with two months remaining. It was forced to call on an emergency ¥55
billion reserve to ensure it could continue feeding the nation.
"This was the first time the Government has had to take
such drastic action since the war," said Akio Shibata, an
expert on food imports, who warned the Agriculture Ministry two
years ago that Japan would have to cut back drastically on its
sophisticated diet if it did not become more self-sufficient.
In the wake of the decision this week by Kazakhstan, the world's
fifth biggest wheat exporter, to join Russia, Ukraine and Argentina
in stopping exports to satisfy domestic demand, the situation in
Japan is expected to worsen.
Bakeries, forced to increase prices by up to 30% in the past year,
are warning that the trend will continue. Manufacturers of miso, a
culinary staple, are preparing to pass on the bump in costs caused
by the rising price of soybeans and cooking oil. And the nation's
largest brewer, Kirin, is lifting beer prices for the first time in
almost two decades to account for the soaring cost of barley.
"In the past, Japan was a rich country with a powerful yen that
could easily buy cheap imports such as wheat, corn and
soybeans," said Mr Shibata, who directs the Marubeni Research
Institute in Tokyo. "But with enormous competition from the
booming Chinese and Indian economies, that's changed forever. You
also need to take into account recent developments, including the
damage to crops caused by drought and other disasters in exporting
countries like Australia," where the value of wheat exports has
tumbled from $3.49 billion to $2.77 billion in the past three years.
The situation has been compounded by a surge in demand for bio-fuels
such as ethanol, made from maize, encouraging farmers around the
world to divert their efforts away from wheat and barley and into
maize, further driving up prices.
Arguably Japan's biggest concern, however, is its weakening ability
to sustain its population with domestic produce. In 2006 the
country's self-sufficiency rate fell to 39%, according to the
Agriculture Ministry. It was only the second time since the ministry
began keeping records in 1960 that the population derived less than
40% of its daily calorie intake from domestically grown food.
Shinichi Shogenji, dean of the University of Tokyo's graduate school
of agricultural and life sciences, said Japan's meat consumption had
increased by 900% since 1955, in part because expanding incomes had
enabled families to supplement the sparse national diet of rice,
fish and miso soup with more Western-style food.
This trend, combined with rapid ageing and declining rural
populations, had placed the country's self-sufficiency at a
perilously low level, Professor Shogenji said.
In view of recent predictions by Goldman Sachs analysts that
commodities could experience "explosive rallies" in the
next two years, many are wondering if Japan could become an example
to other rich nations that have relied too much on foreign supplies
to put food on their tables.
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:28:42 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World
To: com4@winco.net
Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of
the World
By JOSH
GERSTEIN,
Staff Reporter of the Sun | April 21, 2008
MOUNTAIN
VIEW, Calif.
— Many parts of America,
long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now
confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food
rationing.
ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty
Rice is stored at a
National Food Authority warehouse at Manila, the
Philippines, on April 17.
Major retailers in New
York, in areas of New
England, and on the West Coast are limiting
purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand
outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports
that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.
At a Costco
Warehouse in Mountain
View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated
and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched
in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy.
“Where’s the rice?” an engineer from Palo
Alto, Calif., Yajun
Liu, said. “You should be able to buy something
like rice. This is ridiculous.”
The bustling store in the heart of Silicon
Valley usually sells four or five varieties of
rice to a clientele largely of Asian immigrants, but
only about half a pallet of Indian-grown Basmati rice
was left in stock. A 20-pound bag was selling for
$15.99.
“You can’t eat this every day. It’s too
heavy,” a health care executive from Palo Alto, Sharad
Patel, grumbled as his son loaded two sacks of the
Basmati into a shopping cart. “We only need one bag
but I’m getting two in case a neighbor or a friend
needs it,” the elder man said.
The Patels seemed headed for disappointment, as most
Costco members were being allowed to buy only one bag.
Moments earlier, a clerk dropped two sacks back on the
stack after taking them from another customer who
tried to exceed the one-bag cap.
“Due to the limited availability of rice, we are
limiting rice purchases based on your prior purchasing
history,” a sign above the dwindling supply said.
Shoppers said the limits had been in place for a few
days, and that rice supplies had been spotty for a few
weeks. A store manager referred questions to officials
at Costco headquarters near Seattle,
who did not return calls or e-mail messages yesterday.
An employee at the Costco store in Queens
said there were no restrictions on rice buying, but
limits were being imposed on purchases of oil and
flour. Internet postings attributed some of the
shortage at the retail level to bakery owners who
flocked to warehouse stores when the price of flour
from commercial suppliers doubled.
