Clinton raises alarm on rising food prices

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   Stacie Lposted 12 years ago

   "ROME – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Friday that global shortages of food and spiraling prices threaten widespread destabilization and is urging immediate action to forestall a repeat of the 2007 and 2008 crisis that led to riots in dozens of countries around the developing world."
   
   ..."Rising food prices can have a positive effect if they send a signal to farmers to grow and sell more. But that can only happen if there is transparency in markets and stocks, so signals about prices and food supply are accurately received," Clinton said.
   
   http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_us_clinton
   
   it's always something...I feel like we're living in an alarmist world;crisis at every turn...maybe a classic case of haves and have nots

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      lady_love158posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Nice of her to call attention to this issue which was the driving force behind the Egyptian ouster of Murbarak, and which this administration's policies have caused.

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   thisisoliposted 12 years ago

   Wasn't Hillary Clinton in favor of the BioFuel increase and overseas subsidies that caused world food prices to skyrocket in the first place?
   
   Not sure, jsut asking.

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   knolyourselfposted 12 years ago

   I hear Wall Street is in the food business now. That and very bad weather. And then there is the fed flooding the world with dollars. She should talk.

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      kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, Johann Hari had a pretty damnig report on the role of speculators in the 2008 food crisis last year:
      
      http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/co … 16088.html
      
      Not pretty at all if it's true.
      
      Personally, I think biofuels are also pretty high on the list of culprits, and US ag policy in general. Our most heavily subsidized crop is field corn, which no human can actually eat without major processing. Most of it gets fed to livestock, who take anywhere from 2-10 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. If we cut our per capita meat consumption by about 75 pounds (back to 1950s levels) and used the farmland freed up by that to grow stuff humans actually eat, we'd be in much better shape.

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   Patty Inglish, MSposted 12 years ago

   In Central Ohio, I see the major grocery stores throwing out a large amount of expired and unexpired (still well wrapped) food every day, yet the largest food bank in the county is always running low of food. Plus, in 2009, Ohio had 6 years of corn (food corn, not feed corn) crops in silos, untouched, and I don't know how much of the 2010 corn crops went into silos.
   
   These shortages remind me of the history I learned about 1950s' milk and coffee crops dumped into the Gulf of Mexico in order to drive up prices. And the US Cold War campaign to make bananas more popular by stating that the USSR did not like them.
   
   I think Food Business is Show Business part of the time.

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   Evan G Rogersposted 12 years ago

   the problem is the federal reserve.
   
   End it, and the prices will be much more stable.

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   knolyourselfposted 12 years ago

   "I think biofuels are also pretty high on the list of culprits," Got that right.
   One of Obama's biggest backers Archer Midland Daniels. Personally I have switched to an asian style diet. 75% less meat and 75% more vegetables, fish oil and whatnot.
   Feel much better now as well.

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      Mister Veritisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I also eat very little meat. I have Italian roast beef on my sandwiches when I am not eating Rosemary and sun dried tomato ham.
      I feel good too.

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   dutchman1951posted 12 years ago

   What made the Genus finaly realize it?
   
   it sure was not the cost of serving Guests at her daughters wedding?
   
   "OH my...the sky is falling"
   
   well...duh!!!!!!!!

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