I have a favor to ask you.

Nope, not about Ebola, though that is still a very serious, changeable, contentious topic, with news that is nearly all bad.

It's about atmospheric carbon dioxide.  Too big a problem for individuals to affect; we're constantly told.

I disagree completely- I think history shows that it is only individual actions that lead to change.  No university or government agency ever came out with a clarion call (let alone actions) to give women the vote.   None ever worked hard to end the endless and unregulated slaughter of wildlife - to put feathers on women's hats and provide 8 different kinds of duck on the menu- every day.  Individuals. (Then, when there's a big group of individuals marching in the same direction- that's when the politicians, etc, jump in front of the crowd and announce they've been leading this parade all along.)

I have a specific action I'm asking you to take; a specific project you can support - meaningfully, with a few clicks.

Long-timers here will know already that I live close to, and work with, these folks: Badgersett Research Farm.  They've just launched a new initiative; one I'm familiar with, and believe in.

Most of you have probably heard some noise about the "promise" of "biochar"; to get carbon out of the atmosphere.  Lots of big names have agreed- like Bill McKibben, for example.  His calculations are usually sound.  You'll notice that article is from 2009, though.  Anybody in your neighborhood doing it? Selling, making, buying?  That will be a 99% "no" answer.

Biochar is "hanging fire"; so to speak; older vernacular for "failure to launch".  Lots of new research underway - many dozens of "NewBiochar Center!" announcements- all doing- research.

The Badgersett folks think the research already done (like this one from just a few days ago, that says "Hey, it works!" - again)- plus the 3,000 year old evidence from the Native American made soils in the Amazon- show quite adequately; the benefits are real- and faster and last longer than anything else we've got on the list of "maybes".  It's time to get real-world, practical tools into the hands of - the farmers.  So- they've got the design; and they need the money to support the labor to make and test the prototypes.  Designed by farmers; for farmers. Via Kickstarter.

BadgerChar Mobile.

I'm asking; as favor to me- please take a look at that; and please- make a donation; even a tiny one is hugely helpful.  The more backers, even at $1-$10, the more likely other folks will support it too.

Why is the use of biochar failing to take hold?  We think it's because almost all the research is done by - biochar enthusiasts; for biochar enthusiasts.  They want to know exactly how it works, and they want to be sure they can maximize and optimize everything.

Sorry- but- you're not ever going to sell that to my neighbors.  They don't know much about it; and none of them are interested in becoming optimized biochar producers; they're corn, bean, and beef farmers.  In Iowa right now, you can in fact buy truckloads of biochar - at $500 to $1,000 per ton; an insanely high cost.

Now- if you can give them a tool that A) they can afford, B) they can use without learning new difficult skills. C) will improve their soils and crops.  D) will make a product they can sell if they want to. and E) will make it easier to manage the odd corners of their crop lands and farms, and improve their timber lots (less work, not more) - That, they will do.

And that is exactly what the BadgerChar Mobile system is designed to provide.  My neighbors don't really care if it's the fastest, etc; only that it can actually fit into their operation.  This will; and could result in thousands of farmers making and using biochar in just a couple of years; and many more after that.  With, maybe, real progress on removing carbon dioxide from the air.  For 3,000 years.  (Compost only removes some carbon for 10-100 years).

So - please- become a Backer; and then share your pledge on your own networks and email lists etc, etc,, and help get the word out.  Only 20 days left!  And a long way to go yet.

It's a very small action- but one that can have a very large impact, if we make the project fly.

You've got to tell them... Soylent is made from... FOOD!!

Hi everybody.  Still here; still intending to blog more; but reality is against us.  Our part of Minnesota is officially a "disaster area", because of the stuck jet streams; 20 inches of rain in May and June, much of it torrential.  We have secondary bridges and roads out in many places- and no idea when, or even if, they'll be repaired.  We're doing better than many of our neighbors, though.  If they took the risks and planted their crops very early, they may be ok; if they decided to wait- they may get no crop at all; too wet to work the fields for too long.

Besides being overwhelmed with regular work, which is always late and difficult, blogging requires some kind of enthusiasm on my part.  And it's not that there's a lack of things to talk about- it's that there are too many.  And too often, discussion of things like the situation in Egypt just seems futile.  Nothing we say here will have any useful point to it.  It seems.

What finally got me off my figurative fanny today was this stunning bit of insanity.  Watch the video first; and beware of the Golem-Sucks advertising:

Ok, got that?  The 24 year old software engineer has figured out a way to rid the food system of waste, and help out with hunger in the impoverished regions of the world.  It's easy!  Just put it all into powder with a 20 year shelf life!  Why didn't we think of this before??

The stunningly insane part is- how easily he has the entire world press going right along with him.  Not surprisingly, they have a nice, logical set of arguments in favor of powdered food; take a look at them here on their crowdfunding site (the project has ended- alas you can no longer contribute here; but they did raise just under $800,000...)  An end to waste!  No more shopping, or cooking, or washing dishes!  Cool- has to save tons of energy, right?

Well, no.  How did we get to a place were NONE of the journalists covering this (so far as I can see) are familiar with the concept of "embodied energy"?  You have powdered protein here?  Um- where did it come from?  The store, obviously!

This is typical of the "answers" to global problems offered by "young software engineers".  The mind boggles.  It's the kind of analysis any systems thinker - um - thinks about, instantly.  Doing some digging, it did not really take me too long to find a reliable list of Soylent ingredients.  (Incidentally- many of us already know the name, "soylent"- hm; is there a trademark/copyright/IP conflict here?  Already contentious.  You never know what the courts will say, but personally- I would bet that name is "occupied".)

Ok; the list of ingredients:


Maltodextrin (carbs) (made from - corn, or wheat!)
Oat Powder (carbs, fiber, protein, fat) (made from- oats!)
Whey Isolate (protein) (made from - milk!)
Grapeseed Oil (fat)  (made from - grapes!)
Potassium Gluconate  (made from - sugar!)
Salt (sodium)
Magnesium Gluconate  (made from - sugar!)
Monosodium Phosphate
Calcium Carbonate  (limestone!)
Methylsulfonylmethane (Sulfur)  (actually; sulfur added to - natural gas?)
Creatine  (made from - meat!)
Powdered Soy Lecithin  (made from - soybeans!)
Choline Bitartrate (made from - something like sugar!)
Ferrous Gluconate (Iron)  (made from - sugar!)
Various vitamin and mineral supplements


Do you begin to understand?  Leaving aside the glaring suppositions that a) we truly know all our nutritional requirements, and b) this is all of them; exactly where are the energy savings; if instead of humans directly consuming corn, wheat, oats, milk, meat, etc, etc, etc, - we still have to grow all those crops; then reduce the simple components to powder?  Powdering, I assure you, requires a great deal of energy input; as do all separation/ purification processes.  And- are we going to now grow grapes for their seed oils?  What do we do with the rest of the grape?  I'll bet they start using palm oil soon; much more available.

The kid is able to buy the powdered ingredients for cheap right now- because they are indeed all manufactured as part of industrial food processes, and "by products" of animal feed or brewing or cheese making.  So- ask yourself; how does it scale up?  Way, way, up: in order to make any difference to anything, according to their own arguments.  Demand for the powdered components would skyrocket- and so would the prices.

