Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

World Food Crisis Link

The Instapundit highlights this link from Fabius Maximus, a sober, sobering, and erudite breakdown of world food prices and the connection to inflation of all foundational commodities (energy, industrial materials, precious metals, and agriculture). Having lived in a period of seemingly unending over-capacity all my life, the coming years are starting to seem a little galling.

Of course, I've been anticipating the rise in oil for most of my life. Possibly just not so soon. While I think supply is definitely part of trouble with energy, I think here in America there has been a lack of maturity regarding investment in the infrastructure. Every one wants more gas, but no one is willing to have a refinery in their backyard. Nuclear power is a similar problem. If only this applied to refineries and nuclear power, but it also applies more benign energy source like wind. Wind! Too noisy, too unsightly. If I had the choice, I'll volunteer for the wind farm and the others can have the refinery.

The under-capacity, under-investment problem could be thorny for years to come. The only bright spot is that it should generate investment in energy infrastructure, alternative energies, nuclear power, and agriculture while also softening opposition to genetically modified food and hopefully ending support of misguided subsidies for corn-based biofuel. For now, hold on to your seats. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Food in the News

Suddenly, food news is all the rage.

Instapundit has a round-up of food shortage scares and possibly food shortage scare hoaxes. At the same time, a strange turn of events has occurred as biofuel under attack, while food shortage concerns may be lessening resistance to genetically modified foods (via Instapundit).

In a related item, PETA is pushing for the development of lab-grown meat, which, if pulled off right, could take pressure off the environment and also eliminate the need for factory animal husbandry.

Also, in its Earth issue, Discover Magazine pushed bugs as a protein alternative to meat.