Food for thought

So, the argument continues.......the war of words between the developed and the developing countries. The latest being the food crisis that has hit Africa and South America. So many thoughts in my mind right now......is there a right and a wrong between the words that are being exchanged? Bush says burgeoning middle class in India and China are the cause for the crisis! While India says, stop giving an $8 billion dollar subsidy to farmers for biofuel production. There are others who are crying for more help, but not the way these countries have been playing it all this while.....it is more of the "teach the beggar to fish and feed him for life" moral involved here -and I take the side of the group that demands it.

When Bush once again displayed his Nobel prize winning economics brilliance (seriously, this guy and all his advisors are mentally challenged!) that having developing countries eat more is a major cause for the food crisis, I really wanted to stuff things up his a%^!!! Alright, we accept that our population explosion is no longer India's bane, but the entire world's too...and yes, we need to step up our efforts to keep a check on that, however, complaining that the middle class is now eating three hearty meals a day is ridiculous!!! This is a blatant display of the US and other developed nations trying to maintain their stranglehold over the control they possess over the rest of the world. I may be highly emotional here, but I seriously think this attitude only spells imminent disaster! Instead of trying to find a solution here, India blames the US for encouraging its farmers to steer their land towards biofuels for more cash, while the US demands that India remove its export cap on agri products. Well, who is right?

I, for one, am aware that not having such an export cap will only drive a large chunk of the population to starvation - imagine the incentive to these local producers to see a phenomenal increase in earnings when they begin exporting their products overseas - the same old food shortage saga of the Indira Gandhi reign will reappear! Nobody wants that!!! What can the US do about it? We cannot simply say that the country has to conserve its biofuel production plans- I have lived here, and the lifestyle these people lead, demands such necessities. So, what can be done?

Well, for starters, US needs to shed its image of being the kind hearted rich neighbor and feeding the poorer nations (Africa never seems to take the initiative to improve.....why cant they be taught to survive on their own and make the Nat Geo photographers to capture more heartrending scenes in other nations!!). Instead of Bush steering $770 million towards emergency food aid, why cant that money be used to help teach Africans to cultivate, earn and self sustain themselves- give that continent an opportunity to shed its image of poverty and utter grief). Yes, the local farmers will go in upraising when they no longer see their products, but their cash being sent overseas, but having subsidies of $8 billion for biofuel, US has itself created a major shortage in supply for other nations. Countries like India and China need to start looking at avenues to increase agricultural returns, maybe even fund more towards research to obtain the most of the resources available. We hardly seem to contain our population here, so another mighty effort needs to be address this issue as well. Yes, our middle class population of 300 million is more than that of the consumers in the US, that is reason enough to make our leaders sit up and take notice. Our power is growing globally, we can no longer whine and complain at every single WTO conference.....the time is now, and we need to act!!!!
Right now, the only thing that bothers me is that when I go grocery shopping the next time, I will have to think twice before buying another kilo of rice...it is way too expensive and also, the advertisements in TV to curtail surplus buying is haunting......