After decades of relatively low-cost food, the world is facing a global food crisis, with soaring prices for staples such as wheat and corn and rice hitting poor people especially hard and causing food riots in Haiti, Egypt and other countries.
The situation alarms food experts, who warn that looming famine and starvation could not only cause untold suffering but also foster political instability.
Several factors are behind the spike, according to experts, including the diversion of millions of acres of crops to biofuels such as corn-based ethanol. Other factors include climate change, soaring gasoline prices, and greater consumption of meat and dairy products in the developing world.
The United States and other wealthy nations must address this crisis on several fronts to avert a humanitarian disaster.
67 Comments
Let’s face it … Kansas is not the right state for manufacturing ethanol. Most estimates are that ethanol takes 10 to 14 gallons of new water for every gallon of ethanol produced PLUS the water from irrigation pumps for growing the corn.
Kansas can’t afford to give its ancient relatively pure underground aquifer drinking water to big industry.
Ethanol plants should be located adjacent to the Mississippi River in Louisiana or at the outfall pipe of large urban sewage treatment plants.
JWink,
Good point with regards to water use and ethanol.
As for the larger point, this is what “globalization” entails, kids: the commodification of basic resources, the destruction of local or even national ownership of food resources, the redistribution, upwards and outwards of locally-produced foodstuffs away from the people who need them to those who can afford them, and the coercive economic impoverishment, and enslavement–yes, I’ll use that word–of the global south for the needs of the global north.
As anybody who reads this board knows, these same dynamics are operating here in Kansas as well. Frankly, I think we’re a lot closer to widespread hunger, and to the civil unrest that accompanies it, than people want to admit.
Just had to get the global climate change farce in there. For many poor countries it been the past performance of their politicians which has caused many problems. Let’s don’t forget the wars. It also comes back to the good old USA to feed much of the world. Ethanol comes at a price like all bio fuels.
European rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1788 for leisure hunting. The result was the extinction of one eighth of the mammilian species in that country. History is complete with the unintended consequences of deliberate and accidental actions by humans. The search for alternate energy sources has for the moment turned the corn/food market on its head. Were it not for the misinformed environmentalists that have prevented the drilling of oil on land we have control of and the use of modern coal fired energy plants, we would not be sitting here scratching our heads wondering how corn got so crazy.
This is an excellent article that injects some realism into the energy independence/security discussion:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/05/the-seven-myths-of-energy-independence.html
Highly recommend it J R. I was going to loan you a copy of this article, but here it is instead. Ain’t the internet wonderful?
“Were it not for the misinformed environmentalists that have prevented the drilling of oil on land we have control of and the use of modern coal fired energy plants, we would not be sitting here scratching our heads wondering how corn got so crazy.”
Actually, were it not for the Republican opposition to alternative energy (i.e. solar and wind) that began with Ronald Reagan in 1980, we’d be several decades further along in having developed multiple sources of power generation that have less serious impacts than coal and oil. And moreover, were it not for Federal subsidies, ethanol never would have seemed to be an attractive investment to big energy companies.
Ethanol is being used as the scape goat in the rising food prices.The reality is that all costs related to agriculture production, specially fuel and Oil-derived substrates, as well as the weakening US Dollar, are for sure the actual causes behind it.
It is true that Corn based Ethanol have an impact on influenciating Food prices. Corn is the basis for many other agricultural productions, specially meat and dairy products. Its contribution to rising food prices, although true in nature, is much over stated as being the main cause for it. This is like making of a half-true the whole truth, which is the same as lying.
So, demising Corn ethanol on the basis of riding food prices is wrong.
However, advocating for Corn ethanol production is also NOT correct either. Corn Ethanol have a NEGATIVE energy balance, that is, it takes more oil/energy to produce than it yelds. Corn ethanol is not a sustainable energy source.
Sugar cane ethanol, on the other hand, yelds 8 times more energy than it takes to be produced (and this is incresing). A diferentiation between the two MUST allways been taken into consideration.
