Monday, June 9, 2008
Politics and Hunger
(Commentary and Analysis of the editorial Politics and Hunger)
According with this editorial, the sky-high prices on food are a threat to 100 million more people who are falling into poverty. Over the past year, the prices of grains, vegetable oil have nearly doubled and rice has jumped by about half. The causes of this are the high energy costs, drought in big agricultural producers and big demand by the rising middle class in
But, the main point of the person who wrote this editorial is the “misguided mandates and subsidies in the
I believe that this is the main reason of the prices that we now have for corn and other crops. The International Monetary Fund estimated that biofuels (mainly corn ethanol) accounted for almost half the growth in the demand for major food crops last year, about a third of this country’s corn crop will go to ethanol this year. At a summit meeting held in
The world’s economy is in crisis, the good times of surpluses are gone, and the economy is suffering. We are running out of oil and we don’t have any idea of what is going to happen. Our government along with other wealthy nations such as the European countries and
A good candidate is ethanol, but if the world uses ethanol in the future as fuel. The price of corn and other grains are going to go sky-high and this is going create more poverty in the world. The government should worry about the food prices and the poverty of the world that we are going to have in the future more than the fuels that we are going to use.
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The affects of rising oil and gas prices can be seen most everywhere in the United States: decreased school field trips, tighter family budgets, higher food costs, etc. My fellow classmate discusses his thoughts on the subject in his blog Politics and Hunger. However, I greatly disagree with his opinion regarding biofuels influence on the rising cost of food in the United States.
First hand experience with my family’s farm and ranch and hometown’s new biofuel plant has led me to believe otherwise. As gas prices increase, my family and other farm and ranchers (big and small) across the US adjust their goods’ prices accordingly. Farmers and ranchers can be both producers and consumers of ethanol. The opportunity to increase their business capacity via the need for biofuels (ethanol) will help many struggling US farmers. In addition, the use of ethanol may decrease their fuel expenses. This is not to say that natural occurrences such as droughts will not continue to affect the cost of both crops and biofuels, but that the added use of corn as fuel will aid in the farming and ranching economy and therefore affect the American consumer (hopefully in a positive way). As Ruben mentioned, “the Bush administration said that the ethanol is playing a very small role in rising food prices.” The Bush Administration is lacking credibility in its last days, but I do not believe they are not mistaken here. If anything biofuels will help ease the fuel expenses of farmers and ranchers and all additional expenses to bring their products to consumers.
In addition, as gas prices continue to sky rocket, I ask –Who continues to make large profits? The oil companies! Their fear of increased crude oil is leading them to prepare for even higher prices, thus raising the price at the pump even when unnecessary. It is the elite few that continue drive family budget in disarray.
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