In which I discuss the week's news in the political economy here and overseas with Peter Bale, including the Emissions Reduction Plan, Budget 2022; a global food crisis & the Australian elections
On the global food crises, '....But famine is still avoidable. The US and Canada now have about 44 million tons of wheat in their stockpiles. North American lesser grains double these stocks to levels that can fully sustain 45 million people for a year. Wealthy nations’ stocks of dry legumes and nuts raise this to 50 million person-years just months away from the next North American wheat harvest.
And then there is livestock feed. Over 250 million tons of wheat, barley, oats and other cereals are globally used for feed, with more than 90 million in the US, Canada, western Europe and Australia alone. This investment delivers shockingly little. One hundred kilograms of feed protein served to livestock yields 10 to 15 kilograms of egg, dairy or poultry protein, or only 3 kilograms of beef protein. The world thus annually sacrifices for livestock production at least 220 million tons of nutrient-rich cereals, more than double the Russian and Ukrainian wheat shortfall.
The wheat famine in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen expected this year, as well as the political unrest that such food shortages sometimes propel, could therefore be prevented by utilizing existing cereal and legume stocks and redirecting grain from livestock feed to lifesaving human food. But such measures are inherently temporary. What about the long-term future?'
On the global food crises, '....But famine is still avoidable. The US and Canada now have about 44 million tons of wheat in their stockpiles. North American lesser grains double these stocks to levels that can fully sustain 45 million people for a year. Wealthy nations’ stocks of dry legumes and nuts raise this to 50 million person-years just months away from the next North American wheat harvest.
And then there is livestock feed. Over 250 million tons of wheat, barley, oats and other cereals are globally used for feed, with more than 90 million in the US, Canada, western Europe and Australia alone. This investment delivers shockingly little. One hundred kilograms of feed protein served to livestock yields 10 to 15 kilograms of egg, dairy or poultry protein, or only 3 kilograms of beef protein. The world thus annually sacrifices for livestock production at least 220 million tons of nutrient-rich cereals, more than double the Russian and Ukrainian wheat shortfall.
The wheat famine in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen expected this year, as well as the political unrest that such food shortages sometimes propel, could therefore be prevented by utilizing existing cereal and legume stocks and redirecting grain from livestock feed to lifesaving human food. But such measures are inherently temporary. What about the long-term future?'
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-05-12/famine-could-be-prevented-by-sustainable-agriculture?fbclid=IwAR2_2MbN1e4fAB5NQNnfmqpF0VroszMeUiReyIijGmBBO5BfEoZk6OdIJGA