I agree with CF. I admit, I was wrong wrong wrong about the ethanol thing. I didn’t think it’d cause this much issue. However, it’s not ALL that there is to it. The ethanol issue is only a part of it.
The oil companies have suppressed any real advances in renewable energy. They’ve cut refineries all in order to line their pockets. We know what they’re up to, they want permission to start drilling in other places. They think if we get tired enough then we’ll give them waht they want and we’ll still be stuck doing exactly what we have been doing, relying on the oil companies.
The time has come that every home should have turbines on the roof, solar panels should be as basic as a garage. Why haven’t we? Because they are too expensive as they are now. Lower the cost, make it mandatory to install. We could so do more right now if it were only easier to do so.
I’ve been hearing about Global Starvation and rising food prices since I was kid. I even remember when the Soviet Union had to swallow its pride and take wheat grown in the U.S.
As the old former Communist countries progress to capitalistic endeavors, there are more opportunities to buy food by more buyers.
Transportation costs account for a lot of the price increases, but not all of it.
I doubt seriously that U.S. corn products have that much of a global impact on food production. There are more types of food in the world than corn.
“Lower the cost, make it manditory to install.”
How exactly is that going to happen? Don’t we all think we have more government now than we can afford?
Secondly, Ethanol’s contribution to the price of corn is less than 5% of the overall price increase. The real conclusion – simple economics: worldwide demand is increasing while supply has stayed relatively flat.
$5-6 corn makes it MUCH more feasible for farmers. Until this year, more than half the farmland in Europe was sitting idle because farmers couldn’t make any money. Same with Russia. Current prices make farming much more attractive (ergo: an increase supply!)
in 2005, the cost of corn in a box of corn flakes was about $0.02, and the cost of the box was about $2.50. Today, that corn costs $.05, and the box is $3.50. What caused the remaining 95 cents of cost increase? Oil.
I understand the high cost of ethanol, but where is the biodiesel? biodiesel is made out of waste. I don’t think we are in short supply of waste fry oil are we? If we could at least develop a consistent infrastructure for truckers to use, it would provide a cheaper, cleaner and more environmentally friendly way to move cargo around the country. This would cut down on the cost of almost everything. How does this not make sense?
Ethanol is a farmers profits dream, a water resources nightmare, and a tragedy for the environmental movement.
It provides less energy than existing unleaded, is subsidized by the federal government (so you pay more than once when you purchase it), and is contributing directly to higher food costs.
My personal experience. My Honda hybrid has gauges which accurately reflect fuel economy. When using ethanol blends – my MPG drops on average 5 MPG.
It costs the same as unleaded (for the most part) for consumers, but you will experience LESS MPG than burning regular unleaded. Hence, you will fill up more, and pollute more.
Just to restate my position: I’m not a tree hugger. But I am a tightwad. And MPG is where I save money. (I also don’t care to give money to the camel jocks in arabia.)
“Actually, were it not for the Republican opposition to alternative energy (i.e. solar and wind) that began with Ronald Reagan in 1980, we’d be several decades further along in having developed multiple sources of power”
-CF2K
What was done about the rising cost of oil during the booming years of the Clinton administration (1992-2000)?
“Energy Sec Bill Richardson calls on OPEC oil-exporting nations to increase their production as price of crude oil reaches $34.90 a barrel in New York”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE4DB1539F934A3575AC0A9669C8B63
Yes, at a whopping $34.90/barrel, Richardson was clamoring for more OPEC production.
If it wasn’t for Jimmy Carters lack of action in the 1970’s, we’d have alternative energy today.
And what did Clinton do to push alternative energy?
Not a da*n thing! You Radical Libs want to keep politicizing this issue, playing the blame game.
You are getting what you asked for – Conservation. When Gas hits $4 – $5 per gallon, y’all will start conserving.
