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High Prices of FOOD -World Bank Report.

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Same here in India, price are sky rocketing like any thing. :undecided: And the government is least intrested to look into the matter.
 
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Shame on us, we voted for a

DEMOCRAZY

People are dying just to get hold of wheat, sugar & edible oil :disagree:
 
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Shame on us, we voted for a

DEMOCRAZY

People are dying just to get hold of wheat, sugar & edible oil :disagree:

Is millitary dictatorship a solution then?? Stop giving names to democracy. Its what you have got after years of protests. DO not victimise it unnecessarily.

Democracy does not guarentees perpetual supplies of cheap ration.

It simply implies your selection of your representatives was not good and you need a change.
 
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Is millitary dictatorship a solution then?? Stop giving names to democracy. Its what you have got after years of protests. DO not victimise it unnecessarily.

Democracy does not guarentees perpetual supplies of cheap ration.

It simply implies your selection of your representatives was not good and you need a change.

I am not victimizing anything, I am cursing the incapable leadership that we elected
 
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Same here in India, price are sky rocketing like any thing. :undecided: And the government is least intrested to look into the matter.

It has become a habit of us to blindly blame the Govt for everything. One has to keep a balanced view on things and should look at things from a neutral perspective rather then having a tunnel vision.

BTW, the following news may come in handy:

Govt to import food items to check prices: FM
Thu, Dec 17 07:31 PM

The government will import essential commodities to improve supplies, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, as food inflation touched a ten-year high.

"Food prices are going up and this is an area of concern ... we have to take appropriate measures to see what best could be done by augmenting the supply through imports," he said in New Delhi.

Food inflation soared to a decade's high of 19.95 per cent for the week ended December 5 on rising prices of essential food items like potato, other vegetables and pulses.

The Standing Committee on Finance in its report tabled in Parliament earlier in the day, pulled up the Finance Ministry for not taking timely action to contain inflation and asked the government to put a temporary embargo on essential food items like onions and amend the Essential Commodities Act to check hoarding and speculation.

A host of steps, including zero import duty on wheat, pulses and crude edible oil and allowing imports of various commodities like sugar and rice, have already been taken by the government to tame food prices. RBI, which had earlier pegged the fiscal-end overall inflation at 5 per cent, revised its forecast to 6.5 per cent and is expected to increase interest rate in January review of its monetary policy.
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Food prices set to fall in January, says Montek
Tue, Dec 22 03:44 PM

Kolkata, Dec 22 (IANS) Admitting that food prices have soared 'excessively', Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said Tuesday that they would decline in January.

'In January, you will see a decline in food prices,' Ahluwalia told a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) meeting through video-conferencing from New Delhi.

Expressing grave concern over the stiff increase in the prices, he said: 'Some increase was expected, but prices of vegetables and other food items have gone up excessively.'

He said the fact that retail prices had gone up more than wholesale prices showed there was 'some dysfunctionality' in the distribution system.

Ahluwalia said the solution to the situation did not lie in blunt instruments like monetary policies.

'Where we can, we should import. But again, if the import prices are high, the government has to give subsidy. And then the farmers would say they are not getting good prices for their products. So we have to do a balancing act.'

He opined that the food prices have seen a speculative rise due to the drought situation.

'This has happened though the drought did not have the effect it was supposed to have. We have adequate stocks,' Ahluwalia said.
 
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More important then criticizing others, it's much more important to ask ourselves the question:

Are we, the more privileged ones, doing enough towards the poor? Can we do something? Can we at least ask the govt about the schemes in place in some definitive way rather then airing un-useful criticism at every other opportunity? Can we help the administration to actually bring these schemes to the ones it is meant for?
 
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More important then criticizing others, it's much more important to ask ourselves the question:

Are we, the more privileged ones, doing enough towards the poor? Can we do something? Can we at least ask the govt about the schemes in place in some definitive way rather then airing un-useful criticism at every other opportunity? Can we help the administration to actually bring these schemes to the ones it is meant for?

I dont think we need to get socialist here. Its just bad monsoon. It will be alright next year hopefully.

Dont know if its the same reason in pakistan.
 
