Comments on: Modern Day Food Shortages and Apparent Investment Opportunities

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:36:06 +0000

TXAG – You’re right, I mis-represented that figure. I’d relied on my memory, but the actual quote was “a full tank of gas requires the equivalent of a quarter of a ton of raw foodstuffs, enough to feed one person bread for a year.” Thanks for the correction!

By: TXAG03

TXAG03 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:54:06 +0000

Check your facts and don’t say rediculous things. Malthusian prophesy will destroy your credability everytime. It’s just wrong.

“Through research performed at Cornell University, we know that 1 acre of land can yield about 7,110 pounds (3,225 kg) of corn, which can be processed into 328 gallons (1240.61 liters) of ethanol. That is about 26.1 pounds (11.84 kg) of corn per gallon.” from howstuffworks.com

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:23:37 +0000

Foo,
In addition to eating more meat, they are also eating more dairy products, with the same results for grain supplies and prices. Of course, corn ethanol is the whipping boy for all our agricultural problems. but I agree about the ethanol subsidies – they need to go.

By: Foobarista

Foobarista — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:11:49 +0000

Actually, the problem is biofuels + a richer third world leading to more meat-based diets. Chinese eat far more meat than they did a few years ago, so more corn is being used to feed hogs, chickens, etc.

But our glorious Congress isn’t helping any with ethanol subsidies.

By: Lord

Lord — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:43:34 +0000

1 bushel 2 gallons

By: Traciatim

Traciatim — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:37:19 +0000

Plus, if you look at the solar cycle, over the next few years we should have great outputs of food since we’re just ramping up now. So that’s an even better time to buy agriculture . . . and aluminium foil companies, since everyone is going to need a hat soon.

By: Traciatim

Traciatim — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:35:55 +0000

So the world is running out of food, the penguins are catching on fire, the polar bears are drowning, world wide diseases could proliferate to epidemic levels . . . at least there is no asteroid on a crash course with earth yet, that we know of

By: trip

trip — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:39:06 +0000

Sam,
True, we should all (Americans) eat less. However, it is important to remember all the fuss over the outdated ‘farm subsidies.’ A government has no higher import than protecting the food source of its citizens. In 2040 agriculture will make today’s oil look like peanuts.

By: koki

koki — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:37:34 +0000

Sugar-cane ethanol is much more cost effective than Corn ethanol and wont increase the cost of corn. This will be great for the Caribbean nations where sugar cane plants grow well and fast… It would be a great way to help a post-Castro Cuba!Instead of producing sugar, Cuba can produce energy for its own consumption and even maybe export… Too bad the same big players want to force Corn down our gas tanks

By: sam

sam — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:52:48 +0000

Meg,
Magazines thrive on scare headlines. That is how they get people to pick their magazine off the rack rather than someone else’s. Since the US and other countries are in the midst of an “obesity epidemic” (another scare headline), I’m having a little trouble processing the cognitive dissonance.