Soon - just as is the case right now with quinoa, the farmers growing the crops would be selling them to the wealthy for their powders, and be unable to afford, once again, to feed themselves from their own crops.

I have to say; this is obvious; and we know this.  And yet- the Polka Dot Gallows paths we're on continue to thrive.

Peanut alert.

Really. If you eat peanut butter; stock up today.

A CNN Business story today details the coming peanut butter apocalypse. Last year at this time, the commodity price for a ton of US peanuts was around $750. Today; it's about $1,200.

The reason they give: severe drought and intense heat in the peanut belt last summer, so the crop is down some 13% from last year. Ok. Yes, climate change/climate chaos is upon us, and the economic impacts are already hitting us quite hard. I can easily understand why a 13% decrease in the crop would result in a ~40% increase in the price.

Soon after giving the cheery statistics, they go on to point out what a great opportunity this is for money changers to make a little more profit: Safe Havens; Gold, Yen, & Peanut Butter.

It is, of course, perfectly all right to make all the money you can, any way you can. It's your guaranteed right, actually. Never mind that peanut butter is often the last source of quality protein the poor can afford, and that it's a critical component of the new famine medications urgently needed in Haiti and Africa. Fascinating that the story praising the heroes of Haiti is covered by CNN also.

Here's the math on "investing" in food. Take peanuts, for an excellent example. World production is around 34 million metric tons. In the process of buying the crop from farmers, getting it to the people who process it, store it, and sell it to consumers, the peanuts change hands quite a few times. To facilitate that, and to let processors be certain they will have nuts to process next year, there is a "futures market"; where contracts to deliver peanuts at a certain time, say next July, are bought and sold.

Inside the peanut world, let's just say there are $50 billion worth of peanuts (a made up number with likely not relation to reality.) The peanut processors have, let us say, $40 billion in contracts on the books. Then- after that lovely article in CNN, a billionaire or two, from Argentina, Iraq, India, China- take their money out of oil, which is looking very risky; and use it instead to buy peanut futures. Now, let's say, there are $60 billion in the futures market- all chasing what used to be $50 billion worth of peanuts. The contracts are bought and sold daily- if you can sell the one you bought yesterday at $3/share, and you can sell it today for $3.10 a share- why wouldn't you? And here I am, with $500 million in my pocket I just took out of oil, and I need to buy peanuts- will I pay $3.15? Why yes, I will. The price is going to go up, yes? Everybody says so.

More money in a market, chasing a fixed quantity of commodity, will drive the price up. It's a law of physics that could have been written by Newton. The speculators doing this shriek, when you point at them, and swear they are providing a desperately needed service; more "liquidity" to the markets. It's a transparent self serving lie, of course; the markets functioned just fine a few years ago, when speculative money in those markets was legally restricted. But we believe a great many of those these days, one more won't hurt.

Guess who eventually pays the real money, to pay for all the profits? It's the end user, of course, that's the entire idea. In this case- it's the poor and starving. Literally; the starving.

Nice place we have here. So; better buy yours now. Of course.

It strikes me that getting speculators out of agricultural commodity markets would be a good thing to put on the list, for the Occupy Everything folks. The math is just really clear.

Bittman and GMOs

Mark Bittman, the notorious NYT food columnist/writer, Luddite, elitist, and nauseating proponent of doing your homework and applying rigorous common sense, has been stirring the stew regarding whether we should be notified about the presence of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in our food, or not.

The stew is bubbling quite a bit, in response. (In case you can't tell, I admire him quite a lot.)

I have something to add to the stew, which is a little crude (and I don't have time to do a re-write) but which is to the point.

Below is an essay I zipped off in October 1999, as a heartfelt response to picking up a Future Farmers Of America newsletter, and finding that what was then being dubbed "biotech"; which includes GMOs, was being presented to high school kids as the certain, and bright, future.

It's a big topic. I'll let the conversation start here. This, incidentally, is my bit mentioned long ago in "once and future topics" on "where have all the mammoths gone?"

------------------------------------------

Why Biotech Has No Clothes

I’ve noticed a highly disturbing trend recently; the Biotech mavens, pushers, junkies, and corporations have stolen a march on those few of us who would like a little calm discussion before completely destroying the bottle that once held the genie.

If you take a look at any publications aimed at our mainstream agricultural youth, you will find article after article stating that Biotech is our only hope to feed our growing world.

No discussions. Just the flat statement: there is no alternative. Occasionally an interviewee will have the grace to preface the statement with “I believe...” . But what always follows is: “ we simply have no alternative if we don't want people to starve to death.”

And the kids are receiving this wisdom from above quite cheerfully, even willingly passing it on, to those outside the farm community who couldn’t possibly understand the internal necessities and holy mission of the food system.

Population control? Don’t be ridiculous. And shut up about China, they’re still godless communists, and horrifying. Don’t try to tell me they’re just people, like us, struggling to deal with a near impossible problem.

Questions about who benefits from Biotech? Huh? Obviously, corporations would only do what is good for all of us. Why, just look at what wonderful things have already been done for dairy farmers! They’re so much better off now that Biotech has increased milk production; and the vets have so much more work to do, too.

What is happening now is in fact an echo of an earlier phase of human development.

I can hear precisely the same argument going on about 10,000 years ago.

“Our tribe is expanding! We will simply have to hunt more, and longer hours.”

“And with this new tool our hunters have developed, the wonderful Bow, so much more powerful than the quaint old spear-thrower, we can clearly feed all our people!!”

“Look, there’s that herd of mammoths we’ve never been able to harvest before!! After them!!”

Meanwhile, some moron in the background was mumbling “Gee, look at all the grass. And all the grass seed. Sure, a grass seed is smaller than a mammoth, but, there really is a lot of it. I bet we could eat grass seeds.”

Echoes come: “What an amazing, ludicrous idiot! We’ve always been mammoth hunters, and always will be! He’s just a damfool dreamer; no concept of hard reality. Besides, nobody would ever want to eat that stuff; we eat mammoths. Always have, always will. Period.”

Luckily for you and me, once that very last herd of mammoths was eaten, someone remembered this idiot.

We’re in the same place now. We’re about to run out of mammoths (soil and water), the women in the tribe are pregnant, and the mammoth hunters have a new tool. Soon our soil and water can be remembered in museums, right beside the mammoths. And the whole world can look like Iraq, the birthplace of agriculture.

Um, have you noticed that trees have seeds?

Gee.

-------------------------------------------------

(Being polite and kind people, we will refrain here from pointing out that the wonderful bow, over the years, has killed vastly more men, women, and children, than it ever did mammoths. An excellent tool, the bow; very powerful. Alas that tools have no conscience of themselves; the sharp knife cuts anything; neither knowing nor caring what it cuts, or who is wielding it. So who is the conscience to be for the new Biotech bows? Giant multinational corporations? Ah, well, that’s all right, then! Thank goodness.)

(We will also quietly refrain from pointing out that the “world will starve” statement is a lie, and a myth, used very effectively to make people feel guilty about arguing. The world has a tremendous surplus of food, and will for a long time to come. So much we burn tons of food to fuel our cars; so we can drive to the lake, to play on our jetskis. People do starve; but not because the world has no food for them; they starve for political reasons, and because of a lack of timely compassion. The World is NOT hungry; the World is mean.)

