Taking Action*

I should have posted this next to my entry ‘The Future of Food and Me’ but I suppose now is better than never. As conversation continues both inside and outside this class about the growing food crisis, I can’t help but think back to the five reasons Raj Patel said food prices were rising. From his book ‘Stuffed and Starved’ the list is as follows:
1) Oil: As the price of oil rises (currently close if not more than $120.00 a barrel), the price of food goes up as they are directly related to each other. (Think about the machinery it takes to harvest mass quantities of food, think about the cost of transporting food from cross the nation or from across the world). 1 calorie of fuel = 1 calorie we eat.
2) Bad Harvest: Due to crazy changing climates, weird climatic changes that normally do not happen are beginning to have a large affect on harvests. Recently there has been a trend of strange weather events. Due to global warming, hard to say, but it’s likely
3) Bio Fuels: Corn into ethanol is renewable but not sustainable. Corn into fuel produces more CO2 than it saves and with more farmers trying to harvest corn for fuel purposes, the cost of corn for food is increasing dramatically. Yellow corn used for fuel shrinks the amount of yellow corn for food, thus increasing the cost of the alternative white corn.
4) Meat: People are starting to bid up the price of grain to feed their livestock. It takes 7lbs of grain to make 1lb of beef. Grain taken from bowls of people to feed livestock (which causes animals like cows to get fatter quicker) increases the cost for the human consumer.
5) Speculation: Remember when the price for houses went up because everyone thought the housing market was going up? Same with food. This happens at a local level—wealthy people hording all the food, while the poor people starve

What actions do we need to take then in order to counteract the five reasons why food prices may be increasing?
1) Shop locally. Although you won’t get to have your blueberries in the winter time, shopping locally will reduce your own transportation costs as well as the farmer’s cost (because it’s local, less travel) and also it may be true that small farms = less large harvesting techniques (like using big machinery that use lots of fuel).
2) Although ‘going green’ seems to be the big trend in America at the moment, I don’t see how it could hurt. Start actively paying attention to your participation within our environment: recycling, composting, growing your own food, riding a bike or public transportation rather than driving your own car (just some ideas)
3) Corn into ethanol seemed like a good idea, but it’s making the price for tortillas go up tremendously! Not to say that driving a diesel truck is better, just think about carpooling, using public transportation, driving a hybrid or the good old fashion way, riding a bike.
4) Eat grass feed livestock rather than corn fed cows. First it’s better for your health as well as the cows (because naturally born they are only suppose to eat grass. Corn causes gas build up which in serious situations can place pressure on a cow’s lungs, eventually suffocating them) and second, in some years from now there might one day be a balance again between corn for food and corn for animals/products.
5) If you’re nervous that the world’s going to run out of food (which at this pace it might) START GROWING YOUR OWN! Buy some seeds, get a garden started and help provide food for your family and friends. Don’t have the space to start one? Volunteer in a public garden space or move out of the city. Just kidding.
Picture By: http://www.bilaterals.org/IMG/jpg/Stuffed_Starvedcanadiancover.jpg