the food crisis and america’s lions
by Mark Hunter Mulvey
Published: April 14, 2008
He hath eaten me out of house and home.
- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), King Henry IV Part II
The lion is most handsome when looking for food
- Jalal ad-Din Rumi (Persian Poet and Mystic, 1207-1273)
In an odd and jarring convergence of various global events, humanity is now struggling to obtain food. Nutrition, it seems, is becoming luxury. Nobody appears to be the more handsome for it.
The reason is simple enough, but often clouded by factors arising from the desire for people to weave complex Tapestries of Explanation that attempt to pilfer out a solution. The reason is this: an imbalance between supply and demand. The cloudy Tapestry, then, I will attempt to explore below.
Facts can illustrate the scene: Italy in September 2007 saw a consumer strike against the drastic rise in the cost of pasta, a national staple. Two people were killed in early March over bread disputes in Egypt. Military forces in Peru have begun eating bread made from potato flour, a native crop, due to import restrictions. Burkina Faso has seen the cost of milk rise 57 percent in less than one month.
Most recently, Haiti’s Parliament voted to dismiss Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis following deadly protests over the rising cost of food, a clash that involved hundreds of objectors and left at least 5 people dead. One Haitian food vendor was forced to pull her daughter out of school because she can no longer afford the $20-per-month tuition.
Global food reserves are at their lowest in a quarter century, leaving countries susceptible to weather and harvest fluctuations. Food costs worldwide have risen 23 percent between 2006 and 2007. Food costs in America spiked 4 percent in 2007, the highest rate since 1990. As of December, 37 countries faced food crises, and preliminary FAO projections have consumers facing more expensive food over the next 10 years.
The situation seems dire, to be sure. We have arrived at this “end of days” scenario by way of several factors, most of which, I argue, are various framings of the same portrait. Rising petroleum costs drive up the price of food transportation and processing, while also leaning heavily on governments to look toward biofuels as necessary alternatives. This increases demand for already-expensive crops such as corn and soybeans, thrusting economies into a spiraling torus of perpetual necessity. It is a gruesome black hole for any would-be problem-solver.
The beating heart of this crisis is Fuel. From what I can tell, nations are failing to grasp the fact that this is not a situation that pits Food against Energy. Food is energy. Food is fuel. The Energy Crisis and the Food Crisis are one in the same, with a difference that lies with the Powered. Humanity is now forced to choose between Humans and Machines as that which deserves energy the most.
A permanent solution is certainly needed, and in short order. The overindulged lions of America are the only few left in this world who can still benefit from the virtues of hunger.
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