This is only an excerpt from a very interesting lecture.
This is only an excerpt from a very interesting lecture.
Wow, isn’t it a shame that all these huge organization, these gazillions of governments and agencies didn’t do anything to PREVENT the current crisis?
I remember several articles last year warning that the bio fuel boom will drive food prices up and that our wheat and rice reserves are emptying fast.
Most governments are not spending too much brainpower to prevent such predictable human disasters. What a shame!
Here is a HIGHLY recommended article about the current food production and distribution system and how it needs to be adopted for a better future.
Worldwide food prices are on the rise - sometimes up to 20-30%! While people in rich countries will still be able to fill their bellies - in many poorer nations many will face hunger. In China and the Philippines for example Governments tried to reassure consumers that they won’t face any shortages and prices won’t continue to sky rocket. Famous last words.
And it’s not just developing and poor nations facing problems. In Italy the price for pasta has risen up to 30%. And pasta is certainly not a luxury food.
Have we hit the “sound barrier” for human (over) population? Is the current industrial food production sustainable with higher and higher oil prices and more and more serious damage to the environment?
Maybe we are facing food riot?
Afghanistan - he is 40, she is 11. She was sold by her parents, because they needed the money. Still girls are treated like a commodity in many countries or simply sold as sex slaves. (Photo by Stephanie Sinclair)
Chechnya - the world seems to have forgotten Putin’s terrible war on these people? War is terrible for adults, for kids is sheer hell. (Ohoto by Musa Sadulayev)
America - even living in a rich country can’t save you from serious illness. Still most kids all over the world don’t have universal health care. This little guy is already dead - he died 2006. (Photo by Renée C. Bayer)
Bangladesh - many kids have to work hard to survive. Although child labor has decreased in recent years it’s still there and needs to be abolished. It my sound cynical: but I think it’s better when kids have work and can feed themselves - instead of starving to death. (Photo by Akash)
Philippines - every place can be a playground, even this landfill outside Manilla where the poorest of the poor scavenge for food. Hunger and starvation are still with us - even in developing nations or economic superstars like China or the USA. (Photo by Hartmut Schwarzbach)
Rich Nations - while kids in poor countries struggle to get education, food and healthcare in high-tech nations they are slowly turned into brain washed zombies. This is the typical brain dead TV stare. (Photo by Wolfram Hahn)
All the images are taken from here: unicef.org. Go there and read more in detail about the stories behind each kid.
After watching all that pain porn you should be ready to give some money and not just a sentimental sigh in front of your computer. Do something!
I highly recommend SPONSORING a kid all year long - and not just for that special Christmas feel good moment. How about five Euros or Dollars each month? That’s not much - but already some REAL money in many poor countries. Have a look at the video on this page for some insight or more motivation: www.plan-uk.org
There are many charities for kids out there: www.children.org, www.sos-childrensvillages.org, www.worldvision.org and www.unicef.org.
Thank you!
If you are poor and stuck in some backwater place your choices are limited. To have a choice is a luxury - not many people enjoy that privilege.
But to develop different perspectives on life you need to have the luxury of self observation and time to reflect. And some brains and some education help too.
Many of our fellow humans are still simply trying to survive and lead a decent life - without a break to think about themselves, learn more about culture and spirituality - or having the resources to start a ‘new’ or ‘different’ life.
If you can afford all these things and you can think - than use these gifts. Otherwise you are wasting yourself and the chance to improve society. Self improvement is not a one way street - as part of a bigger community all bonuses and deficits are added or subtracted from the ‘big picture’.
Most companies just want to create a caring, green and socially responsible image. But FreeRice.com is so much better: it’s basically a word game to win something for the poor.
For each word you guess correct they donate 10 grains of rice. Doesn’t sound much - but so far it has been enough to feed 50.000 people for one day (see totals so far here).
I also like the educational effect for the ‘rich’ people. You get to train your brain and expand your vocabulary. Excellent!
Companies should support more ideas like that. And donating has hardly been more easier and fun than this …
After the second world war many western nations became more socialist then many people would have admitted at the time. The social welfare of their citizens was very important to European countries - especially in fear of another working class uprising like in the Soviet Union, but also to keep another Hitler from happening.
But in search of social consensus many countries overdid it. Instead of building social societies they build nanny states that would infiltrate people’s life instead allowing them to make a living. In the attempt to bring social peace and equality they took out the vitality of the society itself and strangled any innovation and development within.
Hardly forty years later the welfare states ran out of money - countries like Britain, Sweden and Germany started to cut down on social budgets. Suddenly social welfare became a war against social parasites. Profit was more interesting then social consensus and support.