You think alternative energy will be cheaper? Wrong again. More reliable? Only when the sun shines and the wind blows.
Get used to paying more for less. Even the Socialists Clinton and Obama can’t pull enough taxes out of the “rich” to pay for y’all.
Get an extra blanket, you are gonna need it, unless you get a job instead.
Political_mama
Posted April 21, 2008 at 8:27 am | Permalink
The time has come that every home should have turbines on the roof, solar panels should be as basic as a garage. Why haven’t we? Because they are too expensive as they are now. Lower the cost, make it mandatory to install. We could so do more right now if it were only easier to do so.
—————————————————-
Who is “we”?
Who is gonna pay for all this equipment and labor?
Maybe you mandate it. You get the military to hold guns to our heads while we install solar panels and turbines.
Or you extort the money thru Socialism to force half the country to pay even more for the other half of the country. Yeah, THAT is your plan.
God knows you are not willing to pay for yourselves.
“Even the Socialists Clinton and Obama can’t pull enough taxes out of the “rich” to pay for y’all.”
I think Max their goal is that everyone be equally miserable. Bring down the top and bring up the bottom so we can all “feel your pain” equally.
“that every home should have turbines on the roof, solar panels should be as basic as a garage. Why haven’t we?”
Heck, some people cannot afford to pay their EXISTING energy bills.
Max is correct: If you are crying now about how expensive energy prices are – you ain’t seen nothing yet!
I welcome $5.00 a gallon gas. Bring it on and bring it soon. Chevy is still building 50K SUV’s, and bragging about 21 MPG hybrid. And Americans love their big SUV’s and Pickups.
You want to help the environment and lower energy dependency? Raise the price of oil.
And bring on Alternative Energy, it’s the only way we can be energy independent and get out of the mid-east.
It will be more expensive and cleaner for the environment, but we can avoid wars in the mid-east.
And everyone should be willing to pay for that!
But not the Socialist Liberal Democrats. They don’t want to pay for anything! Free Stuff! Free Stuff! Give me my Free Stuff!
Oh yes, after free healthcare, free retirement accounts (which admits Bush was right), free education accounts for every baby, comes
Free gasoline!
It’s a RIGHT you know. It’s in the constitution dontcha no.
Every American is entitled to be warm in the winter, and cool in the summer.
Free HAV is next.
Just vote for me!
“MaxGrobnik” –
Just a suggestion. Double check your blood-level drugs.
Reach out to the money tree (called hard working rich people who earned it)o, and steal a handful so we can give it to the po..
IT’s NOT YOUR MONEY!!
IT IS THEFT!!
IT IS WRONG!!
(Darn it Max, you got me going. But it is MY MONEY!)
blood “sugar” level drugs vice “blood level”???
Perhaps blood pressure drugs?
When I stand up, my blood is level horizontally.
When I lay down, my blood is level vertically.
When I do jumping-jacks, it gets all mixed up and out of level.
Oh, btw, Alternative Energy will emerge into the Market on its own.
When home heating and cooling bills get up to $500/month, and gasoline exceeds $5/gallon, you will see many alternatives emerge. They will NOT however, be cheaper then what we are paying today.
The current bubble that the commodities market is facing right now is due to the Federal Reserve System.
I always appreciate when media turning its attention away from the real problem.
Is everyone gearing up for Earth Day celebrations this year? April 23rd people. Mark your outlook calendars.
I’m planning on starting my day fresh. I will be changing the oil and filter at home that day. Since I can’t depose of the oil properly, I will probably just return the old oil back to mother earth.