The curbs and shortages are being tracked with concern
by survivalists who view the phenomenon as a harbinger
of more serious trouble to come.
“It’s sporadic. It’s not every store, but it’s
becoming more commonplace,” the editor of SurvivalBlog.com,
James
Rawles, said. “The number of reports I’ve been
getting from readers who have seen signs posted with
limits has increased almost exponentially, I’d say
in the last three to five weeks.”
Spiking food prices have led to riots in recent weeks
in Haiti,
Indonesia,
and several African nations. India
recently banned export of all but the highest quality
rice, and Vietnam
blocked the signing of new contract for foreign rice
sales.
“I’m surprised the Bush administration hasn’t
slapped export controls on wheat,” Mr. Rawles said.
“The Asian countries are here buying every kind of
wheat.”
Mr. Rawles said it is hard to know how much of the
shortages are due to lagging supply and how much is
caused by consumers hedging against future price hikes
or a total lack of product.
“There have been so many stories about worldwide
shortages that it encourages people to stock up. What
most people don’t realize is that supply chains have
changed, so inventories are very short,” Mr. Rawles,
a former Army intelligence officer, said. “Even if
people increased their purchasing by 20%, all the
store shelves would be wiped out.”
At the moment, large chain retailers seem more prone
to shortages and limits than do smaller chains and
mom-and-pop stores, perhaps because store managers at
the larger companies have less discretion to increase
prices locally.
Mr. Rawles said the spot shortages seemed to be most
frequent in the Northeast and all the way along the
West Coast. He said he had heard reports of buying
limits at Sam’s Club warehouses, which are owned by Wal-Mart
Stores, but a spokesman for the company, Kory
Lundberg, said he was not aware of any shortages
or limits.
An anonymous high-tech professional writing on an
investment Web site, Seeking
Alpha, said he recently bought 10 50-pound bags of
rice at Costco. “I am concerned that when the news
of rice shortage spreads, there will be panic buying
and the shelves will be empty in no time. I do not
intend to cause a panic, and I am not speculating on
rice to make profit. I am just hoarding some for my
own consumption,” he wrote.
For now, rice is available at Asian markets in
California, though consumers have fewer choices when
buying the largest bags. “At our neighborhood store,
it’s very expensive, more than $30” for a 25-pound
bag, a housewife from Mountain View, Theresa Esquerra,
said. “I’m not going to pay $30. Maybe we’ll
just eat bread.”
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:55:48 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: They're Going to Sell Your Food
To: com4@winco.net
They're Going to Sell Your Food
J. Michael Stevens Group
April 15, 2008
By Steve Shenk
The UN World Food Program is asking for $1 billion - $500 million of
which they want paid by May 1st. This is to come from developed
nations, including the United States, to help with the starvation in
under-developed countries. Surely, no one would argue with the
humanitarian need to feed the starving Third World countries.
Every country in the world is experiencing food shortages and
runaway food prices. So you have to ask yourself, "Where are
they going to get the $1 billion worth of food to buy?"
Remember, we are entering the third year of this worldwide famine. The
UN has declared a world-wide food emergency.
Third World starvation is terrible, but it's not just
"them." Unfortunately, the United States itself has
started to starve. We have rationing and ridiculous cost increases
of wheat flour (the source for spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, etc.-
the basic food of the poor among us). With the bees disappearing in
the United States, pollination of fruits, vegetables and nuts isn't
happening. Corn shortages will cause severe rationing before the
next crop comes in. This means livestock feed will be in very short
supply effecting meat, poultry and dairy products.
The United States has been importing 30% to 40% of its food.
Countries we are importing from have shut down exports to us to save
the food for their own people.
Remember, every country in the world is experiencing food shortages
and runaway food prices. So again you have to ask yourself,
"Where are they going to get the $1 billion worth of food to
buy?"
There is only one developed country that will not shut down exports
of food to protect its people. That's the United States. The reason
is that our food supply is controlled by international agri-corps.
These multi-national food companies will gladly sell our American
food to the UN (paid for with your American dollars.)
The bottom line is this - you must realize that the United States of
America has 30% less food than what it takes to feed our own
population on any given day. Please understand that in all
probability these global food organizations will use America's money
to buy what's left of your food.
Our middle and upper income families will enter a never before
imagined terror for their own ability to survive when food in the
next few months becomes tremendously expensive and ultimately a
black marketed commodity. It will make no difference how prosperous
or poor an individual is. In the near future the measure of wealth
will not be the mansion on the hill with a basement vault full of
guns and gold. True wealth will be a supply of food to last three to
five years.
