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Thread: World Food Shortages

  1. #1

    Hamburger World Food Shortages

    It has begun!

    Could We Really Run Out of Food?
    Grain prices have gone way up lately. It's partially due to biofuels such as ethanol, which don't actually help the environment at all. It takes as much energy to manufacture the fuels as they're supposed to be off-setting. It's also due to the fact that there's just too many people in the world to feed. I wish I knew the source, but I've always heard that this will be a serious problem in 2010. Well, it's two years ahead of then and stories are popping up. And there's less and less farmland.

    The article states that Vietnam, India and Egypt are hoarding rice. Russia is hoarding (or prohibitively taxing) wheat.

    Then he mentions the Midwest (where I live). We have had good crops for as long as I can remember and he brings that up. But we're a bit worried this year. You see, Winter isn't ending. It's the longest, harshest winter since (I'm told) the 60's. Our crop production is going to suffer because of it and we've built sooo many ethanol plants, in which we burn up a lot of corn and soybeans. There will probably be floods. The growing season will be short. If we shut down the ethanol plants, a lot of people lose their jobs.

    Basically, I'm saying this hasn't affected America yet, but it very well could this year. So far, the rise in grain and meat (animals eat grain!) prices hasn't been passed on to us. We're already in a recession and people have less cash. Jobs are already disappearing. Biofuel plants have become HUGE employers here as well as in California and I believe South America, as well.

    So, have we dug ourselves a hole or what?

    Don't shut down biofuels > Less food available > Can't afford food
    OR
    Shut down biofuels > A lot of jobless people > Can't afford food


    And now, for a plethora of links about recent food shortages to brighten your day!

    UK Pledges £3M in Afghan Food Aid
    Food Shortage Hits North-Eastern Region (Africa)
    U.N. Warns Food Shortage Will Continue up to 2010
    Haitian Food Shortage (I mentioned this elsewhere)
    U.N looks east in for unused land in face of rising food prices (Europe)
    India May Face Food Shortage in 2009
    Food Shortage Sparks Cuba-Style Rationing (Venezuela)
    Food Crisis Looming over Korea
    Food Shortage (Short blurb from Bangladesh)
    Food Security: Moving Towards the Precipice? (China)

    Is it a plethora yet? D:

  2. #2
    "King of Quotes" pyrofyr's Avatar
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    And to think, people still waste food daily 8O!

    This isn't too shocking news for me since I pretty much already knew it was gonna happen, but it is a good subject I suppose.
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  3. #3
    Mushmom jiahao_94's Avatar
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    Yep. So is coal, natural gas, etc. In fact, the only thing that are not running out are babies and retardedness. They're on the increase.
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  4. #4
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    I have the feeling this is going to hit all at once and people are gonna be all wtf and then we all die of hunger abut just before that people turn cannibal and make a good end to the world.

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    Slime Makara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ulyana View Post
    Don't shut down biofuels > Less food available > Can't afford food
    OR
    Shut down biofuels > A lot of jobless people > Can't afford food
    How about this for option 3:

    Switch from livestock to crops > Greater nutrition per acre > Affordable food for all

    Never going to happen, same as any long term solutions to humanity's self-inflicted problems.
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  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by jiahao_94 View Post
    Yep. So is coal, natural gas, etc. In fact, the only thing that are not running out are babies and retardedness. They're on the increase.
    Hahahaha! I have said before around here that people need to stop having so many kids.

    Quote Originally Posted by Makara View Post
    How about this for option 3:

    Switch from livestock to crops > Greater nutrition per acre > Affordable food for all

    Never going to happen, same as any long term solutions to humanity's self-inflicted problems.
    Heh, well I'm already a vegetarian so I couldn't care less if they made people cut back on meat. I really don't know if you Brits use ethanol, but it was a very stupid idea that we're going to have to pay for. The truth is no one's going to even consider converting the land used for livestock to crops and I highly doubt the ethanol plants will be shut down. Those are a huge business and financial boon to my state, at least.

    The Western world will just have to pay for the food and more people in the 3rd world countries will very likely starve. It will pretty much be the same as it is now, only our prices will be higher and the problems will creep into the "developing" world.

    A better solution might be to limit urban sprawl. Land is cheap in America. People in small towns around here are likely to have a half acre each. My parents do, and my grandpa has a full acre. Neither are using the land for anything much.

  7. #7
    Slime ninjadude543's Avatar
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    in my opinion over the years people will become more and more aware of it and help to find a solution. With the technology we have now it would be pretty simple if the world put it heads together and tried to help eachother with this.

    And a way to slow this could be for americans to stop eating such large portions of food and use smalled rations like other country.
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  8. #8

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    I have said it before, and I will say it again: Every politician needs to be required to take a class in high school environmental science. They would then know that corn-based ethanol is the most inefficient energy source other than nuclear. It cost more to make than it produces. :rolleyes:

    But of course, politicians have no idea how much easier it would be to solve our energy problems if we all just raised fuel standards and bought better insulation and appliances. Still not easy, but much easier.

    Btw, when you take all the subsidies away and consider the long-term environmental costs, solar and wind energy are some of the cheapest fuel sources around. Also, hydrogen or electric (pure, not hybrid... which is basically a golf cart, lol) is probably the best replacement for gas in cars, but people are going to have to get used to carpools and living closer to where they work. Otherwise, there simply isn't enough energy.
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  9. #9
    Phantom Watch zigkid3's Avatar
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    I have came up with the solution.
    with this we can kill 2 birds with one stone and solve world hunger and
    homelessness at the same time, get rid of "undesirables", lessen the overgrowth in population, and save the food reserves.

    all we have to do is eat homeless people and go and become cannibalistic =P

  10. #10
    Mushmom ~UnknownBandit~'s Avatar
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    About damn time! My dreams are coming true. Since the population is sky rocketing, food prices will sky rocket and the food will become scarce. This is happening.

    Soon, there will be a massive world war 3 to see who gets what, and who gives up what. After that, the population will decrease DRASTICALLY.

    Then we enter somewhat of a Feudal Era, no more factories, everybody walks around, and computers is a forbidden technology. Death & blood & starvation & hunger will be a natural, daily occurrence in life.

    Eventually, the sun blows up and then we all die.
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