I’ll drive my old pick-em-up truck because I don’t want to get the Honda involved in making a statement. Gets around 20-21 MPG, so I should fit in with everyone else. Stopping at the store for smokes and beer. Plan on enjoying a few cans on the way to the celebration. But I will toss the empties into the bed of my truck. Used to work better when we had the old heavier cans. These new fangled light weight ones sometimes blow out when I hit 65 MPH..But at least I’m not breaking bottles! Besides, Consumers Rpt magazine says canned beer holds it’s freshness better than bottoles. Perhaps there will be some liquid left in them, which might put out the burnt smoke I discard along the freeway. If any one of those 25 million feral cats jumps in front of my truck, I’ll be sure to stop and pick it up. Not that a dead cat doesn’t recycle ripe nicely alongside the highway, but those tails are worth something on ebay. If I could figure out a way to keep the meat fresh, there is a market for cat meat overseas too.
Anyone will recognize me at the Earth Day Parade. Just follow the trail of leaking anti-freeze and breakfluid to the reviewing stand.
I believe it’s at the U. of Michigan they have developed some GM corn that incorporates an enzyme from a cow’s stomach into the cell walls of the corn that makes it easier to break down. The purpose is to make cellulose ethanol economically viable. The corn will still be available for food consumption and the rest of the plant can be diverted for fuel.
Thankfully since it’s produced with tax dollars companies like Monsanto can’t copyright it and sue farmers and anyone else they think might be saving seed.
CF
When did the Republican Party EVER oppose solar or wind?
However, Ted Kennedy has definately been against any windmills that can be seen from the Kennedy Estate!
Oil is expensive because liberals want oil to be expensive.
End of story!
Paul sez:
“When did the Republican Party EVER oppose solar or wind?”
The first thing Reagan did when he got into office was remove the solar panels from the White House. Then he gutted research spending and subsidies for alternative energy. So I think your answer is 1980.
Paul sez:
“Oil is expensive because liberals want oil to be expensive.”
Your argument is that liberals run OPEC and the multinational oil companies like Exxon? Got any evidence for that?
Franklin this is just for you,
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008
BARRON’S COVER
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120674485506173053.html?mod=b_hps_9_0001_b_this_weeks_magazine_home_top&page=sp
Commodities: Who’s Behind the Boom?
By GENE EPSTEIN
AS EVERYONE KNOWS,CHINA IS A BIG FORCE IN THE extraordinary boom in commodities. Its voracious appetite for everything from corn and wheat to copper and oil has helped push up U.S. commodities prices by some 50% over the past 12 months.
But China is by no means the whole story. Speculators — including small investors — are also playing a huge role. Thanks to the proliferation of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds tied to commodities indexes, speculative buying has gone way beyond anything the domestic commodities markets have ever seen. By one estimate, index funds right now account for 40% of all bullish bets on commodities. The speculative juices are even more plentiful — nearly 60% of bullish positions — if you count the bets placed by traditional commodity “pools.”
Ethanol has been the practical method of bringing the American corn crop to market since about 1793, but feeding it to SUVs will not only lead to a worldwide liquor shortage, but will allow cars to get plastered all by themselves, thus eliminating the need for a drunk driver!
Maggotpunk,
Word.
Franklin,
Are you really that ignorant? Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House and offered tax credits for solar use: Ronald Reagan removed the panels, and rescinded the tax credits.
“Before he left office, President Jimmy Carter installed a solar thermal water heater on the roof of the White House and the government extended federal solar energy tax credits to homeowners so they could do the same.
By the middle of the decade, spurred by the tax credit, solar companies were doing brisk business. For example, the American Solar King company sold solar water heating systems through a mainstream department store (Sears), and reported sales of more than $30 million in 1985.
But then something happened. Under President Ronald Reagan, the federal tax credit for homeowners to choose solar energy was abolished.
Reagan’s energy secretary shelved the “New Prosperity” study, and even the solar panels on top of the White House were removed. Without the tax credit to drive business, companies like American Solar King folded and closed shop.”
http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=10862
So, yes, Franklin, I ABSOLUTELY fault Repubes for setting us back THIRTY YEARS on sustainable energy. Hell yes.
Big oil is expensive because Republicans want their pals to get rich on the public dime.