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This problem is going to get worse, trust me on this, unless something new shows up e.g. meat made in the lab. The land resources on the planet can support a limited number of human beings with a certain lifestyle. The increasing development and new found prosperity in China & India is increasing the fast food/meat consumption, which consumes much more land & energy resources. America is devoting a lot of its corn towards bio-fuel production, which reduces aid provided to south american nations & mexico drastically. The rich-poor divide too increases by the day with the current economic system in most countries.

The effects of climate change, if true, will hurt things even more. This is the beginning of our troubles with our unsustainable population & lifestyle :angry:
 
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This problem is going to get worse, trust me on this, unless something new shows up e.g. meat made in the lab. The land resources on the planet can support a limited number of human beings with a certain lifestyle. The increasing development and new found prosperity in China & India is increasing the fast food/meat consumption, which consumes much more land & energy resources. America is devoting a lot of its corn towards bio-fuel production, which reduces aid provided to south american nations & mexico drastically. The rich-poor divide too increases by the day with the current economic system in most countries.

The effects of climate change, if true, will hurt things even more. This is the beginning of our troubles with our unsustainable population & lifestyle :angry:

Sir,

highly appreciate your views but why not rich countries could give 1% of their budget to poor countries for food and child care.Every day thousand of children are dying due to hunger?
 
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Hunger Facts: International
World Hunger and Poverty: How They Fit Together

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1.02 billion people across the world are hungry. 1
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Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds. 2
* In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. 3


* Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness. 3

* Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help. 3

Facts and Figures on Population

* Today our world is home to 6.7 billion people. 4

* The United States is a part of the high-income group of nations, which consists of about 65 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less than one sixth of the world’s population. 5

* In contrast, approximately 5.6 billion people live in low and lower-middle income economies. This world, earning under $3,705 GNI per capita, is made up of about 103 low and middle income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries. 6

Facts and Figures on Hunger and Poverty

* In 2005, almost 1.4 billion people lived below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day. 7

* Among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 947 million people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth. 8

* Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation. 1

* Economically, the constant securing of food consumes valuable time and energy of poor people, allowing less time for work and earning income. 1

* Socially, the lack of food erodes relationships and feeds shame so that those most in need of support are often least able to call on it. 1

* Go to the World Food Programme website and click on either "Counting the Hungry" or "Interactive Hunger Map" for presentations on hunger and poverty around the world.

Facts and Figures on Health

* Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities, according to the World Health Organization. 9

* Pregnant women, new mothers who breastfeed infants, and children are among the most at risk of undernourishment. 9

* In 2006, about 9.7 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Almost all of these deaths occured in developing countries, 4/5 of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions that also suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition. 10

* Most of these deaths are attributed, not to outright starvation, but to diseases that move in on vulnerable children whose bodies have been weakened by hunger. 11
* Every year, more than 20 million low-birth weight babies are born in developing countries. These babies risk dying in infancy, while those who survive often suffer lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities. 12

* The four most common childhood illnesses are diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles. Each of these illnesses is both preventable and treatable. Yet, again, poverty interferes in parents’ ability to access immunizations and medicines. Chronic undernourishment on top of insufficient treatment greatly increases a child’s risk of death. 11

* In the developing world, 26 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight. 10 percent are severely underweight. 11 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely wasted, or seriously below weight for one’s height, and an overwhelming 32 percent are moderately to severely stunted, or seriously below normal height for one’s age. 13

Facts and Figures on HIV/AIDS

* The spreading HIV/AIDS epidemic has quickly become a major obstacle in the fight against hunger and poverty in developing countries.

* Because the majority of those falling sick with AIDS are young adults who normally harvest crops, food production has dropped dramatically in countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. 13

* In half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, per capita economic growth is estimated to be falling by between 0.5 and 1.2 percent each year as a direct result of AIDS. 14

* Infected adults also leave behind children and elderly relatives, who have little means to provide for themselves. In 2003, 12 million children were newly orphaned in southern Africa, a number expected to rise to 18 million in 2010. 14

* Since the epidemic began, 25 million people have died from AIDS, which has caused more than 15 million children to lose at least one parent. For its analysis, UNICEF uses a term that illustrates the gravity of the situation; child-headed households, or minors orphaned by HIV/AIDS who are raising their siblings. 13, 15

* 1 % (ages 15-49) of the world is HIV prevalent (2005 data). 5

* 1.1 % (ages 15-49) of developing countries are HIV prevalent (2005 data). 5

* Approximately 39.5 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Of this figure, 63 percent live in Sub-Saharan Africa. 14

