Global food costs hit record

[primroselane]

Up for the seventh month in a row, the closely watched Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index touched its highest since records began in 1990, and topped the peak of 224.1 in June 2008, during the food crisis of 2007/08. Surging food prices have helped fuel the discontent that toppled Tunisia's president in January and have spilled over to Egypt and Jordan.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41404378...orld_business/

[fishhead]

It may get better temporarily but the trend has to go up since we haven'ts stopped breeding like locusts.

[MO_cows]

"breeding like locusts"? speak for yourself. I find that insulting.

[naturelover]

How about bunnies, then? Is that less insulting? It's certainly no less true.

.

[MO_cows]

Again, speak for yourself. Maybe YOU reproduce indiscriminately, but I don't, and resent the implication. You are painting with too broad a brush, please tone it down.

[naturelover]

I don't know. The chart below sure looks like a giant global bunny hop to me.

The world population clock estimate is it'll be 7 billion in July of this year.

http://www.marathon.uwc.edu/geograph...ns/demtran.htm




HIGHLIGHTS IN WORLD POPULATION GROWTH

1 billion in 1804, 2 billion in 1927 (123 years later), 3 billion in 1960 (33 years later), 4 billion in 1974 (14 years later), 5 billion in 1987 (13 years later), 6 billion in 1999 (12 years later). It will be 7 billion in 2011 (12 years later).

.

[SquashNut]

If it is that bad why do we use our food for fuel?

[MO_cows]

World population growth is a very acceptable term. Telling the good readers of this board they are breeding like insects/animals is not. Let's talk about population growth without throwing around personal insults, what say you?

[farmergirl]

MO cows,
I believe fishhead was referring to the human race as a whole, not specifically to members of this board.

Globally, we are taxing the world's resources. What people don't seem to be able to digest is that resources are finite.

[fishhead]

The results of our behavior isn't that much different from locusts no matter how you want to phrase it. We are rapidly stripping this planet of critical resources to our own detriment.

My choice of description had nothing to do with being discriminate or indiscriminate in who we pair up with nor does it have anything to do with how much we value our children. I think most people value their children a lot and wish them the best future they can but a planet with finite resources can only be cut into so many pieces before people start to suffer from lack of basic needs.

[SquashNut]

What is it, we are using up all the resources or we cann't afford them?

[greg273]

Originally Posted by SquashNut

If it is that bad why do we use our food for fuel?

Because the ethanol lobby has many friends in congress... Its certainly not based on any scientific logic.

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by SquashNut

If it is that bad why do we use our food for fuel?

Oh here we go again. Ethanol is the bad guy. Little if anything has ethanol cause this world wide problem. Drought, way too much rain. Things like that. Other countries are not using corn based ethanol. How can just the USA that uses some corn to make ethanol cause a World Wide Cost of Food to get so high? Too many people in any given area sure can. And climate conditions through the globe can. As crude oil prices continue to climb the cost of growing ANY crop will get higher in price.
Coffee shortage, cocco shortage, SUGAR shortage. Hmmmmm maybe Brazil should stop their sugar ethanol based fuel. Then lets see where crude oil prices go.

[Jena]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

What people don't seem to be able to digest is that resources are finite.

That is actually quite a clever pun.

[Jena]

Cocoa??? There's a cocoa shortage???? Oh NO!!!!!!

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by Jena

Cocoa??? There's a cocoa shortage???? Oh NO!!!!!!

CHOCOLATE SUPPLY THREATENED BY COCOA CRISIS

Chocolate could become as rare as caviar, said John Mason of the Ghana-based Nature Conservation Research Council. Which means chocolate treats may become unaffordable for the average person.

Yes this is a big deal for sure.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/choc...oa-crisis.html

[salmonslayer]

Whats the latest prediction for Bourbon? Thats the food group I'm stressing about.

[MO_cows]

Originally Posted by arabian knight

CHOCOLATE SUPPLY THREATENED BY COCOA CRISIS

Yes this is a big deal for sure.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/choc...oa-crisis.html

Interesting, the article said some of the cocoa producers only made $1 per day. I guess some things are the same around the world, the producer gets shafted on the front end and the consumer on the back end.

This cliche is still true:
Farming is the only business where you buy retail, sell wholesale and pay the freight both ways.

[Jena]

Originally Posted by salmonslayer

Whats the latest prediction for Bourbon? Thats the food group I'm stressing about.

Where there's a still there's a way. Bourbon will be fine

[primroselane]

What we is an engine that would run on urea nitrate.