Liberals
If we drilled more of our own oil, the price of oil and the price of gasoline would be cheaper than it is, today!
Also, how in the hell will solar panels help, ever, to reduce the price of gasoline?
Saying that you want to bring back tax credits for solar panels or wind does not quite fit this thread, huh?
There is NO alternative for gasoline, at this time!
and Libs:
If solar or wind are such great ideas, why do they NEED any subsidies? (Again, there is no alternative for oil, unless you think Wind Wagon Smith had the right idea, putting a sail on a wagon!)
I give up.
They keep posting me as “null” — that was not my intent!
“If solar or wind are such great ideas, why do they NEED any subsidies?”
Good question, why does oil and coal receive more than 10 times the subsidies of solar and wind?
Did the internet need a subsidy?
Did cell phones need a subsidy?
Again, I support wind and solar and geo thermal and nuclear.
However, there is currently NO substitute for oil!
And, if there was a substitute for oil, it sure would not need a subsidy, it would dominate the energy market very quickly!
“Liberals
If we drilled more of our own oil, the price of oil and the price of gasoline would be cheaper than it is, today!”
So drill, if Anwar would solve our problems the oil companies would be there. I have read Anwar would take three to ten years to develope and produce profits for maybe a year.
“Did the internet need a subsidy?
Did cell phones need a subsidy?”
Actually they did get subsidies, so what’s your point?
Maggot
Your math is screwed up pretty bad.
Look at it this way, how much TAX REVENUE do solar and wind produce?
Pretty small, if any at all!
The oil and gasoline industry generate billions of dollars in tax revenue.
Those who think that the oil industry is “subsidized” do not know what they are talking about.
It is an accepted accounting principle that you tax profits, and that profits are determined after expenses are calculated.
If you put up a wind mill and the wind NEVER blows again, on that spot, YOU TOO can take a loss —
Just like drilling a well that does not produce!
What kind of argument is that? Companies that pay a lot in taxes should receive a lot in subsidies? Is your argument that the oil companies are scrounging therefore they need taxpayer help to be profitable? Thanks for the consistency in not knowing what you are talking about.
It is ironic that some people complain about the oil companies sticking it to the citizenry and making all those profits. Yes the world is in the beginnings of an energy crisis if newer sources of energy aren’t explored and developed but don’t blame the oil companies for all the woes.
Many people in the USA are stock holders of oil companies, even if they don’t realize it. For instance, are you enrolled in a 401K plan or have an IRA well guess what, some of your money in those mutual funds are invested in the oil companies. So are you willing to diverse your holdings and investments, want to give up your nest egg or at least part of what interest you are making for retirement? I think many would say my part isn’t that great anyway. Guess again, combine all those little parts and you have what, oh yeah, retirement plans, investing for the future, your children’s education, etc. We unwittingly contribute to those oil companies that we consider the evil robber barons because they make us money too. So it seems we can point our fingers in contempt but hold our hand out behind us so as to take some of the money the bad guys make for us.
We created most every mess we have today in the world be it world hunger, energy shortages, political corruption, I could go on and on but you get the point. The old comic strip Pogo said it best “We have met the enemy and he is us.” The answer to our world problems is easy except for one little thing, God and nature haven’t been able to, or want to, create that perfect human being, again. We can start to get ourselves out of many of the problems by voting for individuals that really want to make a difference and help. But alas, God and nature seem to only give us a few each generation, and those few have come to the realization that they can’t get anything done constructively in D.C. because that city is a different world than what they envisioned and it is too overwhelming a task for so few to accomplish.
Here in Newton they are going to build an ethanol plant. Most of us here are against it because it will deplete the water supply & pollute the environment as well as contribute to world hunger. The only ones I know of that are for it are the ones who stand to make money off of it. How sad that our so-called representatives let us down again.
Maggot
You are the one who needs an education on this subject:
Why should those who do not pay taxes get any “tax breaks” at all?
