[MagnoliaFan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FoxV', '(')btw, yes I do know that Alberta is a bit flooded right now, so there is no bidding wars for water with this current oil price run up, but that will change in the future)

[savethehumans]

From what I've read, the Albertan farmers are NOT happy campers--the ground is so wet/flooded, they can't plant anything yet!

Looks like GW/CC is set to give that area just the OPPOSITE problem in years to come. But no food is still no food. Best get a job in oil sands retrieval--THEY will be happy for all that water--and their employees will eat!

[rockdoc123]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')rom what I've read, the Albertan farmers are NOT happy campers

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('savethehumans', 'F')rom what I've read, the Albertan farmers are NOT happy campers--the ground is so wet/flooded, they can't plant anything yet!

[rockdoc123]

not bad in Alberta....well 70mm of rain in the last 8 hours is fairly extreme for that part of the world. 150 mm predicted for parts west of Calgary by mid Saturday. Looks like the 100 year event to me.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rockdoc123', 'n')ot bad in Alberta....well 70mm of rain in the last 8 hours is fairly extreme for that part of the world. 150 mm predicted for parts west of Calgary by mid Saturday. Looks like the 100 year event to me.

[FatherOfTwo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FoxV', 'b')ecause of scarcity Alberta farmers must buy large amounts of water to get a half decent crop. Now another industry that's also buying up a lot of this scarce water is the oil industry, particularly those guys with old wells that pump in tonnes of water to get what little is left.

Normally this is not a big deal, but with high oil prices more and more pumpers are doing this and using ever more water to flush out smaller precentages of oil. Now consider that this scenario is probably being repeated in the US as well. That means the largest food producing region of the world has to share its irrigation water with oil producers (and I'm assuming that once water has been down an oil well it can never be used for crops).

ultimately this won't impact much on Canada and the US, but if the water usage is significant it will impact on food exports which will have a big impact on the rest of the world.

can anyone (FatherOfTwo?) expand or dismiss this.
(btw, yes I do know that Alberta is a bit flooded right now, so there is no bidding wars for water with this current oil price run up, but that will change in the future)

[lutherquick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060525/sc_ ... biomass_dc

Giant grass to get larger role in energy supply: "People are used to looking at certain landscapes, such as fields of cereals, and this will change," she said.



Oh, isn't this just great...
Hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink...

HELLO !!! ???

We are about to trade crops used for FOOD to make crops used for fuel. This like burning the furniture in the fireplace to keep warm...

Humans are stupid....

[mekrob]

What? You want my SUV to starve to death? It needs to drink! You monster!

[Raxozanne]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lutherquick', '
')Humans are stupid....

[firestarter]

Didn't see this posted anywhere else.



$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ow that the year’s grain harvest is safely in the bin, it is time to take stock and look ahead. This year’s harvest of 1,967 million tons is falling short of the estimated consumption of 2,040 million tons by some 73 million tons. This shortfall of nearly 4 percent is one of the largest on record.

Even more sobering, in six of the last seven years world grain production has fallen short of use. As a result, world carryover stocks of grain have been drawn down to 57 days of consumption, the lowest level in 34 years. The last time they were this low wheat and rice prices doubled.

The growth in world grain consumption during the six years since 2000 averaged roughly 31 million tons per year. Of this growth, close to 24 million tons were consumed as food or feed. The annual growth in grain used to produce fuel ethanol for cars in the United States alone averaged nearly 7 million tons per year, climbing from 2 million tons in 2001 to 14 million tons in 2006.

Complete Article

[seldom_seen]

Food versus Fuel = Man versus Machine.

Under the current industrial paradigm, the machine is given precedence.

The current American way of life is founded not just on motor transportation but on the religion of the motorcar, and the sacrifices that people are prepared to make for this religion stand outside the realm of rational criticism. ~lewis mumford

[green_achers]

Unlike oil, corn is a renewable resource. Yes, the way it's produced is very oil-dependant, and the cost of oil might have something to do with the decline in production, but it is foolish to look at trends with a renewable resource the way you might look at a depletion curve for a non-renewable resource. The market will respond to price signals, and I assure you there will be a lot more corn grown next year than this year.

Now, there will come a point at which the cost of energy makes growing more corn a losing proposition, but we are probably a ways from that.

[Ache]

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/AP/s...67167.html

NEW YORK --
This morning, your bowl of cereal and milk probably cost you 49 cents. Last year, it was 44 cents. By next year, it could be 56 cents. It's enough to make you cry in your cornflakes.