* In 2006, 4.3 million people become infected with HIV and 2.9 million people died of AIDS. 14
 
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Monday, October 19, 2009
Democrats Ignore Dead Babies: One Child Dies From Hunger Every Six Seconds Because Wall Street Criminals Stole The World's Money.
Wall Street has worked with Congress to loot our country and much of the rest of the world. Wall Street brokers have become ****** rich stealing everyone's money, and they pay kick-backs to Congress so that nobody will investigate or prosecute them, or force them to pay back the money they stole. Babies are dying because of what Wall Street did. The Democrats turn away from the little dead baby corpses because they're too busy hauling away their share of the loot.

We may be shocked as we watch our neighbors thrown out of work, their jobs sent to third world countries to be done by slave labor. Or we see the for sale signs followed by bank-owned signs throughout our communities, nobody plans to retire anymore, everyone says their savings and retirement money has been stolen by Wall Street, their credit card company just raised their interest rates, insurance premiums go up, food goes up, everything costs more but people can't find work. And it's really not something that most of us can understand, those of us who did not go through the Great Depression, anyway, those of us who were raised to believe that our society was fair, businesses honest, government existed to protect us. Ha!

But as bad as things are or may get in this country, it's a lot worse in other countries. The effect of the market, currency, real estate, stock, and financial manipulation, conspiracy, collusion, theft and fraud by the people on Wall Street, in conjunction with our politicians in Congress, is going to cause hundreds of millions of people in the world to die. At least One Billion people are suffering from hunger right now because of what the Wall Street criminals have done.

Who suffers the most from hunger and malnutrition? Babies and children. One child dies from hunger every six seconds. Yet the Democrats have refused to investigate, prosecute, seize the assets, indict, imprison the Wall Street criminals who are mostly responsible for the economic devastation in the world. Dead Babies don't get the Democrats' attention. They're too busy counting their bribes.

There is enough food in the world, right now, to feed everyone. We could immediately eliminate hunger and malnutrition with the food we have on hand. But the problem is that the rich won't share the food with the poor. The number of people suffering from hunger right now is greater than the total population of the U.S., Canada, and Europe all combined. Try to imagine every single person, old men and women, babies, children, pregnant women, your family and siblings and spouse and children and parents, all being hungry, every one in our country being hungry and not having enough food every single day. Try to imagine that.

We keep hearing that the "popular" charities are having trouble fundraising because of the recession or depression in this country. Museums, zoos, school programs. But there is an institutional system of programs which provides meager aid to the poorest people very year, just enough to keep them alive, and this year there is not enough aid to stave off massive starvation.

Right now, the United Nations is reporting that because food-aid is down due to the poor economy in the world, more than One Billion people in the world will face unrelieved hunger this year.

One Billion people. 60% of them are women. A child dies every six seconds because of hunger. And nobody really cares. These are people who are being systematically exterminated by starvation not because there is not enough food in the world, but just because the rich people have taken way more than their share, and the politicians take bribes to look the other way, step over the bodies of the dead and dying on the way to their private jets and bags of gold.

Think of all the rich people who take their money, usually without paying taxes, and hide it in private charities where they can keep it forever, without paying any taxes, as long as they pay out 5% per year. Like Bill Gates, for example, who hides his money in his private charity so he doesn't have to pay taxes on it. Instead, he does a little PR photo op to convince the world he's really a generous guy, but he keeps most of his money, while a billion people go hungry. If he wanted to help, he would give away his money. Or people like Bill Clinton who has reportedly collected almost a billion dollars from rich people, from foreign countries, from the princes and oil sheiks of Saudi Arabia, from corporations after he left office, and he puts his money into his own "private" charity while a billion people starve.

How about Warren Buffett, who keeps saying that he plans to give away all his money when he dies. I don't believe a word he says. But for anybody who does believe him, ask this question: Why doesn't he give his money away now, so that one billion people don't starve to death this year? All these people who publicly insist that they don't want the money, they're such philanthropists all they want to do is to help others, they'll give it all away when they die, but in the meantime they hide the money in private charities so they can avoid paying taxes, and pay out the absolute minimum, 5% per year, to keep their money tax-free.

