昨天的食物自滿證明難以下咽

它證明了自己是一個昂貴的自滿;的規模,我們才剛剛開始意識到。是多麼容易忘記歐洲戰爭年代的饑荒,在1953年英國食物配給的結束,美國1930年代的糧食短缺。值得慶幸的是,現在越來越少的人把食物是理所當然的:尤其是不官員參加明天在羅馬舉行的世界糧食峰會上由聯合國糧食及農業組織(糧農組織)。或者,越來越關心的食品公司采購稀缺和越來越昂貴的原材料。官員群明天的會議室,他們心裏想可能是聯合國糧農組織的最新農業展望報告涵蓋了2018時期的嚴厲警告穀物價格上漲,油籽,糖,肉,牛奶和乳製品。牛肉和豬肉價格可能在十年內上升20%,小麥60%和80%的植物油,預測報告。與此同時,發達國家的代表將在北半球認為自己至少部分現在被稱為全球糧食危機負有責任?一些應該。什麼集體失憶西方決策者將食物和關鍵成分主要是西方應該買在世界商品市場? For years, an over-looked, sometimes mis-understand and frequently mis-represented, minority advised against abandoning agricultural productivity in Europe in favour of reliance on world export markets. They wasted their breath. In Europe, environmentalism became the new ideal. Productive land that had been nurtured for generations was left idle in set-aside programmes from Scandinavia to Spain. Fostering wildlife habitats rather than encouraging agricultural productivity became the pre-eminent concern of policy-makers and the governments which employed them. Across the Atlantic, particularly in the United States and Brazil, growing crops for fuel rather than for food is increasingly swallowing up millions of acres of highly productive agricultural land formerly devoted to food production. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), biofuel production is responsible for only a 2-3 per cent increase in global food prices while reducing the consumption of crude oil by 1m barrels a day. But, Keith Collins the USDA's recently retired chief economist told the華盛頓郵報》乙醇是“腳踩了油門的玉米(玉米)的需求。”Even blunter was Merritt Cluff, one of the authors of the FAO report: "We are very worried about biofuel policy. US government incentives for ethanol producers are distorting the market." Their concerns are well-placed. Of course, other factors are driving global food fears: Not least higher oil prices (boosting food production, processing and distribution costs), changing diets in developing nations such as China and fickle world weather patterns. Controlling the weather may not yet lie within the grasp of policy-makers but there are other powerful levers at their disposal. It's a long list which includes fostering research dedicated to lifting the productivity of temperate and sub-tropical food crops, water management, considering the appropriate use of genetically modified technology and, not least, policy directives favouring food production. When it comes to planning global food production and distribution, laissez-faire economics have failed and will continue to fail in a 21^聖世紀挑戰石油依賴,消費飆升多變的天氣。果斷的行動必須應對當前的糧食危機。數百萬人在世界範圍內,和食品供應和分銷公司,需要和應得的決策者提供。如果你想分享你的意見全球食品貿易,聯合國糧農組織報告或開發主題請電子郵件評論michael.stones特'decisionnews.com。