(In fact, while Biotekkies proudly state that they will be able to increase production of crop x by as much as 5%! (gosh) the fact is that in the 3rd World, sometimes 30-40% of each year’s crop production is WASTED. Lost. It rots, after harvest. Due to inadequate storage facilities and systems. Yes, it really is that much; almost never less than 20%. Unfortunately, there is no real money to be made by helping developing nations build appropriate transportation and storage. Nor scientific careers and reputations.)

Hunger in the USA #2

Yesterday, three teenage girls were killed by a train in Florida.  So far the news isn't defining "teen"; my guess would be 13-15.

They were on a railroad bridge over a river.  Just goofing around together.  A train came, and hit them.

There were people yelling at them to jump into the river, about 20 feet down according to some reports- another one says there was a parallel track they might have jumped to; old and rusted- but without a train on it.

Yes indeedy; they made really bad choices, every step of the way.

Sharon Astyk is writing about living on food stamps today, and has this to say at one point in the comments:   "Look, no one is going to argue that it would have been better for her to make better choices, but when you start 500 yards behind everyone else, you are going to lose the race unless someone provides some extraordinary help."

In my previous post on this topic we got to this point: " Very simply- lack of food is NOT the problem; and money is NOT the answer. Can't get much simpler than that."

Which is not a very useful place to get to, unless, maybe, it can suggest a new way forward.  What is the problem?  What is the answer?

I have one.  Answer.  Not, alas all of them; but maybe one.

Which hit me as a result of reading all the comments on that post.  Good stuff; good thinking- stimulating.  I'm proud of you readers.

One of the problems is - people making bad choices; repeatedly.  Being judgmental about that is totally useless; finger-shaking never fixed anything.  Besides which- if you know anyone in this kind of fix; it usually turns out there's a real, unfixable, reason for how they got there.  Being abused as a child being one of the most common.

We can't go back and fix that.  So- what could we do; now?

You know- there is something; and it actually hits several needs, in a really serious way.

Typically, with a person like Sharon's Eva,  or our Christina, when they go for help, they are connected to some kind of social worker.  An overworked one.  And most likely, since humans work this way, someone they may fear, or just not be able to connect to.

The social worker gives advice- the client listens, and takes a crack at it- and nothing happens.

Eva, and Christina- and those 3 dead girls - never had anyone teach them "how to live".

They really don't know how; for one reason or another, their ability to deal with reality is just very thin.  (My suspicions would be dismal parenting; and too much "screen time".  It's easy these days to grow up in a world where when you die, you just go get another life, and try over.  I think kids really need to fall out of trees- and we've made it very difficult.)

What they need is - someone to teach them now.

Who?

Not the social worker.  The woman down the street who is in the same financial fix- but is coping.  A peer.  A neighbor.  Someone with the time to come and cook with them; and coach- to show them not just what to do, but help them build the habits that are so crucial.  Probably share a little child care.  Maybe share a ride to a good grocery.  Shop together.

Now- the social worker knows both these ladies.  They're both on food stamps- it's just one is lost, and one is struggling through.  The social worker could put them together.

Are we throwing tons of money at this problem?  Is it helping?  (that would be 'yes', and 'no').

What we truly could and should do is start a "coach" program.  Let's pay the lady who is coping, to spend time with, and teach, and coach, the lady who is failing.   (What the hell, we're printing money like it's going out of style already- just not getting any of it to anyone who needs it.)

Somebody would get paid a little money (JOBS!!) - and - an ineffective program could be make somewhat effective, at least.  And you know- it's a sure bet that some times, a lady who managed to get turned around- will go on to become a coach.  Paid.  And really effective.

If the two ladies don't get along?  Pick someone else.  There are plenty to choose from.

This could be done.  And it could actually make a difference.  And cut down on isolation.  And build community.

Sharon and Crunchy - here's your next project.

:-)

Anybody know any legislators working on this kind of stuff?  Send them this post.

Talking About Hunger in the USA-

One of the things I admire about both Crunchy Chicken and Sharon Astyk is that they fearlessly charge into discussions that are bound to become difficult and rancorous. Lots of things just plain need to be talked about; regardless of hurt feelings. So they do.

I'm about to do that too. However, I want to start with a disclaimer: I'm not judging anybody here. I'm really not. But we have a problem no one is facing, and we need to face it.

In the last couple weeks Hunger In the USA has gotten a lot of attention, and rightly so. One of the nifty little facts that came out in the NYT was that currently 1/8 of adults are getting food paid for by the government, via what used to be called "the food stamp program"; and 1/4 of our children.

That shocked a lot of people. In truth, I'm pretty angry that people were shocked. We should have been horrified- and aware and doing something about it long before it got to this point. Once again, I'm embarrassed to be a citizen of this country. We let 1/4 of our children grow up in such poverty? Unforgivable. Not a word I use at all lightly.

At the time, Sharon put up a post on the topic; and my comment on it was the second one. My topic here is a little different.

There, I pointed out that quite a few people who are actually hungry- are in situations where their parents or caretakers truly just do not know how to feed them.

What I want to say here - non-judgmentally, remember! - is that many who believe they are hungry- are not. They do not know what real hunger is; in spite of those ubiquitous advertisements with skeletal children in them.

Today the Washington Post has chimed in; and I think without knowing it, they've hit a nail right on the head. There's both an article, and a rather long photo gallery.

These were the photos that set me off. Neither this woman, nor her child, are actually "hungry", in the sense of not having enough to eat. They certainly may be malnourished- but hungry? No.

I do not, in the least, doubt that the woman believes she and her family are hungry, and that she is frantic about the welfare of her children. I would be willing to bet she's entirely sincere, and in no way a "bad person"- quite the contrary. But her problem has been misidentified; and the help being offered her- will not help.

Later in the photo gallery there is another mother- who is skipping meals, so her children can eat. She's skinny. And I'll believe in a second her stomach hurts, and that her children's do too.

There is the crux of why I'm writing about this. One of my myriad ex-girlfriends (ok, 3) fiercely accused me during one of our breakups of being a "problem solver"; a great sin for someone who didn't want her problems solved, she just wanted me to listen to them. (Evidently this is a fairly common source of friction between males and females, but I REALLY don't want to talk about it.)

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima etc. Loathsome as it may be, I really do prefer to come out the other side of a difficulty in an improved state, if possible.

Hunger in the world is actually a major focus of my life. To hear that one out of every four children in my country requires help from outside the family in order to not be hungry sets me going. Big time.

A tried and true way to fail at problem solving is to apply the wrong solution to a problem. For example, like trying to fix a flat tire with a wad of bubble gum. Looks kinda like it might work, if we're lucky. But in fact, it's just truly dumb.

I think we have abundant proof available that we're applying bubble gum to our hungry populace. It isn't going to help; which is by far my biggest objection; and it's insanely expensive, in a time when the country doesn't have a dime to spare. The money could and should be spent so that the recipients of the aid actually get help for their problem.

Problems come in layers, more often than not. The next layer to this particular one is that we know many people on food stamps are not actually hungry- but we don't want to deal with what's really going on. It's embarrassing, from all directions. So, rather than cause some forced blushing- we continue as a nation to pretend: lack of food is the problem; and money is the answer.