It works like this: Let's say somebody earned $200 million this year. They are allowed under our tax laws (written for the benefit of rich people) to put half of that, $100 million, into a new bank account that they label under their own name - Joe Citizen, charity. They don't pay taxes on that money. As long as they pay out 5%/year to some charity, they get to keep the rest of their money. Pretty good con, huh, and all the rich people use it. If they really wanted to be charitable, they would give away all the money in their charity. Instead, they keep all their money, and pay out the absolute minimum that is required under the tax laws.

If our government taxed the rich and shut down these tax scams, maybe there wouldn't be so many people starving to death in the world. We could use that money to feed the hungry.

And why isn't there a world tax? Why aren't people required to pay taxes to help the nations which have been exploited and plundered for centuries by the western world? Because the poor people don't have a voice, and because nobody cares that they are hungry, and that their children die.

What about agri-business, modern miracles, inventions, science, medicine, all these things we hear about that are supposed to be so amazing? What difference does it make when a Billion People are going to starve this year. For these people, they get nothing. Agribusiness, once promoted as a system to improve farming throughout the world, has instead concentrated food production in the hands of a few corporate CEOs who increase the prices for seed, wipe out local farmers, and watch the people die of starvation if they can't pay the outrageous prices charged by the corporations. Same for medical, same for water, same for everything.

The fact is that we produce enough food for everyone, but a few corporations, like Monsanto, have control of the seeds and food production, and use that monopoly control to keep raising the costs of everything. People are dying of hunger -- a child dies every six seconds from hunger -- because the corporations keep raising the price of food to increase the bonuses they pay to their CEOs and corporate insiders. Corporate theft causes people to die, causes babies to die.

Why is it with all the modern miracles we hear about, things just keep getting worse? The answer is that more and more of the world's wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few, and the majority of people have nothing. Not even a bite to eat. We should take that money back from the rich people, and distribute it to everyone else. That's the only solution.

"Despite a record level of people suffering from hunger, food aid is at a 20-year low due to the poor global economy, United Nations officials said today. The result: More than 1 billion people across the world will face hunger this year. "

"'For the world's most vulnerable, the perfect storm is hitting with a vengeance,' said U.N. World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran. So far this year, the agency has received less than half of the $6.7 billion it needs to feed 108 million people in 74 countries, Sheeran said."

... "Iron deficiency, the most common form of malnutrition, affects billions worldwide. It can impede brain development."

"Vitamin A deficiency affects 140 million pre-school children in 118 countries. It is the leading cause of child blindness and can make people more susceptible to diseases. It kills one million infants a year, according to UNICEF."

"Iodine deficiency affects 780 million people worldwide. Babies born to iodine-deficient mothers can have mental impairments. "

... "While enough food exists to feed the world's entire population, the WFP estimates that the number of hungry in the world tops 1 billion, or about one in every six people - more than the populations of the United States, Canada and the European Union combined. "

"The statistics (from the WFP) on those facing the results of hunger can be stark:
An estimated 146 million children in developing countries are underweight.
Every six seconds a child dies because of hunger and related causes.
More than 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women."

While aid programs made inroads in combating hunger at the end of the 20th century, rising food prices have been negating those efforts, causing the number of hungry to rise again everywhere except in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The rising cost of food caused the number of hungry to jump by 75 million people in 2007 and 40 million people in 2008.

UNICEF - Press centre - World Food Day: more than one billion people suffering from hunger

I'm sure most people already give a little to a local charity or food bank. But in addition, maybe this year you could send Ten Dollars to Unicef to feed the hungry babies in the world, and send a letter to your Senators telling them to indict, prosecute, seize the assets, throw into prison every scumbucket from Wall Street, fix the tax code and get rid of the tax cons, and make the rich people start paying taxes again. Demand that the Senators take every penny they have received from Wall Street in the last 8 years and donate the entire amount to Unicef. It's all dirty money, obtained through corruption, they should be ashamed of themselves for taking it, but at a minimum they should send it all to save a few more babies from dying. Here's the Unicef link: UNICEF - UNICEF Home

Posted by NABNYC at 3:41 PM
 
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I dont think we need to get socialist here. Its just bad monsoon. It will be alright next year hopefully.

Dont know if its the same reason in pakistan.

The socialist, communist, capitalist jargons can take a walk for all my moneys worth. All I am asking is one to be a humane if that's not too much.

Also for your over-simplification of the the problem, do refer to Dawkins' post @ post#10.
 
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