I don't know where i'm going with this blog, but a week ago an UN envoy labelled the Food crisis all over the world as a global tsunami. Of course, it'll be. Considering the fact that almost everyone eats food (ok, my bad.. that was a terrible one.). The UN report also explained the reasons behind the same. It blamed the supply and demand factors for the crisis and also specifically stated that one of the reasons for the decrease in supply is global warming! (It also contained some technical jargon which i could never understand, so im leaving that part out here!).
Now, a few days ago, George W Bush (the smartest president of all time!) explained why he thought the world was heading towards a food crisis. According to him, the "Middle Class" in India are eating more and hence the crisis. Usually, when people hear this, they would be like " Are you seriously telling me this is actually the President of the US of A speaking?" . But I wasn't surprised and i guess neither were my American friends. We all know how " Smart" he is. As the Minister of State for Commerce in India aptly put it " Bush has never been known for his knowledge of economics. And he has proved once again how comprehensively wrong he is". Oh yea, I'm quoting him verbatim! Another interesting thing is that, Condi Rice mentioned the same reason for the food crisis a few days before Bush. I mean, The American president might be stupid, but how moronic can his advisors be if they let him say the same thing again?
I have to get this off my chest first. Which country on the face of this earth has an obesity problem? India or the US? Ofcourse its the US. So who's heavier(!) consumer? We eat to survive and probably just a lil more. We are not the ones who go to McDonalds, order a double cheese burger, large fries and a "Diet" coke!(C'mon, who are you trying to fool here with the Diet coke?). As Jay Leno of The Tonight Show put it, "Boy, it is hard to keep up with all these crises we have in America. Remember last week, when everybody in America was obese? Remember that? This week there's a food shortage. What happened over the weekend? Did we pig out and eat all the food?"
Also, according to the US department of agriculture US consumes 5.87 times more grain per caita per year than the folks in India, twice as much milk per capitaper year and almost 4 times the vegetable oil per capita per year than us. For god's sake, these figures are from the US Department of Agriculture. We are not saying this, but they are!
Also, the UN report specifically mentions global warming as a cause for the issue. My question is this: Which country emits the highest amount of green house gases? Which country has signed the Kyoto protocol but not ratified the same? It sure isnt India. Infact, the republicans don't even agree that global warming is happening! Another fact that the UN report states is the "a shift away from farming for human consumption toward crops for biofuels". I accept that finding alternate fuel is a good thing, but dont blame the food crisis on us when you chose to convert food into oil.
India, is a food exporter and recently has banned the export of rice and pulses, which might be a big problem for the Indians in other countries. But I feel the Government of India has taken the right step. To control the inflation in India, they have done this. The rationale behind this is if there are no exports, availability in India will be more and hence prices will come down thereby reducing the Inflation. Right move I'd say. Why should you export food when you need it more in your country? And why should you give subsidies for export? When you export, make sure you charge them a premium so that you cover the cost of importing fertilizers which are scarce in India. Grab them by the balls and make them pay whenever you get a chance should be the motto.
I guess Dubya has the Foot(D) in the mouth Disease!
Now, a few days ago, George W Bush (the smartest president of all time!) explained why he thought the world was heading towards a food crisis. According to him, the "Middle Class" in India are eating more and hence the crisis. Usually, when people hear this, they would be like " Are you seriously telling me this is actually the President of the US of A speaking?" . But I wasn't surprised and i guess neither were my American friends. We all know how " Smart" he is. As the Minister of State for Commerce in India aptly put it " Bush has never been known for his knowledge of economics. And he has proved once again how comprehensively wrong he is". Oh yea, I'm quoting him verbatim! Another interesting thing is that, Condi Rice mentioned the same reason for the food crisis a few days before Bush. I mean, The American president might be stupid, but how moronic can his advisors be if they let him say the same thing again?
I have to get this off my chest first. Which country on the face of this earth has an obesity problem? India or the US? Ofcourse its the US. So who's heavier(!) consumer? We eat to survive and probably just a lil more. We are not the ones who go to McDonalds, order a double cheese burger, large fries and a "Diet" coke!(C'mon, who are you trying to fool here with the Diet coke?). As Jay Leno of The Tonight Show put it, "Boy, it is hard to keep up with all these crises we have in America. Remember last week, when everybody in America was obese? Remember that? This week there's a food shortage. What happened over the weekend? Did we pig out and eat all the food?"
Also, according to the US department of agriculture US consumes 5.87 times more grain per caita per year than the folks in India, twice as much milk per capitaper year and almost 4 times the vegetable oil per capita per year than us. For god's sake, these figures are from the US Department of Agriculture. We are not saying this, but they are!
Also, the UN report specifically mentions global warming as a cause for the issue. My question is this: Which country emits the highest amount of green house gases? Which country has signed the Kyoto protocol but not ratified the same? It sure isnt India. Infact, the republicans don't even agree that global warming is happening! Another fact that the UN report states is the "a shift away from farming for human consumption toward crops for biofuels". I accept that finding alternate fuel is a good thing, but dont blame the food crisis on us when you chose to convert food into oil.
India, is a food exporter and recently has banned the export of rice and pulses, which might be a big problem for the Indians in other countries. But I feel the Government of India has taken the right step. To control the inflation in India, they have done this. The rationale behind this is if there are no exports, availability in India will be more and hence prices will come down thereby reducing the Inflation. Right move I'd say. Why should you export food when you need it more in your country? And why should you give subsidies for export? When you export, make sure you charge them a premium so that you cover the cost of importing fertilizers which are scarce in India. Grab them by the balls and make them pay whenever you get a chance should be the motto.
I guess Dubya has the Foot(D) in the mouth Disease!
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