Very simply- lack of food is NOT the problem; and money is NOT the answer. Can't get much simpler than that.

The problem is- we refuse to talk about, or deal with, the problem.

If you haven't read the Washington Post article, now would be a good time. Surprise! They actually talk about all this.

I was delighted to discover that; and that others are struggling with it.

Now what?

Once you've discovered your solution to a problem isn't a solution; and the problem isn't what you thought it was - you must, must, must - throw everything out and start over.

What we're doing right now, to continue the flat tire simile, is "hey, maybe if we got the gum hotter, it would work." "hey, maybe if we mixed the gum with gasoline, it would work" "hey, maybe if we put sand in the gum, it would work." "hey, mixing the gum with gasoline almost worked, let's try mixing it with brake fluid instead."

It's painful to throw out a "solution" that you're so deeply invested in. But anything else is almost certain to just add to the "fixing the fix" cycle.

A black hole for the people; and the money.

Norman Borlaug.

I left a comment on the NYT article on Borlaug's passing. Here it is:

The one time I met Dr. Borlaug, I made a complete fool of myself. We'll pass over how.

He was very gracious about it. There was nothing in the least pretentious about the man. But it was awe-ful to be in the same room with him. A large part of that was his complete accessibility. He would listen to you- no matter who you were. Which is the mark of a true scholar.

As an ecologist, I'm quite aware of the shortcomings of the Green Revolution.

He was, too. And it hurt him to have to cope with the sometimes sharp and unfeeling criticisms.

His motivation was simple. And pure. When people are hungry- you feed them. Gandhi had the same thought.

He fed them. Yes, it wasn't perfect, and he knew it. He bought us time; only that, and he knew it. In part, he figured he'd done his part- and now it was up to someone else to take the next steps.

That would be you. And me.

We miss you already. And will for a long time to come.

Norm was a man.

It's too easy to forget that about towering figures, and he was one.

Yes, I know I know I know; many aspects of The Green Revolution have not worked out well, or to the benefit of the common people.

But that truly was not Norm's fault. He was not a great philosopher; not a politician, though he tried consistently to use the weight of the Nobel Peace Prize as a bludgeon on the World Bank officials and other politicians he had to deal with. It wasn't his skill.

His skill was understanding crops, deeply. And need.

Could you stand and see a starving child- with food in your pocket- and not feed the child?

If your answer is yes- either you have never actually been in the presence of utter poverty; or you are subhuman.

Norm saw the poverty- and injustice, and all the rest that goes with living at the bottom of the human pile. His skill was plants. So he gave his life to working for the poor, primarily in that way.

Others saw ways to profit from his work, and often heartlessly derailed it. He hated that; but the starving, dying children still faced him. He never could do nothing.

Down deep, I think he expected others to give as he did; everything, their lives; to deal with the other aspects of the problem of too many people on one limited planet.

He was a farm kid from Iowa. Just a man. Not perfect; but he tried, with everything he had in him.

After I'd made a fool of myself, we eventually found ourselves alone together; for about 4 minutes. We talked about what was next on his schedule; he had rushed to get to the meeting we were at, and had to rush off to another. And another.

(Ok, that was how I made a fool of myself. I had to introduce him to the meeting. And I bungled it, because I was so nervous.)

I said; "They don't really give you much time to sit down, do they?"

"No, they don't." And more slowly again, "No, they don't."

We looked at each other, and he told me silently that he missed his family, and the time to savor life a bit.

Then he pulled himself back up, and went off to the next battle.

People will argue forever, I think, about whether his work alleviated human suffering, or created more.

I can't say. Philosophically, how can you say that it would be better if Person X had simply never existed? Very easy, in the abstract- but could you stand next to X, look him/her in the eyes, and think so?

He knew a simple thing that an astonishing number of humans never learn; people do not exist in the abstract. Each one is real, with pains, hopes, fears, despairs- exactly like your own.

He worked among the people, and knew them, face to face. He could not say; "No, you must not have any children. The world has no room for you."

He thought that decision was not his to make. Perhaps one of those whose lives he saved would in turn hold the answers for what happens next. We can't know.

What we can know is that here was a man who fought with everything he had; every day of his life- for the people of the world- all of them; every last one.

Is there more a person can do?

just can't help myself

It finally got to me.  I have NO time for this, but I just can't stop myself.

The Stock Market- the "financial sector" - is entirely populated with absolute idiots.

And, just for fun; most of them are certifiable gambling addicts, to boot.  Self-deluding, in the extreme.

Two stories, running simultaneously in the New York Times, right now; prove this beautifully.

Story 1; "Oil and Food Push Prices Higher".  

Gasoline prices rose 5.2 percent in May and were up 21 percent compared with a year ago, according to the report, released by the Labor Department on Friday. On an annual basis, inflation ran at 4.2 percent compared to May 2007. The rise in the index was slightly more than economists had forecast.

Food prices rose again in May as Americans paid 5 percent more for foods and beverages than a year ago.

... Minus the cost of food and gasoline, inflation was 0.2 percent for the month.

Ok, got that?

Story 2; "Stocks Up After Inflation Data."  This is the entire story, here; a note;

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is extending its gains in early trading after a pair of economic reports point to the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates stable when it meets later this month. The Labor Department's report on core inflation, which measures price increases but strips out volatile food and energy costs, met investor expectations.

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary reading on consumer sentiment for June has fallen to 56.7 from 59.8 last month. The market had expected the reading would remain unchanged.

Taken together the reports seem to make the case for the Fed to keep rates unchanged, rather than raising them, when it meets June 24-25.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up about 124 at the 12,266 level.

Oh.  My.  God.

So- the market is ignoring the real inflation rate- by stripping out food and energy.  Why?  Because they want to, is why.  It makes them feel better.  And they're ignoring the fact that their pundits thought wrong on consumer "sentiment" (otherwise known as "consumer confidence", a measure of how willing consumers are to believe in the future, and spend money).  

Pundits right?  Yay!  Pundits wrong?  Yay!

My jaw is just dropped, right on the floor, at how anyone can claim, with a straight face, that these morons know what they're doing.

The only possible action from a responsible government would be to move in with troops, and lock 100% of the inhabitants of the "financial sector" in a loony bin.  Or maybe Guantanamo?  They're about to go out of business there, I understand.  We could consider it a Federal employment Initiative; keep that facility working.

--------------------------------------------------------

On the good side: also in the NYT right now: Speculators Become Targets.

Legislators are aware that constituents are angry about speculators driving up food prices (and fuel prices).  And they're starting to call, seriously, for action.

Did your emails and calls a couple weeks ago have anything to do with that?

YOU BET THEY DID!!!  I guarantee it.  It's quite possible that your email was the first one that staffer read, and they kind of blew it off.  But then they got another one.  And another.  Hey, it's a trend.  And the talk started- and here is a nice fat article in the NYT- and rising awareness.

Thanks, guys, and congratulations.

And some not so bright signs.

I've got a series of articles to run past you here; on a variety of topics.  To me, they all point forcefully in one direction.  Which no one on the planet is taking; yet.  But we're going to have to, soon.  (Don't worry, Ilargi; I'm not really planning on trying to swipe your style...  :-) ).  

Be aware, in all this, that these headlines, and the news, are being "cooked", consistently, to make things seem a little nicer than they are.

