Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Glencore the world`s largest commodity traders are the Scum of the Earth..................
Glencore`s agriculture director said the current global food crisis,USA`s ``Dust Bowl``days of the
1930`s and Russia suffering similar food crisis is...............
```Good for business,the environment is a good one,High Prices,lots of volatility,lots of dislocation,
tightness,lots of arbitrage opportunities```
These companies,especially Glencore,buy up stocks of `food`and then demand the highest price
from ``Oxfam``at times of starvation in the developing world.
Oxfam said ``Private``companies like Glencore exploit the volatile world food prices to make
enormous profits,which highlights how these companies dominate the Global food system.
This situation has been out of control for years and the G20 nations will be holding an emergency
summit on the world food crisis in order to change the rules and regulations so Glencore and
other multinationals cannot continue trading and profiteering from the starvation,suffering and misery
of the poor people in the developing nations.
It is long overdue to sort out this unacceptable profiteering of these Private Companies..................
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
[time to get my DIY-BW kit out of the box]
Now, now Reg. The investors in, and officers of, such companies are the true wealth creators and the pension-funds we each rely upon to keep us in champers in our dotage. With a 'Free-Market' economy we all know that such things would be stopped if they were in any way harmful to the greater good, and who knows, but a penny or two of the vast sums accumulated may find their way to a cats home near you.
Giving of our last to aid foreign-johnnies makes us all warm inside. How neat it all is that most of that cash remains within the western economy. It's not only Calcutta that has a black-hole.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
There was someone on R4 talking about the positives of all this, but not sounding terribly convincing. He talked of the world food shortage in terms of individuals abndoning farming because their returns are low, in other words people are giving up producing food because they cant make much of a living doing it...hence the shortage.
If some of these increased prices filter through to these farmers, said the talking head, then food levels will be sustained and there wont be a shortage and there wont be rising prices.
But thats not a terribly convincing argument..money will always fail to filter down to the grass roots. Its the way of things.
There is no doubt that eventually we will have to go the route of genetically engineered crops.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
"There is no doubt that eventually we will have to go the route of genetically engineered crops."
Thankfully, I am not one that assumes that any time-line runs straight rather than 'true', and so the acceptance of GM crops is not in the least assured.
There was an effective advert some while back that ran...
"Give a man a fish...but give him the means to fish..."
The 'promise' of GM engineering is to give a man something with the label 'fish' around it's neck, and tell him to like it or lump it.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 725- Registered: 7 Oct 2011
- Posts: 1,418
What's equally morally quesionable, to put it politely, is the fact that 40% of US corn is diverted to make biofuel which goes into the tanks of motor cars. This, of course, is a policy designed to save the planet!!!!!!!
So the logic is save the planet and starve the people.
When asked if this policy could be suspended because of the gravity of the food shortage situation Obama refused point blank.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
I think the 'give a man a fish' one is too old hat now. They have been using that slogan in Africa for a lifetime and is it making progress?? Dont give a man water but give him the means to dig a well...yes its a nice slogan..very nice..awfully nice.
There is an obvious world food shortage, hopefully the gathering greats will come up with something at the summit, but as with all summits they never seem to produce much of a solution..a sticking plaster over a broken limb...or put it all off til the next summit.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Don't give everyone a fish, give them an allotment!
It's recognised that indivually tended small plots are the most efficient in terms of getting produce per unit area, unfortunately a bit impractical for inner city dwellers.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
you could allways use hyde park for allottments and other green spaces around the capital/s of england.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Reg, #8
Perhaps I best expand the wording of the advert...
"Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Give a man the means to fish and feed him every day."
More allotments and more small scale farming would be the better way to go, and it would free-up the African grower of petit-pois and cut flowers to feed himself and his neighbours.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
we do have not only the uk crisis
but also thje international ctisis
with food stockpiled whilst families starve of stavation
there has to be something wrong somewhere
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Here's an idea from Italy that might take off in the Market Square (or not!), it could even be timed for a cookery or gardening program on the big screen -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19298155Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
kieth,you can allways grow your own,start digging your back garden over,and if you havnt got a back garden the nearist school playing field will do.the presant goverment is flogging them off cheap.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
no such room
brian
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Heavens..its totally twee western thinking to say that you can dig a well here or there etc etc or give everyone the means to fish etc etc and all will be fine. You see reports on this kind of thing on televison every so often..a nice little african village with a small allottment and maize or whathaveyou growing in the corner. it achieves nothing. It has achieved nothing over many years. Okay I relent, it might help a tad here and there but its nothing near an overall solution.
We still have those starving kids as seen on TV adverts everyday that we cant bear to watch and as seen in the link above..everyday, it never goes away. Since I was a kid with my 'penny for the black babies'. ..its never gone away. Having a few allotments and a few wells will accomplish nothing other than sooth western conscience.
What we need is a greater world wide production of food and this i suspect can only be achieved by genetic enhancement of current crops. Will a starving family in africa pause before they eat a bowl of rice and say
"is this genetically enhanced??"
Guest 641- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 2,335
'Grandma's sandwiches' Great Idea!
I think it would be a great way to take advantange of the square, a large panini stuffed with heaps of parmigiana, layers of aubergine and mozzarella in a basil-fragranced tomato sauce for a few euros
, I don't think so
I'm sure we would be ripped off big-time for a price of more like £5.99 plus
Subway would probably complain saying it was taking away business
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
The issue of "end-user agreements" discussed under the link below* is one thing, one important thing, but the problem that has me troubled is the ongoing seed (for re-seeding) issue.
The GM seed is bought, the (bumper?) crop harvested, but can the seed from that crop be planted to become next season's crop, and so on?
On the face of it this seems unlikely as GM-ing would then be a one-off event.
So...
The first (maybe even the second too) time you purchase your GM seed, it is reasonably cheap.
BUT!!!
Say the yields are good and the profits too.
Is the GM supplier going to be happy leaving the farmer with the 'extra' profit and the market (you and me) better off?
While, PaulB, I can see that there IS money in GM I cannot see the farmers and the consumers of India and Africa getting any portion of benefit whatsoever.
Like Green solutions, this is the answer ONLY to the prayers of big-business.
*That link...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-seed-companies-control-gm-crop-researchIgnorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Paul, genetically modified crops is not really a solution, as crops as such are sufficient in their natural form. The problem is with insufficient irrigation in various parts of the world.
Even GM crops wouldn't grow if there isn't enough rain.
Irrigation is important for supplementing rain in semi-desert areas. It makes crops grow more abundantly to say the least.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Barclays is the UK Bank with the greatest involvement in Food Commodity Trading.
Other Banks involved are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Barclays have made half a billion pounds in two years while millions starve from global
food crisis....