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"Peak Oil" = "Peak Bread"![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Each year the average Italian eats 28kg of Pasta which is derived from wheat. This week Italians were urged to go on "pasta strike" to protest rising wheat costs which has seen their daily staple increase 20% in the last year. Elsewhere in Europe shoppers and eaters have found the price of bread rising in similar fashion. For their part farmers blame changing climatic conditions which increase voracious vermin (who doth eat the wheat) and stricter measures by governments to combat climate related problems (the hot sun doth prepare the land for fires thus seeing its chaff & voles burnt increases forest fires) and of course the war on Iraq (for increasing the cost of all oil including red diesel). All pretty convincing reasoning in a passing casual interest slice of toast sort of way. Now try adding this reason :- the increased hectarage of land dedicated to the cultivation & development of biofuel alternatives to hydrocarbon resources has meant less land for bread and pasta. Or to hone it a bit, the increasing profit margin concerns of land whether to be used for R&D biotech or alternative ventures means ever less land for a the cheap baguette or spaghetti tree, and the farmers are taking their revenge for years of nastiness under a new Green government. |
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Jump To Comment: 1The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has called for a comprehensive review of the policy on biofuels as a crisis in global food prices - partly caused by the increasing use of crops for energy generation - threatens to trigger global instability.
"We need to be concerned about the possibility of taking land or replacing arable land because of these biofuels," Ban told the Guardian in Bucharest while attending this week's Nato summit. But he added: "While I am very much conscious and aware of these problems, at the same time you need to constantly look at having creative sources of energy, including biofuels. Therefore, at this time, just criticising biofuel may not be a good solution. I would urge we need to address these issues in a comprehensive manner." :-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/05/biofu....food
& more shite on how switching crops from traditional grub to new-fangled fuel the Gummy Gormley way has according to the World Bank raised prices of staple human fodder by 80% & caused the most serious Food crises since An Gort Mhor. & that was only an Irish thing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/05/food....fuels
Worry not about Gummy, he has brought his party to certain end, worry more about what to replace him with.