wow. interesting to get some numbers for this.
Lester Brown, director of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, said yesterday that land turned to biofuels in the US alone in the last two years would have fed nearly 250 million people with average grain needs. “This year 18% of all US grain production will go to biofuels. In the last two years the US has diverted 60m tonnes of food to fuel. On the heels of seven years of consumption of world grains exceeding supply, this has put a great strain on the world’s grain supplies,” he said.
and there are rice shortages, too.
In the Phillipines
Fear is so deep that the country’s agricultural secretary, Arthur Yap, this month asked fast-food restaurants including McDonald’s and KFC - which generally supply a cup of rice with their meals in Asian branches - to halve the amount of rice supplied, so that none would be wasted. In addition, traders who try to stockpile rice have been warned that they face a charge of ‘economic sabotage’, which in the Philippines carries a life sentence.
In fact food shortages and price rises are an increasing problem.
Soaring food costs have prompted unrest across West Africa. In Dakar last week, police cracked down on rioters protesting the rising cost of staple goods including rice, oil and milk. Nearby Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Mauritania have each seen angry citizens take to the streets to protest mounting prices.
There have been food riots in 17 countries.
in other news, i ate at a fine edinburgh restaurant on thursday, enjoying foie gras and ox-tail. today, in london, i settled for a cote de boef with bearnaise sauce.
