A meandering blog with no clear topic. You will find me talking about knitting, building, kids, social and economic issues, Alaska, and lots of other stuff.

Monday, February 16, 2009

is a global food shortage looming this summer?

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article8768.html

This was an interesting article to read. The analysis is very simple. It looks at which countries produce the most food, and which countries are experiencing drought. Basically, all of the countries that produce large amounts of food are experiencing moderate to severe drought. Just based upon lack of rainfall, it appears that globally, we are going to have at least a 20 to 40% decrease in food production this year. And, yes, here in the USA too.

I have mentioned before that right now, we have the lowest food reserves in decades. Now is a really bad time to not be able to grow enough food, since we don't have enough stored to make up the difference.

We should all be doing the Victory Garden thing this year. Not only for our own food security, but every little bit we don't have to buy is some left over for someone else. But if we don't have enough water for farmers, will we have enough for everyone to have a vegetable garden?

It is high time to look at the ways we use water, and make decisions about what is really important. Is it more important to have a green lawn of grass in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, or any of the other naturally dry areas, or is it more important to use that water to grow food? Is it really a good idea to take perfectly clean drinking water to flush our waste away? What can we do to conserve water, individually, and at a societal level, for the most important things?

1 comment:

msaonika said...

This is why I don't have a yard...

Hey - so what does this mean for my new cottage cheese and yuckyness diet? Will the cows be able to produce enough of the gross stuff for me? Perhaps a food shortage is just what we need to get rid of the obesity issues in the states??

By the way... I miss you - you need to read along on my Blubber Blob so you can see all the nastiness that I am going through to shed 40 lbs.. I need to be thin if I am going to come to Alaska and Melt all the snow. :D BWAHAHAAA! LOVE YOU!