Also, the oil industry generates Billions of Dollars in tax revenue — the only “tax break” that the oil industry gets relate directly to the risk involved, in drilling oil wells.
They get to take their losses sooner than some other businesses.
However, at the end of the day —
or the end of the business venture —
The loss is not increased and the profit is not reduced by the “drilling cost” deduction.
Again, you do not know what in the hell you are talking about, and it reallys shows!
Of course, I meant the net loss and the net profit, all current law does is allow the loss to be taken sooner.
Paul, you are the same person who was unfamiliar with Reagan, subsidies for telecommunications, and subsidies for oil companies and now you are trying to pretend you know what you are talking about now? You are arguing that there should be no taxes paid by those who pay taxes. What kind of sense is that?
The oil companies pay a lot in taxes because they are extremely profitable. That’s common sense. The oil companies receive a lot more in subsidies than they pay in taxes so there is no sense in having them pay fewer taxes.
Let’s take a look at the state of Wisconsin (since that’s one of the few, if only state, that releases tax information to find this out). In that state for 2006, 60% of corporations that made over $100 million paid no income taxes (in Illinois 48% paid no income tax). Of the tax revenue collected by the state only 3% came from corporations. Guess who made up the rest? Property, sales and individual income taxes. So you are arguing that everyone should pay higher taxes so corporations don’t have to pay anything. That’s fascism buddy but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve called you a fascist.
Why do we need taxes from oil companies? First we pay a lot in military expenses to protect oil company markets. We pay a huge transportation infrastructure to provide them a market. We pay huge cleanup costs to deal with their environmental destruction. We pay health care costs related to their pollution. And the oil they drill is part of the commons owned by the American people and we deserve some compensation for their taking of our property.
To the contrary wind and solar do not pollute so no asthma or environmental destruction will result. Nothing is taken from the commons and landowners rent out their land for a profit to these companies (oil companies legally can come onto your land and set up shop and you can’t do a damn thing about it). The power is generated in America so we don’t have to increase our trade deficits by a trillion dollars a year. And contrary to what you like to think the sun will continue to shine and the wind will continue to blow.
So give it a rest Paul, you still have no idea what you are talking about.
Speaking of cats, Amway, you see this?
Amway, you have any solutions to this problem?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351571,00.html
Expert: America About to Be Overrun by Feral Cats
U.S. streets could soon be overrun with cats if communities fail to get a handle on growing feline populations, a veterinary medicine researcher says.
The problem is growing numbers of not just strays, but also other free-roaming pet cats. The strays are likely to go unneutered or unspayed, and therefore to reproduce like mad.
On top of that, though, more than 38 million households own an estimated 88 million cats — that’s about one cat for every 3.5 Americans.
Those that aren’t “fixed” often can and do still wander freely outdoors or get lost and make kittens.
Makes you wonder, if we can’t license cats, how will we license all the gun owners? Only the law-abiding ones will comply.
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6132086&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Minneapolis Looks to Increase Cat Licensing
The Minneapolis City Council will consider new ways to make sure money is spent to license your dog or cat on Wednesday.
This also means the Council will consider tougher penalties for people who do not pay the license fee.
Only about 5 percent of pets in Minneapolis are licensed.
The numbers are especially low for cats.
Out of 115,000 cats in the city, only 124 are licensed.
Max,
There really needs to be an open season on cats. They carry infectious disease, documented destruction of endangered and migratory bird species, changing natures balance in the field, and transmission of disease to man. They also contribute to loss in the farming industry.
Estimates do range to upwards of 25 million wild feral cats in America.
This could be a very profitable situation, in addition to restoring “Mother Earth” to proper balance.
1. States/cities could sell Cat License/Cat Stamps.
2. For urban areas, a lottery could be set up, with hunters purchasing lottery tickets in competition for the right to hunt in town. This would bring in local revenue.