(Incidentally, this is still not my promised "next" post- this stuff isn't requiring any thought- it hits me like a sledgehammer.)

----------------------------------------------

Article 1, Washington Post: "Food costs push Bangladesh to brink of unrest." 

No, it's not unrest, it's the brink of utter civic chaos, or revolution at least. 

 

"Last month, about 20,000 garment workers defied a government ban on demonstrations to demand higher wages and protest skyrocketing food prices, especially on such staples as rice, which have doubled in price since last year. Some of the workers, mostly women, hurled rocks and bricks at police and vandalized factories in what the local media dubbed the start of the 'Rice Revolution.'  Troops from the Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force that normally patrols the country's borders, now operate and guard the crowded government-subsidized rice shops."

"Bib Norjaham, 40, and her three children said they thought they had already been through the worst of it when their rice and lentil farm was washed away during floods four years ago... 'We haven't had a full stomach in months, and work is very hard to find,' said Joshna, who said she is on a waiting list for a job as a sewing-machine operator. 'There isn't much we can do. The prices are just too high. We can't go back to the village. The land has eroded.' "

" 'If it weren't for emergency rule, there would be revolution right now. Things that would be happening in this country would be unbelievable," said Nazima Akter, 33, president of the United Garment Workers Federation, which has 20,000 members. "People are already really fed up when they are working hard -- sometimes 12 hours a day -- and they still can't afford basics.' "

--------------------------------------------

Article 2; Reuters/NYT; "Buffett sees long, deep recession." 

The second richest billionaire on Earth thinks things are much worse than most are saying, and the recession is not going away anywhere he can see.

One sign, besides the billions he's made by ignoring Wall Street pundits, that he's worth listening to: 

 "Buffett also renewed his criticism of derivatives trading.

'It's not right that hundreds of thousands of jobs are being eliminated, that entire industrial sectors in the real economy are being wiped out by financial bets even though the sectors are actually in good health.'

Buffett complained about the lack of effective controls.

'That's the problem," he said. "You can't steer it, you can't regulate it anymore. You can't get the genie back in the bottle.'  "

Sounds like good sense, with even a modicum of humanity in it.  

(Aside-  please notice that little phrase "in the real economy" ... people in the "financial sector" use it all the time.  See- there's a "real" economy- you know, where people produce actual goods and services, and buy and sell them?  Then- there's the "financial sector" - which they claim is desperately necessary in order for the "real" economy to function...  but you know what?  Their choice of words tells us- they know perfectly well we could all do without them.  They're just swapping piles of money around- charging fees for each swap and pretending to be doing something worth while- but they're just blowing up their own balloons.)

But even Mr. Buffett is not carrying that equation all the way out; and that's what it is, and that's what we MUST do.

Can't steer it.  Can't regulate it.  But it MUST be steered, and regulated- or we face utterly unforgivable amounts of human misery.  = ?

Are you listening Mr. Buffett?  Congress?  Anybody?  If the tools we have don't work; then: we must find, and use, different tools.  

That, of course, requires effective leadership, which as we know, the USA is utterly devoid of at the moment; and other world entities are not showing much either.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Article 3; the BBC: "Tensions Flare In Central Sudan" .  No, they don't- they have a civil war in progress; again.  Over... oil.

Scavenger birds pick through the charred remains of houses and shops in the central Sudanese town of Abyei, four days after violent clashes between troops from the North and South of the country ended.

The place is almost empty - tens of thousands of people fled from the town and surrounding area to escape days of sporadic fighting.

Looters steal what they can - beds, pots and even clothes - from the thatch huts that are still standing, the northern soldiers who now control the town looking on.
There is almost nothing left of the once-vibrant market - just the charred skeletons of buildings

After a tour of the town in a UN armoured personnel carrier, the head of the UN mission in Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, was clearly shocked by what he had seen.

"We have been to the centre of Abyei and it doesn't exist any more," he told journalists travelling with him.

This is not fantasy, folks- but the spread of war, focusing on control of oil, and its dollars.  Nigeria is already over the brink, too, though the world pretends otherwise.

This trend is not decreasing; quite the contrary.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Article 4; CNN: "Vallejo, California, files for bankruptcy" 

Vallejo is " Vallejo is the 9th largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area by population,the 45th in the state of California,and 189th in the U.S. by population also."  (Wikipedia)

" ...to deal with a ballooning budget deficit caused by soaring employee costs and declining tax revenue.   The San Francisco Bay-area suburb of about 120,000 residents became the largest California city to seek bankruptcy protection."  (CNN)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Article 5; BBC: "Indonesia pushes up fuel prices" 

"The Indonesian government has raised fuel prices by nearly 30%, prompting fears of widespread unrest. ... 

The government is struggling to meet the cost of fuel subsidies as global oil prices escalate. ...In several cities it is beginning cash handouts, intended to shield around 19 million poor families from the price rises.

But our correspondent says many Indonesians are worried the price hikes will mean that basic goods and public transport will also become more expensive.

After sharp rises in the price of rice, it could push many more families towards poverty, she adds.

Millions of Indonesians currently live on less than $2 a day."

BTW, I got word yesterday that Websters Interplanetary Dictionary is about the change to definition of "powderkeg";  to: "Indonesia".

------------------------------------------------------

And we could go on, of course.  If you have an appetite for constant dire news, Ilargi is wonderful; likewise Sharon.  And as you know, I indulge myself from time to time.  It's not that hard to find it these days.

Which is the actual point of this post.  Little by little, the world IS recognizing that "things" are getting really really bad-

Then next thing you know, somebody is going to suggest - gasp - DOING SOMETHING about it.

No, really, I'll bet ya.  It'll happen.  Although at the moment, the only thing the "leaders", financial and governmental, are doing, is pointing fingers, and doing "analyses", all of which show- it's not their fault.  No action.

Possibly, when Bangladesh collapses into total chaos, and 100,000,000 (one hundred million) desperate, penniless refugees stream into India and Burma/Myanmar (I'm assuming 50 million straight deaths, first) - the world in general will say - "huh; should WE do something?"

What is the first tool at hand?  Available to all governments- and unused, so far?

RATIONING.

Fuel; and food.  Both need to be rationed- today.  First within countries- and then; for the first time- internationally.  

They won't be, of course.  We need a lot more dead bodies, first.  If you're tenderhearted, I don't recommend you look at this one from CNN: "Starvation claiming Ethiopia's tiniest".  Only 120,000, or so.  Twice the numbers just killed by the Chinese earthquake- to huge international attention, with a visit from Ban Ki Moon, in person.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike my previous request for your help in raising consciousness about the role of speculation in the world food crisis (which is still there, duh)- I don't see that there is anything effective for us to do here, yet.  The world in general is not ready to see the need; though it's obvious as all hell to anyone who actually thinks about it.

So here is my question to you- who- and where- on the planet will be the first to admit that rationing is needed?  And implement it?

Will it be Bangladesh?  One could hope- but it's a country, like many, with a wildly wealthy elite, who hold the power, and vast population of the utterly destitute.

Haiti?  If it's still there.  The UN has the only real police force in Haiti.  They could do it.  They should.  Can Ban Ki Moon find the will?

Who?  Where?  What's your guess?

Speculators "may" drive oil prices up... ya think??

