Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) during hibernation.

A fungal infection in the Northeastern Little Brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) known as white-nose syndrome has been sickening bats for the past three years. The illness strikes worst when the bats are at their most vulnerable–during their winter hibernation period.

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The recent fall in grain prices across the developed world may have given the impression that food security isn’t a problem – but it is. There are more people not getting enough to eat than there were a decade ago.

Prices for grain, globally, are still 20% above the 2006 average, so overall this is a period of extremely high costs for staple foods. And while commodity prices have fallen in international markets, retail prices have not fallen in the developing world at anything like the same rate. In other words, a warehouse full of corn is cheaper, but a bag of corner on a Nairobi street corner is more expensive, than in 2006. And while the immediate suspicion is corruption in the developing world, that’s probably not the main reason for the hiked prices staying high. Cereal stocks are at a thirty year low – a situation made worse by the use of certain crops for bio-fuel – and scarcity of reserves will always keep prices high.

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One man is doing just that. Richard Proudfit is a retiree from Minnesota and he is a man with a mission. Proudfit founded Kids Against Hunger, an organization that is bringing 40 million meals to starving children around the world.

The meals consist of 52% soy protein, 6 vegetables, flavoring and 22 vitamins/minerals. It is a simple, dehydrated food that is highly nutritious and can help reverse the effects of starvation. The main ingredients are rice, soy beans, vegetables and vitamins. It took a team of food scientists three years to find the right formulation of food for these malnourished children.

Proudfit says, “God has called me to feed starving children” and has also said that he won’t retire from this job until all the world’s starving children are fed. He has been helping fulfill that calling since 1999 with Kids Against Hunger.

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The initial plan is to plant maize and palm oil for export to South Korea. The benefit to Madagascar of losing a little over half of their arable land would be the anticipated employment opportunities for farmers and other locals.

According to a Daewoo spokesperson:

We want to plant corn there to ensure our food security. Food can be a weapon in this world,” said Hong Jong-wan, a manager at Daewoo. “We can either export the harvests to other countries or ship them back to Korea in case of a food crisis.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2008/11/22/koreas-daewoo-leases-an-area-half-of-the-size-of-belgium-in-madagascar-for-free/feed/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/04/15/understanding-the-global-food-crisis/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/04/15/understanding-the-global-food-crisis/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:49:49 +0000 Beth Bader http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/04/15/understanding-the-global-food-crisis/ © Patrick Laverdant | Dreamstime.com

Consumers in the United States struggle with prices rising as much as forty percent for grains and twenty-five percent for eggs, eighty percent for dairy and double-digit increases for other staples. The situation has led to a record number of individuals seeking assistance from food banks nationwide. Globally, however, the crisis has taken on life and death consequences.

As prices have risen, fifty and even three hundred percent in areas like Sierra Leone, these areas have experienced food riots. The growing lists of nations that have had food price protests and riots in the last six months includes Mexico, Haiti, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Cameroon, Yemen, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.

The situation resulted from what some experts call “a perfect storm” of factors combined; oil prices, the use of farmland for ethanol instead of food, Australia’s drought, crop disease, climate change, U.S. economy, and the growth of a more meat-intensive diet worldwide.

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]]> http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/04/15/understanding-the-global-food-crisis/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/27/tangled-up-in-green-the-dangers-of-using-food-for-fuel/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/27/tangled-up-in-green-the-dangers-of-using-food-for-fuel/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:49:58 +0000 Ranjit Arab http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/27/tangled-up-in-green-the-dangers-of-using-food-for-fuel/ Who knew Stephen King was a prophet?

No, I’m not talking about the demon-possessed hot rods (I think we all saw that coming). I’m talking about America’s zombie-like loyalty to a certain cash crop — one that has turned our entire nation into the children of the corn.

Lately, of course, you can’t watch, read, or listen to the news without someone touting the benefits of corn ethanol and how it’s the key to leading us on a path of energy independence.

There might be a *cough* kernel of truth to that argument, but… (sorry, I suffer from a cousin of Tourette’s that requires me to uncontrollably shout out useless puns)…

Seriously, corn is not the answer. It’s not even a major part of the answer. In fact, it’s a major part of the problem.

What do I mean? Well, lend me your *cough* ear (jeez, the medication is wearing off quicker)…

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