Climate change is fuelling food shortages capable of reeking serious social crisis across the globe, according to the head of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (UN FAO).
Over the last year we have seen the consequences of chronic food shortages and its impact on social control as was demonstrated in the food riots that broke out in Mexico, India, Bukina Faso and West Bengal among others.
In Russia, the threat of the government being forced from office has lead to the freezing of food prices while other governments like that in revolutionary Venezuela have been able to control prices in their state owned discount supermarkets despite shortages of beef, chicken and milk.
In Argentina and Italy the rise in basic food costs has lead to boycotts against national favorites like tomatoes and pasta respectively.
The UN have placed the blame for the food shortages on a combination of world oil prices, U.S farmers move towards growing crops for biofuel, extreme weather patterns caused by climate change as well as the increased demand being created by the growing economies of India and China.
Ali Gurkan, head of the UN FAO, told the Guardian that cereal crops had been declining for a decade but now stood at levels vulnerable to an international crisis or natural disaster that may occur.
Lester Brown, president of the Worldwatch Institute Thinktank explained that the battle for grain was becoming increasingly a battle between those that want to use it to use it to create ethanol for cars and those in the third world that simply wanted to eat it to stay alive.
With oil prices pushing ninety dollars a barrel US President Bush’s pledge, for a steep rise in ethanol production, this has inflated the price of maize crop and taken precious land away from food production.
With maize being a staple food in many countries and 70% of the world’s maize coming from the USA this has meant catastrophe could be right around the corner.
Cuban President Fidel Castro has been critical of biofuel technology and the United States’ attempts to push it on the third world describing it in April 3 edition of the state owned Granma newspaper as “the internationalization of genocide”.
As Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has also become critical of biofuels explained during President Bush’s South American tour earlier this year, “When you fill a vehicle’s tank with ethanol, you are filling it with energy for which land and water enough to feed seven people have been used”.
As Josette Sheeran, director of the WFP, explained to the Guardian, “There are 854 million hungry people in the world and 4 million more join their ranks every year. We are facing the tightest food supplies in recent history. For the worlds most vulnerable, food is simply being priced out of their reach”.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Book Review: Naomi Klein- The Shock Doctrine
Naomi Klein- The Shock Doctrine
Penguin Books
32.95 RRP
Milton Freedman’s death was greeted by a tide of obituaries in the mainstream press in support of the world reknown “libertarian” economist. Yet very few cared to mention the various example countries he had made his work over his life.
Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine takes a look behind the work of a man that has helped bring neo-liberalism into the lives of millions- with devastating results.
Klein tracks the history of Freedman and his Chicago school’s exploits throughout the world and their attempt to create a blank slate model country on which to impose their neo-liberal agenda. A shocking comparison is drawn between the use of shock therapy on humans to what the Freedmanites tried to impose on countries.
The idea of disaster capitalism comes from the way first world capitalists now use disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis and war as an opportunity to create more business for themselves. Today, many industries, like vultures on a dead carcass, thrive on such misfortune and therefore have an interest in its continuance.
Despite the rhetoric of Libertarianism, Freedman’s politics relied on sacred and insecure people and often required dictatorships, like that of Pinochet in Chile, to be imposed. Millions have been murdered or disappeared as a direct result of upholding this very anti-democratic ideology. Despite this, Freedman is for some reason held up as a demi-god to economics students through out the world.
As Klein points out many people would like us to believe that these shocking examples of capitalism at its greediest, from Iraq to New Orleans to Russia to South Africa and beyond, are simply caused by a few bad apples or maybe even part of an elaborate conspiracy but these ideas give no credit to the people who created the ideas and whose interests they were serving.
The ramifications of such a disaster situation has also been used as an opening to the ideologists with money, otherwise known as the IMF and World Bank. For these institutions, they know it is only a matter of time before they get their way even if they have to go to war to do so.
The shock doctrine shows us how far capitalism has come and how truly unsustainable the idea of unlimited growth truly has proved. I would be truly surprised if someone could walk away from this book and not want to change the world in which we live. A must for all economics students and those that are yet to grasp the devastating nature of the (capitalist) world around us.