Big news in CNN Business - some folks are wondering if $130/bbl oil might be due to ... gasp... speculators! profiteers!

The article does have a nice walk-through on how futures markets work, and the "rationale" for their existence. The argument is that, done right, they make long term decision making possible, and smooth the ups and downs of markets out.

That's the argument.

No, no, the billionaires shriek; we're good, we're necessary, don't change a thing, it's all the fault of those other guys...

As they strip millions of dollars- a day- out of the market; without ever touching a barrel of oil; or in the food markets, a pound of rice.

As an ex- substitute high-school teacher (one of the things I've done in my checkered past to put coffee on the table) I'm sharply reminded of the lies told by the kids in class, when they're thinking no one can catch them.

"I always sit here, I have to, because of my asthma." Big innocent eyes.

"We never have homework on Thursdays, ask anyone."

"Teacher always lets us go to lunch 15 minutes early, because..."

Bullshit, all of it.

The people actually in the oil business are starting to get it- and they want the speculators out. "Beutel, from the consultancy Cameron Hanover and a former NYMEX floor trader, goes even further in blaming big-fund money. 'We want to see them out, they have no respect for our markets at all,' he said."

Oh, but how?? the regulators cry (all of whom come from the hedge-fund world) ... with big, innocent eyes.

While all their friends and relatives rake in the millions. (Which come, guess what- out of YOUR pocket. You think the middle traders absorb the increases?? Does the price at the pump go up every day?)

How- is incredibly easy. Revert to the rules from 2 years ago; today. Wait 3 months, and measure the impact. Who would suffer? Golly gee, a few billionaires would add only 10% to their pile in that time, instead of 30%. Nobody else.

and then...

I'm finding it hard to write the next post.  Probably for all the reasons you can imagine.

It's an incredibly tangled mess out there- getting rapidly worse.  I'm afraid Sharon's worst imaginings may not be bad enough.  Which is definitely depressing.  Which is one of the reasons I'm having trouble writing.

But there is humor available- abundant, indeed.  While all the major economic indicators point down - the stock market keeps going up.  If I had 2¢ in the market, I'd sure get out.  And the illustration is here; in a spectacularly clueless article on the world oil supply in today's New York Times.  I read it with my jaw dropped.  Goldman Sachs just got worried??

Analysts at Barclays Capital said last week that non-OPEC supplies were “seemingly dead in the water.” Goldman Sachs raised similar concerns last month, saying that growth in non-OPEC supplies “can no longer be taken for granted.”

We can take comfort that our nations economic experts are so consistent!

Gallows humor, alas.

--------------------------------------------

I'm not quitting on the hunger speculation thing- but in the long run, I cannot be the front figure.  I've already got 4 of my own icebergs - one of them already having to do with hunger- that desperately need my attention.  We need some folks who are willing to take on long-term leadership in the fight to get food speculation halted.

We haven't achieved the critical mass here- most of the journalists in this country are still writing about the typical causes- all except speculation.

There is, at least, a reasonably broad effort at coverage this week in The Washington Post; Global Food Crisis is a substantial feature, running all week- lots of attention, lots of places to comment.  Even some good journalism.  Lots of very grim stories.

Your assignment- get your comments up in these venues- ask why speculation is not mentioned- and then do it again.  Send them to the Spiegel article- which is one of the best summaries available still.

Other actions that can be fruitful- your college alumni association is a great place to hit, aiming eventually at pushing for "divestment" by college endowment funds of the corporations involved in food speculation.

That was a  noisy, and somewhat successful, strategy in the fight to end Apartheid in South Africa.

Start making a list of those companies.  We're going to want it.  Send me the names.

Keep plugging.  I'm working on pulling my depressed self back into shape.

Life continues.  Whether you're angry, depressed, ready or not.  This morning- Spice and Smidgen went out to the THWASPCO, for the normal purposes- and the potty house was functioning in one of its less obvious modes- as a wildlife blind.

A doe, on the other side of the little valley- dropped hard to her knees as Spice was watching- and started to give birth.

No kidding.  They zoomed back to get me- and the binoculars.  Smidgen got to see a 30 second old fawn, through the noculars.

Has to mean something.

Of course, our deer tick population is up about 400% this year, too.  Hard to know which way to jump.

No, I will NOT calm down. Hunger Action Guide.

One HUNDRED MILLION MORE people are hungry today than only 6 months ago.

I don't think we can truly comprehend that number, but if it doesn't scare the living hell out of you, and make you FURIOUS, I have to doubt your intelligence and humanity.

Read the previous posts here if you're new to this.  Or look here. Our faithful reader "Anonymous" sent this link to an outstanding article, with great detail, in the online English version of Der Spiegel (New York Times if you're German...)

Sharon, bless her, actually thinks we may have something here.   And she's not easy to fool into blind optimism- which you can see with her post today (jeez, Sharon, I think you need to just be a little more serious about life!)    :-)

 

If you're here reading this- we're in the "pitchforks and flaming torches mob" stage of this movement.  Beyond angry.  We're demanding ACTION - RIGHT NOW.

Action, in fact, is POSSIBLE- right now.  We don't even have to move Congress in the US - just this weird little commission.  Five presidential appointees.  Just 5.  They could, theoretically, ban hedge fund and index fund money in the agricultural commodities futures market- oh, this afternoon.  No new money in.  No re-investing money already in.

Actually, this kind of a target should be HIGHLY susceptible to the pitchforks and torches.  Particularly if some of them are being carried by Senators and Representatives.

Here's what, and here's how.

A. We need a bigger mob- we're not big enough yet, even though others are moving too.

B. We need to sustain actions for the long term.

C. We need to have SPECIFIC - and realistic - actions to suggest/demand.

I'm going to give some quick answers to ALL those points right here.  This IS a work in progress, though, and I'm going to be amending/adding to this post many times in the next 2 days; so check back here to see where we wind up.  The first version is going to be sketchy; but it won't be sketchy when we're done.  Your suggestions are wanted to- and I'll incorporate them here; put them in the comments.

A. We Need More People; More Attention; 

More Discussion; More Anger.

1) There are many organizations in the world that deal with hunger- send these posts to them all; with your own comments-

2) re-email your friends; email more friends; let them know you're not quitting

3) email/call the CFTC Commissioners  directly (phone #'s)

4) Call your Senators/representatives AGAIN.  It counts.  US Senate contact,

US House contact, Canada House contact, 

5) Do you know any journalists, in any of the media?  Call/email- PUSH for coverage

6) Call in to any and all talk radio shows - National Public Radio, for example - and TELL IT.  Tell them about the specifics- (below) - that we're asking for temporary actions- and we want half the profits already stolen to be given back- to the UN food program- now-....

7) Anybody know Larry King?  :-)  Get him to invite George Soros on the show for a discussion of all this... and to ask him- why not just give half back?

8)

B.  Sustaining Action Long Term

This is a big damn iceberg.  It does no good to push just once.  We have to keep pressure on the berg- for a long time.

1) BUDGET a little of YOUR time to work/call/email about banning speculation in food commodities.  How angry are you?  15 minutes a day?  1/2 hour a week?  Both of those can be hugely powerful.  Set aside the time; and make sure it gets done.