3. Taxidermists could make money mounting cat heads.
4. Local and state street and highway departments would save money not having to scrape dead cats up off the streets.
5. People with allergies would not be exposed randomly to wild cat hair.
This program, beneficial to nature and to the economy, would go a long way to resolving the wild cat problem.
And Max I did not mention the potential business in selling cat carcass to overseas consumers. Cat sides, bellies, shoulder, Boston Butt, etc…
This might provide a source of income for local butchers, but I think it would be difficult to get cats to the slaughterhouse or meat processing plants.
Not sure if there is a market in cat fur, but I do believe in using the “whole” animal and not letting any parts of the cats go to waste.
And since I am on a roll, if you think my suggestions are “nuts”, or cruel, the real culprit in the feral cat emergency is man:
Irresponsible pet owners. That’s right, you who crack the door to let “kitty” out to wander the neighborhood at night. You who are too tight to pay the price to have “kitty” neutered. You who take a cardboard box of new kittens to the county and god-knows-how, but you justify dumping them in some farmers yard. (the farmer already has half a dozen, thank-you very much)
Cat lovers are really, for the most part, secretly cat haters. How else do you explain it?
Maggot
When did I say what you just attributed to me?
Instead, you are the one who is logically challenged.
I say that tax breaks, if given at all, should go to those who do things that the government wants them to do, (incentives) for those who already PAY taxes!
The “tax breaks” given to the oil industry really do not reduce the taxes paid by that industry, over the long run. The drilling cost deductions can be taken in the first year, rather than spreading the cost over several years. This makes sense, as it keeps the oil industry productive, and dose not tie up capital on wells that do not produce. This encourages more production.
However, the law on drilling costs does NOT increase the legal amount of the total deduction, it is only excellerated!
On the other hand, the “tax breaks” you mention, as far as the Jimmy Carter years are concerned, were direct hand outs, tax credits that were never recovered by the IRS in any form.
And cats need to be on a leash and kept in a confined yard – just like a dog.
What gives you the right for YOUR cat to roam my property? To dig in my trash? To destroy the cardinal nest and babies in the bush under MY window?
Don’t tell me it’s “unnatural” for a cat to be on a leash. It’s unnatural for your cat to wind up in my yard, where it becomes fresh bait for my dogs!
Ethanol from corn is a bad choice. Not only does it take lots of water to raise the corn and make the ethanol. The runoff from the corn fields that are heavily fertilized and watered goes to the River and pollutes the ocean, and contributes to the “dead Zone” Also if you have ever been near an ethanol plant, it Stinka. Also ethanol gives only about 65 percent as much energy as gasoline so you use more to go a shorter distance.It also can’t be piped, so must be hauled in tanker trucks, adding to the cost. All around, not a good deal for anyone.
AmWay, I found this doing a search for solutions to cat problems. This was originally in the NY Times on December 28, 1911.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9900E3D91231E233A2575BC2A9649D946096D6CF&oref=slogin
AN AUTOMATIC CAT FARM
Rats will feed Cats, Cats will feed Rats, and Fur Skin Will Be Sold
We are starting a cat ranch and taking one hundred thousand cats
Each cat will have twelve kittens a year
The catskins will sell for thirty cents each
One hundred men could skin five thousand cats a day
We could be dealing a profit of over ten thousand dollars
But what should we feed the cats?
We will start a rat ranch next door with a million rats
The rats will be twelve times faster than the cats
So we can have more rats to feed each day for each cat
But what should we feed the rats?
We will feed the ratsThe carcases of the cats
After they have been skinned
Now get this!
We feed the rats to the cats and the cats to the rats
And get the catskins for nothing
We feed the rats to the cats and the cats to the rats
And get the catskins for nothing
We feed the rats to the cats and the cats to the rats
And get the catskins for nothing
We feed the rats the carcases of the cats
After they have been skinned
We feed the rats to the cats and the cats to the rats
And get the catskins for nothing
Rats to the cats and the cats to the rats
And get the catskins for nothing!
