Aug 19 2008
RamblerWe Feed The World - The World Will Now Feed Us?
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Are North Americans prepared for what is facing us in the future? The American dream is slowly becoming a nightmare. Our prosperity seems to be built on the believe that exhausting the world’s resources as quickly as possible is the thing to do…without any concern about our neighbors, other life on this planet, or our children.
The rest of the world is waking up to America’s extravagant use of energy and resources and for their own survival they may begin to restrict energy transfers to the US.
An embargo placed on us by other nations?
The Diminished Food Supply in the US
Just how critically low is our food reserves right now?
November 1, 2004 inventory list of U.S.D.A. Commodity Credit Corporation [C. C. C.] owned stocks.
The C. C. C. inventory was as follows: corn - 100,000 bushels, barley -100,000 bushels, oats - 100,000 bushels, wheat [Minus quantities committed to the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust] 2,300,000 bushels, non-fat dry milk [minus quantities committed to Dairy/ Donations] 3,700,000 pounds, cheese [minus quantities to Dairy/ Donations] 1,100,000 pounds.
The C. C. C. owned inventories are ZERO for the following commodities: butter, soybeans, sorghum, rice, honey, peanuts, canola, flax seed, sunflower oil and seed, dry peas and lentils.
Let’s do some simple math. If we add these figures and divide them by current U. S. Population we discover our food reserves can be measured in ounces!
We have less than one pound of commodity per citizen.
The “Freedom to Farm” law has a goal to get the government out of supply management and food reserves. Now companies like Cargill, Tyson, and ADM own and manage the world’s food supply and also our security.
There is no surplus of food in our world or this country. Stocks of food and fiber should be viewed as an asset, not a liability. The fact of the matter is the United States now operates with ‘a trade deficit’ with regard to agriculture. No more can “we feed the world.”
Will the world will now feed us?
We are steadily replacing a policy of agriculture trade and food reserves with the export of guns, bombs, and weapons of war.
Respect for the land and those who cultivate and harvest the bounty must be recognized and elevated. Hunger, poverty and war will continue to multiply if we stay on this present course. Why assume all the risks and suffering when there is so much more to be gained from a wise food and fiber policy?
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One response so far
Very interesting take on this very pressing problem.
It does amaze me how little we have thought about the need to stock food. Somewhere along the line of dedicated all our mental power to how to make profits, we forgot that every time the price of bread went up in Rome there were violent riots.
Hopefully we will be able to turn this issue around. It’s not long before the food supply will regulate the human market rather than the other way around.