Famine knocking on the door !

It is a fact of life that a handful of countries provide a disproportionate amount of the grains that feed the world.   Corn and Soybeans rank high on the sustenance table and one in every three tonnes that feeds hungry mouths comes from the United States - and the United States is experiencing a drought that looks like  wiping out this year's  harvest.

It is fashionable to blame any change in the weather on global warming, but that ignores the fact that weather has never been predictable and the human race has suffered droughts and floods ever since the time of the Pyramids.    They even rate constant mention in the Bible.

The scorching temperatures that are searing the American mid-west have sent prices soaring.  Corn has reached a record high of $ 8.16 a bushel, and Soybeans are trading at $ 17.17.  Even at these prices, food supply is fast becoming a disaster for the people who subsist on earnings of just two dollars a day, and there is every chance that they will skyrocket further before the rains return and bring relief.

What many see as the " rich " countries of the world are troubled by asylum seekers pouring in over their borders.  If the world food supply falls short because of natural disasters, this inflow will increase to an unstoppable flood.    No risk is too great if it is the only option to survive in a starving world.

Unfortunately, much of the land previously given over to food production is now growing crops destined  to replace oil.   Soybeans are in demand to be converted into bio-diesel and ethanol and a new factory is on the drawing board for Wollongong's Port Kembla, tempting Australian farmers to replace other food crops with Soybeans.

We seem to be facing an inevitable cycle of disaster.  Because of drought in America the price of world  food staples is rising to a level that will make them uneconomic  for fuel conversion, but put them beyond the reach of the world's poor.   There is every chance that the austerity measures forced on former wealthy Euro countries  may cause them to join the ranks of starving third world citizens.  The future looks bleak for a high proportion of the world population.

Hungry people are angry people.   The first priority for the United Nations should be to try and bring the world food supply to a sustainable level.   Many people still oppose genetically modified crops, but it is proven that GM can provide hybrids that resist drought and deliver bigger yields.  All areas of science needs to be harnessed to solve this world problem.

There is an alternative.    We can do nothing.    The only problem with that strategy is that problems that seem safely far away have a nasty habit of suddenly appearing on our doorstep !