Downsizing Humanity

Whether the world tips into agricultural catastrophe this year depends on the fate of the wheat crop on the North China Plain though if you measure a few billion hungry bellies one could argue that the catastrophe is already upon us. The era of abundance that fueled the world’s population growth to almost seven billion people is over and so is the free ride of unlimited credit and debt, except, that is, for the American government that just prints the money it needs electronically even though it brings inflation to the whole world by doing so.
The New York Times reported that the United Nations issued an alert on the 15th of February warning that a severe drought was threatening the wheat crop in China. “China’s grain situation is critical to the rest of the world—if they are forced to go out on the market to procure adequate supplies for their population, it could send huge shock waves through the world’s grain markets,” said Robert S. Zeigler. The state-run news media in China warned Monday that the country’s major agricultural regions were facing their worst drought in 60 years. On Tuesday the state news agency Xinhua said that Shandong Province, a cornerstone of Chinese grain production, was bracing for its worst drought in 200 years unless substantial precipitation came by the end of this month.

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At least 29 countries have sharply curbed food exports in recent months to ensure that their own people have enough to eat at affordable prices. When it comes to rice, India, Vietnam, China and 11 other countries have limited or banned exports. Fifteen countries, including Pakistan and Bolivia, have capped or halted wheat exports. More than a dozen have limited corn exports. Kazakhstan has restricted exports of sunflower seeds.

Read entire article here: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/02/sound-and-fury-downsizing-humanity.html#more