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Elisabeth Rosenthal the American medical doctor specializing in epidemic disease, scientific and environmental matters has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs’. Rosenthal states “In the tiny tortillerias of this city [Guatemala City], people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed. …Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. …With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. …Roughly 50 percent of the nation’s children are chronically malnourished, the fourth-highest rate in the world, according to the United Nations.”   Inspired by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times ow.ly/gKkg3 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKkeF As biofuel demand grows so do hunger pangs (January 17 2013)Elisabeth Rosenthal the American medical doctor specializing in epidemic disease, scientific and environmental matters has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs’. Rosenthal states “In the tiny tortillerias of this city [Guatemala City], people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed. …Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. …With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. …Roughly 50 percent of the nation’s children are chronically malnourished, the fourth-highest rate in the world, according to the United Nations.”

 

Inspired by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times ow.ly/gKkg3 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKkeF

Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul the 75 year old Texan medical doctor and US Republican Congressman and candidate for the 2012 presidential nomination thinks declaring “bankruptcy” might be a good idea on how the US should deal with the growing debt problem confronting the US government. Paul has been referred to as the ‘Intellectual godfather’ of the Tea Party movement and has the most conservative voting record of any member of Congress. Paul wants to convert the U.S. monetary system to one based on the gold standard, and has introduced a bill to audit and inventory the US gold reserves, with the intention to eliminate the Federal Reserve as a way to reduce the deficit by $1.6trill that the government owes to the Reserve, believing this action would provide reassurance to the markets. Inspired by Frances Martel ow.ly/5wLYq image source Wikipedia ow.ly/5wLXL Intellectual godfather of the Tea Party (July 6 2011)

Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul the 75 year old Texan medical doctor and US Republican Congressman and candidate for the 2012 presidential nomination thinks declaring “bankruptcy” might be a good idea on how the US should deal with the growing debt problem confronting the US government. Paul has been referred to as the ‘Intellectual godfather’ of the Tea Party movement and has the most conservative voting record of any member of Congress. Paul wants to convert the U.S. monetary system to one based on the gold standard, and has introduced a bill to audit and inventory the US gold reserves, with the intention to eliminate the Federal Reserve as a way to reduce the deficit by $1.6trill that the government owes to the Reserve, believing this action would provide reassurance to the markets.

 

Inspired by Frances Martel http://ow.ly/5wLYq image source http://ow.ly/5wLXL

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