Cats Spread the Plague, Potentially SARS too
There has been no person-to-person transmission in the U.S. since 1924. Victims of plague in the U.S. become infected through rodents, and can become infected by skinning an infected animal. Plague exists in the fleas of rock squirrels, California ground squirrels, prairie dogs, wood rats, chipmunks, and wild rabbits, among others. Highest risk groups in the U.S. are Native Americans (especially Navajos), hunters, veterinarians, campers, hikers, and pet owners who may become infected through an infected cat.
http://dpalm.med.uth.tmc.edu/courses/BT2003/BTstudents2003_files%5CPlague2003.htm
Cats eat birds and catch H5N1 Avian Bird flu! They could spread it to humans!
http://www.upc-online.org/poultry_diseases/51906flu.html
Already the death of a non-human mammal is on record … a cat has died from H5NI avian influenza on the German island of Rugen.
Another solution to the Cat Epidemic in America!
I know many are opposed to hunting cats, so here is another solution.
Vietnam has a Cat Shortage and a Rapidly Growing Rat Population!
Hmmmm……..
We can export our surplus USA Cats to Vietnam!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/61141.stm
Cool for cats as rats run wild
New measures to combat a plague of rats which are eating their way through Vietnam’s rice fields have been ordered by the authorities: cats are off the menu.
The Prime Minister, Phan Van Khai, has ordered restaurants which specialise in cooking cat meat to close. He also called for the punishment of those found smuggling cats to China for use as meat or medicine.
Rice farmers say that the country’s rat population has grown out of control. In many places they estimate that the rodents will eat between 30 and 50% of their crops and cause millions of dollars worth of lost income.
They say that all the traditional methods of reducing rat numbers, such as poisoning and trapping, no longer work.
In one central province farmers say they kill at least 3,500,000 rats a week but the population just keeps growing.
May have to hunt cats anyway. Update from Vietnam – Rat Population Controlled by Floods!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1052757.stm
Vietnam’s clouds have silver lining
By Owen Bennett-Jones in Hanoi
Vietnamese officials say the recent floods in the Mekong delta have helped contain the rat population, resulting in far less damage than usual to crops.
This year, farmers have killed an estimated 53 million rats.
The damage rats cause to crops is reckoned to cost the country an average $6m each year.
Vietnam’s rat population started increasing when the communist leadership introduced economic reforms in the early 1990s.
Such terrible news from Vietnam – but “A” solution to the rat problem:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1052757.stm
Roast with spices
While the farmers may be pleased, some Vietnamese people may regret the difficulties being faced by the rat.
When roast with spices, rat meat is a favoured wedding dish.
The fact that so many people eat rat meat has made the authorities reluctant to use poisons in their eradication campaign.
Speaking of Ethanol created food shortages, here’s “A” possible solution to bring food to the tables of Americans:
http://www.livemint.com/Articles/2008/02/06211228/In-Vietnam-the-Year-of-the-Ra.html?atype=tp
Rats have been a delicacy in Vietnam’s rural areas for centuries, with recipes dating back 150 years.
For a long time, however, this country’s big city folk were generally less enthusiastic, often associating the animals more with garbage-digging vermin than mouth-watering entrees.
But in 2004, flare-ups of bird flu claimed scores of lives here and prompted many diners to search for alternative sources of protein. Demand went up, but paradoxically supply did too. That’s because rats’ natural predators—snakes and cats—are increasingly finding themselves on the menus of posh restaurants frequented by wealthy Vietnamese.
In the Le Mat district of Hanoi, dozens of restaurants specialize in snakes either farmed for the table or caught by hunters. Other snakes are shipped to China, where they are also considered a delicacy. A booming economy has caused snake prices to double in the past year in some places to roughly $18 a pound.
“A” solution for Bird Flu too!
Nice job of killing this thread, max. Was it intentional, or did everyone just get tired of the off topic scroll over posts?
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