Japan's hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations
http://business.theage.com.au/japans-hunger-becomes-a-dire-warning-for-other-nations/20080420-27ey.html?page=2
PS. The S**t Times got write about this or not.
Excerpts:
"
MARIKO Watanabe admits she could have chosen a better time to take up baking. This week, when the Tokyo housewife visited her local Ito-Yokado supermarket to buy butter to make a cake, she found the shelves bare.
"I went to another supermarket, and then another, and there was no butter at those either. Everywhere I went there were notices saying Japan has run out of butter. I couldn't believe it — this is the first time in my life I've wanted to try baking cakes and I can't get any butter," said the frustrated cook.
...
According to one government poll, 80% of Japanese are frightened about what the future holds for their food supply.
Last week, as the prices of wheat and barley continued their relentless climb, the Japanese Government discovered it had exhausted its ¥230 billion ($A2.37 billion) budget for the grains with two months remaining. It was forced to call on an emergency ¥55 billion reserve to ensure it could continue feeding the nation.
"This was the first time the Government has had to take such drastic action since the war," said Akio Shibata, an expert on food imports, who warned the Agriculture Ministry two years ago that Japan would have to cut back drastically on its sophisticated diet if it did not become more self-sufficient.
...
"In the past, Japan was a rich country with a powerful yen that could easily buy cheap imports such as wheat, corn and soybeans," said Mr Shibata, who directs the Marubeni Research Institute in Tokyo. "But with enormous competition from the booming Chinese and Indian economies, that's changed forever. ..."
No takers ah?
Be prepared for war...a means for survival.
No country will sit back and watch her population starve. If money cannot buy food, then take by force.
seems like the proponents of Japan in some other thread with respect to Singapore are now largely quietened.
Originally posted by eagle:seems like the proponents of Japan in some other thread with respect to Singapore are now largely quietened.
all died of hunger liao or maybe their budget got cut to pay for more food for japan
Hi,
I think alot of this theory that the 'booming Chinese and Indians' cause the rising food prices, is something like a distraction/ scapegoating, or at least, an exaggeration, and not really an accurate description or tell the whole picture.
The rising price of food/ grains, and oil, I think are due to:
1. Weakening US dollar (oil is in dollars).
2. Financial speculation, both in oil and commodities, including grains.
3. Large conversions of grain fields to ethanol and other biofuels, as an alternative to expensive oil.
Due to rapid conversion and divertion of food production into biofuel production, food become more scarce and has become more expensive.
Food price is now competing with ethanol.
If you are a farmer, if u can earn much more money planting something to be made as biofuel, of course u will. And if u are a company who has money to buy lots of corn or other grains to make into biofuel, as long as it is still cheaper than oil, and can be marketed, of course u will.
I dont believe this 'explanation' often quoted in mass media that 'booming China and India' caused the rising food prices. When people's prosperity rise and food consumption rise, it should bring more gradual and much softer price rise, in a natural pace, or maybe even no rise in price, because food supply can respond to this soft increase in demand through time.
What we are seeing now is a much more rapid increase in food price, meaning that it is not likely caused by a simple natural increase that Chinese and Indians are eating more, unless if u believe that the change is so fast and so drastic in their diet.
Whats happening is that corporations, and farmers channeling the food production into biofuel as a response to the market incentive of biofuels.
Farmers and companies plant sugar and corn and also buy up the grains, to make into a cheaper alternative for oil.
This is a market movement, a movement by market players, and it's a rapid movement, not because Chinese and Indians are eating more naturally. That is why there is a rapid market price change.
I really wish the mass media can be abit more discerning before taking on certain viewpoints from certain corners of the globe who prefer to look to other places as sources of problems.
Meat Pao.
If Japan a rich country experiences food shortage.. what are the prospects for Singapore?
With food/commodites prices rising each and every day i.e wheat rising 2-3 fold this year and oil prices rising 2-3 fold in 1-2 years. Unless your wages rises by 100% a year, there is no way anybody can survive the eventual high costs.And even if you have the money, there might be no sellers as the exporting countries need the resources themselves to quell foot riots.
The only way is to be self-sufficient in basic resources, which the Govt did do for water supplies (NewWater). But they probabaly need to use a reclaimed island to do some high tech agricultural food production to ensure a degree of self-sufficiency.
Also increasing population in SG is definitely not helping the situation!! Let's see how the best Govt in the world (otherwise why are we paying them so much) will come up with a solution for this predicament.
Singapore is like a frog in a boiling pot at the moment... hopefully the heat is turned off soon.