Penguin Books
32.95 RRP
Milton Freedman’s death was greeted by a tide of obituaries in the mainstream press in support of the world reknown “libertarian” economist. Yet very few cared to mention the various example countries he had made his work over his life.
Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine takes a look behind the work of a man that has helped bring neo-liberalism into the lives of millions- with devastating results.
Klein tracks the history of Freedman and his Chicago school’s exploits throughout the world and their attempt to create a blank slate model country on which to impose their neo-liberal agenda. A shocking comparison is drawn between the use of shock therapy on humans to what the Freedmanites tried to impose on countries.
The idea of disaster capitalism comes from the way first world capitalists now use disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis and war as an opportunity to create more business for themselves. Today, many industries, like vultures on a dead carcass, thrive on such misfortune and therefore have an interest in its continuance.
Despite the rhetoric of Libertarianism, Freedman’s politics relied on sacred and insecure people and often required dictatorships, like that of Pinochet in Chile, to be imposed. Millions have been murdered or disappeared as a direct result of upholding this very anti-democratic ideology. Despite this, Freedman is for some reason held up as a demi-god to economics students through out the world.
As Klein points out many people would like us to believe that these shocking examples of capitalism at its greediest, from Iraq to New Orleans to Russia to South Africa and beyond, are simply caused by a few bad apples or maybe even part of an elaborate conspiracy but these ideas give no credit to the people who created the ideas and whose interests they were serving.
The ramifications of such a disaster situation has also been used as an opening to the ideologists with money, otherwise known as the IMF and World Bank. For these institutions, they know it is only a matter of time before they get their way even if they have to go to war to do so.
The shock doctrine shows us how far capitalism has come and how truly unsustainable the idea of unlimited growth truly has proved. I would be truly surprised if someone could walk away from this book and not want to change the world in which we live. A must for all economics students and those that are yet to grasp the devastating nature of the (capitalist) world around us.
CD Review: Anti Flag- A Benefit for Victims of Violent Crime
Anti Flag
A Benefit for Victims of Violent Crime
A-F Records
Anti Flag have never been a band to shy away from the big issues and the latest EP from the Pittsburgh-based punk band proves to be no exception to this rule.
As Anti Flag explains in their liner notes, violent crimes are too often written off as senseless acts when in fact there is often underlying social reasonings for such events.
Anti Flag see their new release as something that can not only raise money for a good cause but also to get people thinking about the underlying issues behind violent crimes that have touched the band personally through the death of Chris #2’s sister and her boyfriend.
The release includes five new and five live tracks. The new tunes express the feelings felt by many young radicals growing up in today’s world, of hate of the established order, the need for radical change and a certain hopelessness felt by those fighting for change. This sentiment can be seen in “no future”, “anthem for the new millennium generation” and “No Paradise”. “Corporate Rock still sucks” describes the many downsides of work in a corporate world.
The live tracks include tracks from their last few albums which have become crowd favorites during their hectic live show schedule over recent years including no borders, no nations, one trillion dollars and 911 for peace.
A Benefit for Victims of Violent Crime
A-F Records
Anti Flag have never been a band to shy away from the big issues and the latest EP from the Pittsburgh-based punk band proves to be no exception to this rule.
As Anti Flag explains in their liner notes, violent crimes are too often written off as senseless acts when in fact there is often underlying social reasonings for such events.
Anti Flag see their new release as something that can not only raise money for a good cause but also to get people thinking about the underlying issues behind violent crimes that have touched the band personally through the death of Chris #2’s sister and her boyfriend.
The release includes five new and five live tracks. The new tunes express the feelings felt by many young radicals growing up in today’s world, of hate of the established order, the need for radical change and a certain hopelessness felt by those fighting for change. This sentiment can be seen in “no future”, “anthem for the new millennium generation” and “No Paradise”. “Corporate Rock still sucks” describes the many downsides of work in a corporate world.
The live tracks include tracks from their last few albums which have become crowd favorites during their hectic live show schedule over recent years including no borders, no nations, one trillion dollars and 911 for peace.
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