Welcome to the new old world of total capitalism - with it’s new saints Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher.
Working together - to survive.
In the search of efficiency and ever tighter budgets the main victims of this new spirit were the kids and the educational system. It is a harsh joke that child poverty is on the rise in many western countries. The educational systems in many countries are failing or under siege as well.
Plus the real income of white and blue collar workers in industrialized countries actually has declined in many countries for the last 30 years. The middle class is thinning out in many countries. A new lower class has developed in highly sophisticated countries.
Education is a human right and should be free. The same should be true for health care. A smart, healthy and educated citizen is the most valuable investment for any countriy. It’s not a question of money, but dedication, moral and priority within a society.
The modern Anti-G8, Anti-WTO and Anti-Globalization movement is very mobile and well organized. These people travel all over the world to make their voices heard. Excellent!
May I suggest to you to fly to Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe next? These countries could use some real democratic protests and stone throwing. Make these governments realize their mistakes! The tickets are hardly more expensive then flying from London to Seattle or Genoa. I know you guys like to travel - I understand it’s for a good cause. Stone throwing is eco friendly, since it’s a sustainable form of violence. Stones get recycled.
A Saudi women - she can’t leave the house without a male, she can’t vote and she certainly can’t protest like you.
Saudi Arabia is still the richest and the most oppressive regime on this planet. Women’s rights are almost nonexistent. Saudi Arabia’s money supports terrorism all over the world. Saudi Arabian oils fuels global pollution. Plus Saudi Arabia sponsored terrorism - terrorism breeds war and causes even more waste of oil, dropped landmine’s …
Zimbabwe - or better say Mr Mugabe - basically plays the same stupid game like Mao/Stalin, trying to force his ideas onto a nation. But all he created is poverty and hunger on a grand scale. He could use some ‘green’ advice on how to build a functioning agricultural state. Why don’t you help your brothers and sisters down there with some protest advice and try to start a revolution there?
This is a HUGE smog cloud over China - any western protesters going there?
China - now there we have a colossal eco killer. The sky over China is so polluted you can see it in satellite pictures. According to the WHO about 100.000 Chinese citizens die from pollution each year. China’s industry could certainly use a lot of ‘green’ advice how to built an eco friendly industry and agriculture. Plus China is buying loads of assets in Africa - securing it’s share of resources - and they don’t care about any politics or human rights. They sell weapons whoever wants them and has something to trade.
So - next stop China, Saudi Arabia or Zimbabwe? I also recommend visits to Iran and North Korea.
One thing I hate about modern activists are their guilt tactics. Europeans and Americans ‘kill’ people in Africa, because we take away their resources.
First of all ‘guilt’ is not a very good motivation to help others. Guilt only creates anger and ignorance over time. We should CARE for our brothers and sisters in any country - but we should not feel guilt.
Second - we can’t disappear. Modern people consume a huge amount of resources. Sure you and I still can try to be a bit more modest and aware. Drive smaller cars, use public transport or buy only certain brands. But still our complex modern worlds need power for computers, commerce and traffic.
Third - we can only buy technologies that are on sales. To a certain amount we can vote with our wallets - and with tax. Yes, we developed countries still spent not enough money for better development, but we are not completely ignorant either.
Fourth - the ugly truth is that people die in shitty places all the time. Can we prevent every death? Nope. We can try to make living ‘nicer’ for all, but there is no remedy to the human tragedy.
BBC News: Child mortality ‘at record low’
Ok, I am a bit cynical here. It is good that less kids die, but it’s about time we tackle overpopulation seriously. We literally eating away our planet and humanities growth is unsustainable.
It sounds kind of stupid: but what’s the point of saving babies if they face a miserable life? Clean water is already a scarce resource in many developing nations, while the west wastes food for energy production.
While Europe is shrinking and the US stable, the rest of the world is still growing …
BBC Video about rising food prices in China.
The production of bio fuels is driving up prices for food - as well as the growing demand of the awakening giants India and China. There are two billion stomachs to fill and they no longer just eat a bowl of rice.
One aspect of global climate change and peak oil has been hardly discussed in public: food supply.
We highly depend on oil for food production, fertilizer and obviously distribution. We continuously kill huge amounts of livestock, because of diseases like the birdflu, but also more and more farmland is unusable, because of climate change or environmental problems (I am looking at you China).
Africa, who could produce loads of food, is shut out of most markets, because of protectionism in the US and EU.
So expect ever higher prices for food for the coming winter.