2) Do you have friends locally who could be pulled in?  Form a group- that MEETS, physically - once a week- to share and plan.

3) Get your church/synagogue, mosque, knitting club- to form a group

4) Link between groups- ally with other groups also acting-

5) Get the colleges and universities really involved.  Many have "world hunger" groups- talk to them- get them marching- poverty groups, humanitarian groups- it's everyone's problem really, of course.  Know some students?  Professors ?  Get in the doors, get the conversation started.  And the anger.

6) Don't get us tangled up in endless "definitions" discussions.  It's already happened a bit- just remember we're all on the same side here- we want profiteering stopped.

7) Don't let this drive you crazy.  It's an iceberg we're pushing on, and it's not going to feel like much is happening.  Budget your time- and spend time staying sane, too.  I'm not converting this blog to a world hunger blog- in the next few days I'll be posting on something nice, cool, sweet.  Puppies and kitties.  

8)

C.  Specific - Realistic - Actions

1) Get the hungry country governments involved- and speaking up- and ACTING.  How incredibly embarrassing for the USA it will be when Canada, a nation mostly of grown-ups, takes action and bans speculative money in commodities markets NOW.  Or- Sweden.  Or- China.

2)  DEMAND ACTION NOW!!  There is NO excuse for not acting.  The advent of all this speculative money skewing the markets is RECENT.   As an INTERIM; TEMPORARY action- have the markets REVERT to the previous situation - FOR TWO MONTHS, only.  During those two months, we'll have time to think- and WATCH the markets when some of these pressures are removed.

3) FOCUS ON TEMPORARY EMERGENCY ACTION .  The profiteer opponents are already screaming "just let the market work!" - (translation - let us make more money yet, before we change things).  NO.  People ARE DYING - stop it NOW.  Make ANY action taken specifically temporary- and reversible.

4) ADD ENERGY SPECULATION to the demands- it's tied together, as we all know.  Farmers can't afford seed, or fertilizer; food can't be shipped where it's needed.  Hedge funds have been dumping billions into oil futures, too.  Driving the price higher.  It's in the postitive feedback bubble stage now- price goes up?  More billionaires invest- driving it up- etc.  Finally - an article stating that clearly by a US journalist - Energy Bubble - which nonetheless fails add 2 and 2 together.  The price of oil is killing economies.  Airlines have died, recently- and it's tied in like crazy to the cost of food.  It's got to stop.

5) WHAT WE WANT: is NOT the closure of the ag futures markets - but the exclusion of the billions of dollars being pumped in just for profit - and/or for hedging against the falling dollar.  Both are hugely destructive processes- regardless of details.

6) CALL FOR FULL CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS/INVESTIGATIONS NOW; in all Houses; House, Senate, Commons, Lords, Whatever.

7)  DEMAND THE REPAYMENT OF PROFITS already extracted from these markets by outside profiteers.  (no, we probably won't get it; but boy I guarantee they'll pay attention to it when it's put on the list of what happens next!)  Why the hell don't some of those hedge fund managers who took BILLIONS in payment just - GIVE BACK HALF - to the UN food program?? LET'S ASK THEM.

GIVE BACK HALF - TODAY.

Can't wait to hear their answers as to why they just can't.  (sorry, but I NEED all 2 billion, for my kids' college...)

8) Organize, launch some ACTUAL demonstrations- MARCH - down the streets in the financial districts- Signs saying "MURDERERS!!"  and "100 MILLION MORE STARVING!!"  and "NO FUTURE for the World in Futures!!"  and "JUST GIVE HALF BACK- NOW!!"  and name names- "JOHN PAULSON - JUST GIVE HALF BACK!" "JAMES SIMMONS - JUST GIVE HALF BACK!" "GEORGE SOROS - JUST GIVE HALF BACK!!"   Soros actually - might.  Which would set an example for the others they'd be hard pressed to ignore.  Can you say, "huge news"?

9)

Please comment here- suggestions- your actions.  It's HELPING.  I guarantee.

Are YOU, personally, supposed to pick up and do ALL this?  No, really.  Very few of us could.  For those with the passion- please go for it!  But for most of us- it'll be a matter of that 15 minutes- and one or two actions.  But do keep your mind open for opportunities.  And keep your ammunition ready.

New links: Reuters: UN food costs and requests for help up

Commodities and Futures Trade Commission Phone numbers

Hunger compilation - and ACTION

I'm heartened by the general response to my anger.  But it's not like there are millions of us.  Yet.  There need to be millions.  If you don't already know why I'm FURIOUS, read this.  (It's short.)

Today I'm going to treat you to a compilation of internet news articles on the current effects of hunger and associated poverty.  It will be painful to read- but it will give you ammunition.

From CNN: Food aid to Darfur has been cut.   "Ahead of the rainy season, which lasts from May into September, WFP trucks should be delivering 1,800 metric tons (1,984 short tons) of food to warehouses in Darfur, WFP said. However, deliveries have dropped to fewer than 900 metric tons (992 short tons) per day, it said.

Since January, 60 WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked in Darfur, the agency said. More than half -- 39 -- are still missing, and 26 drivers are unaccounted for. One driver was killed in Darfur last month, WFP said."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the Washington Post: US financial debacle hits Mexico:  "the downturn in the U.S. economy has cascaded into Mexico, causing a sudden, precipitous drop in the flow of money sent home by Mexican immigrants"

"Economists here believe the decline in remittances is already pushing thousands into extreme poverty and could lead to a significant increase in migration as desperate Mexicans, deprived of support from abroad, flee to an ever more difficult U.S. job market."

"Hernández, 80, doesn't take his diabetes medicine anymore. It costs too much, and he'd rather buy food than pills. Ever since his son, Alfonso, lost his home in the United States to foreclosure a few months ago and stopped sending money for medicine and farm supplies, life has been "a disaster, a total disaster," Hernández said."

"The sons of at least three of Hernández's elderly neighbors have also lost their homes, their jobs or both, he said. The river of money from the United States that sustained this village is now drier than the desert that surrounds it."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From The New York Times: Hunger Brings Anger:   Just read this whole article; it's not that long.  "Saint Louis Meriska’s children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.”

That anger is palpable across the globe. The food crisis is not only being felt among the poor but is also eroding the gains of the working and middle classes, sowing volatile levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments."

"Last month in Senegal, one of Africa’s oldest and most stable democracies, police in riot gear beat and used tear gas against people protesting high food prices and later raided a television station that broadcast images of the event. Many Senegalese have expressed anger at President Abdoulaye Wade for spending lavishly on roads and five-star hotels for an Islamic summit meeting last month while many people are unable to afford rice or fish."

"Down Cairo’s Hafziyah Street, peddlers selling food from behind wood carts bark out their prices. But few customers can afford their fish or chicken, which bake in the hot sun. Food prices have doubled in two months."

"In Haiti, where three-quarters of the population earns less than $2 a day and one in five children is chronically malnourished, the one business booming amid all the gloom is the selling of patties made of mud, oil and sugar, typically consumed only by the most destitute.

“It’s salty and it has butter and you don’t know you’re eating dirt,” said Olwich Louis Jeune, 24, who has taken to eating them more often in recent months. “It makes your stomach quiet down.” 

