Bargyla wrote:
>>I know that, even if there were plenty of food sent to starving
>>Africans, etc., those starving people would not get. it Somehow
>>the food would not get there or get there and rot on the docks, or
>>be grabbed by some greedy person who would keep it until it rotted
>>because the hungry poor could not afford it.
It probably doesn't matter exactly how the grain enters the local economy
when we are dealing with very large amounts. The greedy middle men will
sell it. It will depress local prices regardless, and drive local farmers
out of business.
Mark wrote:
> why not get out of the way and let people grow their own food?
This morning on the way to work the news report said something about how
important it is for the US to have a strong export policy to help ameliorate
the US farm crisis. I thought about all those poor farmers in developing
countries inundated with cheap grain. Of course, this is an old story and
most of the damage has already been done.
We are at a point right now where the world can produce considerably more
grain than we need. We need to find ways to keep the surplus from
destroying local markets without dismantling the infrastructure that
produces surpluses. After all, in a few decades humans, collectively, are
going to need every kernel of corn we can get our hands on. And we will
need those local markets and production capacity too.
The other imperative is how to control population growth without having a
police state. Maybe we could devise chemicals to reduce sperm count... ;-O
(just kidding).
Dale
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