Your job is to do your research and decide what the worldwide, and
particularly the United States, famine means to you. Check on world
and American food availability. When the UN declares an emergency,
you have to believe that the famine is no longer recoverable.
When the mass media is forced to report the famine, you can be sure
of two things:
- They will first point to problems
outside the United States to distract us from our own rising
levels of food shortages.
- You will shortly see heart-wrenching examples of world
organization planes and trucks feeding the starving people of
these undeveloped countries. But be more concerned with what you
aren't shown. You won't see the other people in those countries
left to starve (they weren't fortunate enough to be
"selected" for the photo op.)
But even more important is the fact that those of you who can still
just barely afford food (clean or not), will never be told how fast
food is disappearing in America until the riots break out.
But then, of course, this all could be the ravings of a paranoid,
overheated, foolish brain.
The
genetically altered crops could be eliminated
worldwide and those remaining could be required to
carry pharmaceutical disclaimers. (For example: immune deficiency
diseases, cancer, diabetes, heart failure, impotence, Alzheimer's,
Morgellon's Disease, hypertension, etc.)
The bees could miraculously regenerate and pollinate
this year's crop bringing back two thirds of the food we eat every
day.
The thousands of farmers paid not to grow crops could
instantaneously bypass the three to five years, and the hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of equipment costs, needed to get
immediately back into production. (Of course, the last generation of
farm kids would have to be pulled back from their city jobs because
grandma and grandpa are too old to ride the tractors.)
Fuel prices could be dropped to an "honest"
profit over cost. Then truckers could make a decent
living hauling our food and farmers could afford to plant.
The worldwide famine where the planet didn't produce as much food as
the population ate the last two years is now entering its third
growing season with less water and fewer crops planted. We could
hope to see media headlines in a month or two declaring, "We
were just kidding about all this food scarcity stuff. We just wanted
to scare you."
The countries that we import food from could apologize
for shutting off exports and, even though they don't have enough
food for themselves, they could share with us just
because they like Americans.
Investors could sell back water rights in land over
aquifers to return them to public rather than private use and
control.
The Doomsday Seeds Vault in Norway could be
permanently sealed. It wouldn't be needed if farmers worldwide were
given back (heritage) seeds to plant year after year, never having
to buy seed again.
Yes, this whole mess could get miraculously turned
around in the next couple of months. Food prices could
drop to where even the poor in the US could afford their spaghetti.
And it could be that we will never see a food riot or
a bread line with no bread on American soil.
Do your research and place your bet on what you think will happen.
Is it better to have what you don't need or need what you don't
have?
What's in Your
Cupboard?
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:55:18 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: Riots, Strikes & Protests - The Great Global Grain Wars
To: com4@winco.net
Riots, Strikes & Protests - The Great Global Grain Wars
The Sovereign Society Offshore - A Letter
April 5, 2008
By Erika Nolan, Executive Director In the past year, riots broke
out in 12 different countries. We've also seen street protests in
Jakarta. Strikes in Italy. Unprecedented government controls in 20
different countries.
And over what? Oppressive government? Long work hours? Inequality?
No. It's much more basic than that. They're rioting and protesting
because they can no longer afford to eat with these skyrocketing
food costs.
And it's no wonder. In the last six months alone, the basics
people live on have surged dramatically in price. Corn prices have
jumped 51%. Barley has soared 38%. Oats, 53%. Wheat, 56%. And rice
- the mainstay of diets in emerging countries home to over 3
billion - shot up a devastating 67%!
You may not have heard the hungry protesters or seen the riots -
yet - but I'm guessing you've felt this uncomfortable inflationary
squeeze in your grocery bills.
Here in the U.S., you now have to fork over another 32% more for a
loaf of bread than you did just three years ago. A carton of eggs
costs you 50% more since this time last year. And overall your
food bills have climbed 5% since 2007, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:49:45 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: UN chief warns world must urgently increase food production
To: com4@winco.net
Associated Press | United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will put together a special task
force to help deal with the problem and call on the international
community to help.
International Herald Tribune | Soaring food
prices and global grain shortages are bringing new pressures on
governments, food companies and consumers to relax their
longstanding resistance to genetically engineered crops.
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:48:53 -0700
From: comlar58@yahoo.com
Subject: Food Rationing Begins in America
To: com4@winco.net
Fox KPTM 42 News | Major retailers on both coasts
are limiting customersʼ purchases of flour, rice and cooking
oil.
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try
it now.
|