"In the sprawling slum of Haiti’s Cité Soleil, Placide Simone, 29, offered one of her five offspring to a stranger. “Take one,” she said, cradling a listless baby and motioning toward four rail-thin toddlers, none of whom had eaten that day. “You pick. Just feed them.” "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A critically important bit of that NYT article is here:  " the spike in commodity prices — the biggest since the Nixon administration — has pitted the globe’s poorer south against the relatively wealthy north, adding to demands for reform of rich nations’ farm and environmental policies. But experts say there are few quick fixes to a crisis tied to so many factors, from strong demand for food from emerging economies like China’s to rising oil prices to the diversion of food resources to make biofuels.

There are no scripts on how to handle the crisis, either. In Asia, governments are putting in place measures to limit hoarding of rice after some shoppers panicked at price increases and bought up everything they could."

Notice?  THERE IS NO MENTION OF FOOD SPECULATION AS A CAUSE- OR STOPPING IT AS A REMEDY.

We need to get speculation into the public eye and mind- and get it talked about.  That's step one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also from the New York Times- Business Section...:  World Rice Shortage/Australian Drought:  

"The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere, once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people around the world. But six long years of drought have taken a toll, reducing Australia’s rice crop by 98 percent and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December."

"The collapse of Australia’s rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice prices in the last three months — increases that have led the world’s largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in Hong Kong and the Philippines, and set off violent protests in countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen."

"Drought has already spurred significant changes in Australia’s agricultural heartland. Some farmers are abandoning rice, which requires large amounts of water, to plant less water-intensive crops like wheat or, especially here in southeastern Australia, wine grapes. Other rice farmers have sold fields or water rights, usually to grape growers."

"Scientists expect the problem to worsen. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, set up by the United Nations, predicted last year that even slight warming would lower agricultural output in the tropics and subtropics."

"Australia’s total rice capacity has declined by about a third because many farmers have permanently sold water rights, mostly for grape production. And production last year was far lower because of a severe shortage of water; rice farmers received one-eighth of the water they are usually promised by the government."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also from The New York Times- Business section: Organic Food Too Pricey?:  "people who have to buy organic grain, from bakers and pasta makers to chicken and dairy farmers, say they are struggling to maintain profit margins, even though shoppers are paying more. The price of organic animal feed is so high that some dairy farmers have abandoned organic farming methods"

"Perry Abbenante, global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods Market, said sales were strong and customer counts were up. He said it might be too soon to know how consumers would react to higher organic prices, particularly in dairy.  “Man, $6.99 for a gallon of milk is pushing it,” he said. “We have to be very careful about not pricing organics out of the market.”  "

"prices for conventional corn, soybeans and wheat are at or near records, so there is less incentive for farmers to switch to organic crops; making the switch requires a three-year transition and piles of paperwork."

"Bob Eberly, president of Eberly Poultry in Stevens, Pa. The cost of raising poultry has increased 16 percent in the last six months, but he said his prices had increased only 7 percent."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok.  Gonna quit with the terrifying quotes here, before (hopefully before!!) I drive any readers into horrified catatonia.   That's NOT the idea.

One point about the business aspects of organic- eventually, the rising costs of fuel SHOULD make the competitive aspects of organic/non-organic tip in favor of ORGANIC.  Commercial fertilizer is made mostly from natural gas.  Then shipped - it's heavy, and takes a lot of diesel to move.  And spread.  Most organic farmers use only on-farm inputs; manure or green manure.  That's going to turn out to be a HUGE benefit, very soon.  Likewise- pesticides- can only get much more expensive.

This is already happening- acres planted to corn in the US will be DOWN 8% from last year.  Multiple causes- one of them being- the very high cost of fertilizer, which corn uses like a drunk on his last binge goes through Sterno.

My own guess about the organic industry is- it's going to be painful for a while- but reality will eventually kick in, and the day may well come when organic food is CHEAPER than "conventional".  Assuming the arctic methane doesn't get us first.  :-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So.  For the first time, I'm going to ask the readers of this blog to DO something.  For us all.  

Many of the causes of the world food crisis are beyond our immediate reach; we can't fix global warming this morning.

But one cause is NOT beyond reach.  It's HUGE- and virtually UNRECOGNIZED.  

It's Food "Investment" - otherwise known as- SPECULATION.

Blog reader DC sent in a comment with this link; International Herald Tribune.  Even some insiders know it.

The politically engaged population of the US - and the WORLD - does not know it's there; and do not know that potentially- it could be OUTLAWED.  Next week.

It could.  Life-critical resources have always been protected from speculation (theoretically!) - it's an absolute obscenity to sell water to people dying of thirst- the whole species feels that way.

That's the anger we need to stir; and this post has been written as an introduction to the situation.

The starving countries SHOULD start the push- if we can alert the Philippines that half of the price of rice goes into the pockets of slimy weasel food profiteers- they can start screaming to the world- the UN, the World Court, the World Trade Association - that this MUST STOP.

The Philippines - Malaysia - Thailand - could actually pass legislation internally banning food speculation.  And then start boycotting international companies that facilitiate it.  

Of course it won't be easy to write the laws.  Of course the profiteers will scream bloody murder.  But yes, it can be done.

They will pass laws long before the US will.   Europe will pass laws, long before the US will.  But eventually the moral pressure will be huge.

In fact, at the moment, the ultra-rich in this country are just smugly grinning about how cool they are- outsmarting the markets.  Most of them have, pardon my Serbian, "shit eating grins" glued on.  (I think he's saying "yeah, sit on THIS, peon!"  But at least he's wearing his flag pin!)

But they ARE human.  If they continually wake up in the morning and have to read stories about how the rest of the world truly considers them to be lower than pond-scum- they will get depressed.  As people.  And start yielding.  Even pond-scum would LIKE to think they're "good people"- at least most of them; some of the time.

So:  PLEASE DO THIS:

Do you have a blog?  Link to this post.  Write about it.  Spread it to other blogs.  Tell them to read the previous several posts here, too.

In 15 minutes:  Email this post to 10 of your contacts who may think as you do.  Ask them to pass it on.

Email this post to your legislators; if you know some, personally, send it personally, and ask to talk to them about launching legislation.

Do you have friends in hungry countries?  Email them this post- ask them to pass it on.  Get them to put it in the hands of their government.

Get this post to your pastor, rabbi, or imam- ask them to turn it into a sermon- and get your congregation RILED.

Do you have contacts in universities?  Get this post to activist groups on campuses- get them to work on... DEMONSTRATIONS.  There should be THOUSANDS marching down Wall Street, with banners saying-

 "MURDERERS!!"

  - and photos of the starving.  What the hell- have friends in Haiti?  Ask them to FedEx  you a few corpses.  They're cheap and don't weigh much.  Prop them up on the Stock Exchange steps.

Are you a member of a conservation group?  Get them this post.

Pass it on.  Talk about it.  GET ANGRY- just in case you're not.  Send your comments here about what you've done- and ideas of your own.  Let's get it moving.

(so far today a LOT of people have "hit" here; nearly a thousand so far- but only a few have commented.  I KNOW more of us have sent an email or two- please DO send me a comment, just to say- "I posted it: or I emailed it."  A movement needs people!)

Just take 15 minutes, please.

Think this kind of action can't work?  Take a look here- substantive change, happening right now, LONG before the laws change.

more to come.