The forces behind the rise in food prices - China's economic boom, a growing biofuels industry and a weak U.S. dollar - are global and not letting up anytime soon. Grocery receipts are bulging because the raw ingredients, packaging and fuel that go into the price of foodstuffs cost more than they have in decades.

It's the worst bout of food inflation since 1990, but not yet worrisome to the economy, said John Lonski, chief economist of Moody's Investor Service. While high food prices can cut into consumers' discretionary spending, the 4 percent rate of food inflation is still far below the crippling double-digit levels of the 1970s.

Still, consumers anxious for relief in the checkout line may have to keep waiting.

Andrea Williams, 32, can track the rise in prices of the food she buys for herself, her husband and their three children by looking back at the receipts she says she meticulously saves.

"In 2004, I bought a gallon of milk, it was a $1.63," Williams said before heading into a Wal-Mart in Savoy, Ill., about 140 miles south of Chicago.

A gallon of milk cost nearly $3 a gallon last month in her area.

A couple of years ago, Williams would spend about $250 a month on one big grocery trip. Now she says she's spending $250 on big trips every two weeks.

It's possible to trace the jump in food costs to the commodities markets, where the price of agriculture products and energy have reached multidecade highs this year. Crude oil, which helps dictate the price of gasoline and plastic packaging, hit an all-time peak in September. Wheat prices also climbed to a record.

The run-up in commodity prices has as much to do with short-term supply and demand in each market as with long-term shifts in who produces and consumes those products.

China is the juggernaut. Rapid growth there - and in Brazil, Russia, India and other developing nations - has led to massive demand for raw materials, including energy to run factories and cars, metals to build infrastructure and beans and grains to feed livestock and people. China will import almost 50 percent of the world's oilseeds within a decade, becoming the world's largest importer, according to estimates from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Oils made from oilseeds such as soybeans are used widely in packaged foods, while corn is used to make high fructose corn syrup, an ubiquitous sweetener found in everything from soda to bread.

China's oilseed demand reflects another trend: The world is using more of its food supply to make fuel. Corn in the U.S. and China is being converted to ethanol, a gasoline additive. Europe is using more wheat for ethanol and rapeseed for biodiesel, a cleaner burning fuel that is mixed with regular diesel. Brazil has bulked up its production of sugarcane to make ethanol.

Demand for corn from the burgeoning ethanol industry in the U.S. helped drive corn prices to a peak earlier this year, setting in motion a domino effect of price increases through the food chain as livestock raisers, food makers and retailers tried to recover costs.

Corn prices have come off their high due to expectations for a huge crop this year, but prices remain historically elevated because of inflation across the agriculture market. A bushel of corn that went for about $2 a couple of years ago costs about $3.50 today.

Higher commodity costs have led Kellogg Co., General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and others to hike prices this year. Kellogg boosted prices 5 percent in April based on weight; in June, General Mills shrunk cereal package sizes in a way that had the effect of lifting prices. Starbucks Corp. decided to charge more for lattes and other drinks to cover its milk costs.

"Ethanol got us started down this line, but other things moved to the forefront," said Darrel Good, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Illinois.

[Ache]

Ethanol Industry Is Losing Clout In Congress as Food Prices Climb

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB11920647...lenews_wsj

The stalling ethanol industry wants Congress to mandate greater use of the biofuel. But many of the industry's former friends have turned against it amid soaring prices for corn and other grains.

Congress gave a big boost to ethanol in 2005, when it mandated that oil refiners blend 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels such as ethanol into the nation's gasoline supply by 2012. The farm lobby was united behind ethanol as a way to strengthen rural economies. Environmental groups backed it as a way to fight global warming and lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Even the petroleum industry was supportive.

Since then, dozens of ethanol plants have sprouted around the country, turning corn into fuel. The rise of the industry has helped to boost grain prices and create jobs in farm states.

But ethanol production today is close to reaching the 7.5-billion-gallon level in the 2005 law. Oversupply has forced down prices and driven some ethanol producers into trouble. Producers and corn farmers are lobbying hard for Congress to boost the requirement anew to ensure that demand can soak up the rising production.

Without new legislation, there will be a "natural barrier to growth in the industry," says Eric Washburn, legislative counsel for the American Coalition for Ethanol, a trade group based in Sioux Falls, S.D.

In June, the Senate passed a bill increasing the mandate for renewable-fuels use to 36 billion gallons by 2022, with 15 billion gallons coming from corn-based ethanol. A House bill would leave the current goal in place. Lawmakers in both houses are preparing to work on reconciling the bills, though the timing isn't clear.

Opposition to the ethanol industry's goals has grown significantly stiffer. The so-called barnyard lobby -- representing the meat, livestock and poultry industries -- says high corn prices are hurting its profits. The price of corn-based animal feed has increased about 60% since 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Our single biggest priority is for Congress to reject a new renewable-fuels mandate," says Jesse Sevcik, vice president of legislative affairs at the American Meat Institute, a meat and poultry trade association.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')OKYO, Jan. 22 (Kyodo) - An international research group has warned in a recent study that continued rapid growth in biofuel production may worsen already serious water resource and food problems in Asia.

The International Water Management Institute said in its report that "Ambitious plans in China and India to greatly increase domestic production of biofuels derived from crops will put greater stress on these countries' water supplies, seriously undermining their ability to meet future food and feed demands."

[Heineken]

Well, this adds to what we already know: Biofuels are an ecological disaster the world cannnot afford.

[Ferretlover]

Policy Group Says Ethanol Boom Is Pushing Up Price of Food and Increasing World Hunger
By HENRY C. JACKSON Associated Press Writer DES MOINES, Iowa Jan 29, 2008 (AP)
The nation's fascination with ethanol is pushing food prices upward and raising the specter of potential shortages, according to a report by an environmental think tank.
The country's ethanol push is a "misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity," according to the Earth Policy Institute. The report released last week suggests the ethanol boom will hit U.S. consumers in their pocketbooks and cause even more far-reaching problems in the developing world.
"One of the consequences of this enormous shift of grain is that hunger and malnutrition, which were supposed to be declining during this period, haven't," said Lester R. Brown, the institute's president and the author of the report. "They are now projecting that the 800 million people (living in hunger) will number 1.2 billion by 2025." …
"We've seen world grain consumption exceeding production," Brown said. "We've been drawing down stocks down. Until today, carry-over stocks of grain equal only 54 days of world consumption. That's not much more than pipeline supplies." …
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) With Minnesota's ethanol production expected to more than double by 2011, there's growing concern there won't be enough groundwater to satisfy the industry's needs.
It already happened in Granite Falls, when a new ethanol plant last year depleted the groundwater so much that the plant had to start pumping water from the Minnesota River.
It takes four to five gallons of water to produce a gallon of ethanol at a biofuel plant. Minnesota has 17 ethanol plants in operation, six under construction and 10 more proposed or in the planning stages substantially increasing the possibility of more drains on underground water supplies. …
Water, Water everywhere... or, Not

[MrBill]

I am confused. Where does the waste water go? Into outer space?

Why would higher food prices hurt the developing world when they overwhelmingly rely on agriculture as a larger percentage of their GDP than the developed world? Should that not put more money into the pockets of Third World farmers?

If we have to pay more for crude. Why shouldn't Saudi Arabia have to pay more for barely?

If food prices have decreased in real, inflation adjusted terms for the past 50-years does this mean they should never go up? Should food prices continue to decline to zero even though input prices - for energy for example - continue to go up due to scarcity?

How should we pay our farmers if food prices stay constant, but the price of machinery and inputs like fertilizer rise?

If we pay just 10% of our net income on food - including value-added processed food - should our goal be to reduce this to zero? How do you define cheap food?

If crop yields have tripled in the past 30-years why do we still have hunger issues in the world? Do you think it has anything at all to do with over-population issues?

Why is obesity as large an issue as hunger in the developing world?

Should we dictate to poor countries what they should do with their land? Perhaps ask Asians not to eat beef or otherwise diversify their diets? Is this not a little hypocritical?

Do you feel that eating fruits and vegetables in winter is a waste of resources? Do you then have any preventative health tips for us then?

How many of those 800 million to 1.2 billion live in failed states due to civil war and/or under repressive governments?

Do you think that countries like Pakistan or N. Korea for example should outsource food security issues in order to pay for more nuclear arms programs? Should this be their priority? If yes, then why is it my problem to feed their starving people?

What about Sudan? Should oil producers also not have a moral obligation to feed their own people as well?

Enquiring minds want to know? Thanks.

[dorlomin]

The ethanol industry is a subsidised consumer of food. A very very rapidly growing one that massively outstrips population growth at the moment, in terms of increased consumption. No one is providing additional subsidies for non farming third world food consumers to compete with the subsidised growth and consumption of ethanol grain.

Many of the third world producers also do not have a level playing field on which to compete. They have faced many years of having surplus stocks of subsidised western foods dumped on them, wich cuts profit for reinvestment, now cannot access the most lucerative markets due to trade barriers or recieve the production subsidies to create profit to reinvest.

Corn\ Ethanol production and consumption subsidies is one of those policies with virtualy no benefit to anyone in the long term.