I ran across this interesting Washington Post article via Little Blog in the Big Woods. Greenpa (blog writer referenced above) has been railing against the commodities speculation market for the past month or two because they have been a source/cause of the current very high food prices. As a hedge against declining stock and bond markets due to our looming recession, fund managers, universities and other institutional investors have been speculating on food commodities (from what I understand, anyway. I'm not sure I totally get it). Basically, according to the Washington Post article, we have a food speculation bubble going on.
The article is really important. And you should go read it, especially if you are apt to complain about the high cost of, say, flour or rice. Or the fears of food shortages (or, if you are laughing at those who are fearful of food shortages and think they may be crazy). This is one of those things that effects every single one of us, and no one is immune. I was going to highlight the important sections and post them here as a teaser, but in all honestly, I started copying the entire article, which is not helpful. So go read it. Please.
Here is the link to the whole Washington Post Series on the food crisis. You might have to take that one in little bursts.
Showing posts with label speculation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speculation. Show all posts
Friday, May 02, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
International Year of the Potato
No, I'm not kidding; it IS the International Year of the Potato. According to who? The United Nations.
I first heard about this from a guy in the relocalization group, who is a potato fan, and more or less instigated a giant potato buying order (my potatoes are now trying to sprout in my sunroom). When I heard about the year of the potato, I though "aww...how cute." Now, it dawns on me. The UN saw the writing on the wall with the rapid increase in rice and wheat prices. Remember the whole rice rioting thing that's been going on in various places? The UN's answer is potatoes.
Potatoes can grow just about anywhere, if you have a variety thats adapted to your climate. I had some serious potatoes growing in my cabinet this spring, for pete's sake (which I have since stuck in some dirt...and they continue to grow).
According to the UN's potato page, a third of the world's potato production occurs in China & India. 2005 saw a dramatic shift in the balance of world wide potato production with the developing nations outpacing the developed nations in potato production. The U.S. in #5 on the list of top potato producers with 19,460,119 tons; #1 is China with 79,366,428 tons (#2: Russia, #3: India, #4: Ukraine).
Interestingly, the U.S. has by far the highest potato yield per acre in the world with 16.49 tons/acre. Europe is the next contestant with 7.71 tons per acre, and the rest of the regions fall between Europe and the lowest-density producer Africa with 4.83 tons per acre. I imagine the density of yield is directly related to land value. In Europe and N. America, farmers really have to be able to get as much yield as possible out of what land they have in order to stay in business. In the other regions, there are likely still more areas to grow potatoes (outside of densely populated cities). I also wonder how much production density has to do with the type of economy that is in operation in the growing area. While the market-driven economy does have its draw backs, it does force farmers to squeeze all they can (for better or worse) out of their land.
Here's a neat little diagram on HOW potatoes grow. Here's the U.N.s fact sheet on potatoes, including nutritional content and how it will be a key player in solving the world's food shortage keeping the developing nations more stable.
Reuters did an interesting article on potatoes in mid-April. Potatoes are cheap, mostly due to a lack of a financial speculation market - most potatoes aren't exported. This makes farming them difficult on the farmers - they end up selling them cheaply, which means they have to grow and sell a very great many of them & it's labor intensive. BUT for us home gardeners, potatoes are perfect - the seed is cheap and it's nutritious. Less fat than wheat, good source of protein, half of your daily vitamin C intake. They keep pretty well too.
I first heard about this from a guy in the relocalization group, who is a potato fan, and more or less instigated a giant potato buying order (my potatoes are now trying to sprout in my sunroom). When I heard about the year of the potato, I though "aww...how cute." Now, it dawns on me. The UN saw the writing on the wall with the rapid increase in rice and wheat prices. Remember the whole rice rioting thing that's been going on in various places? The UN's answer is potatoes.
Potatoes can grow just about anywhere, if you have a variety thats adapted to your climate. I had some serious potatoes growing in my cabinet this spring, for pete's sake (which I have since stuck in some dirt...and they continue to grow).
According to the UN's potato page, a third of the world's potato production occurs in China & India. 2005 saw a dramatic shift in the balance of world wide potato production with the developing nations outpacing the developed nations in potato production. The U.S. in #5 on the list of top potato producers with 19,460,119 tons; #1 is China with 79,366,428 tons (#2: Russia, #3: India, #4: Ukraine).
Interestingly, the U.S. has by far the highest potato yield per acre in the world with 16.49 tons/acre. Europe is the next contestant with 7.71 tons per acre, and the rest of the regions fall between Europe and the lowest-density producer Africa with 4.83 tons per acre. I imagine the density of yield is directly related to land value. In Europe and N. America, farmers really have to be able to get as much yield as possible out of what land they have in order to stay in business. In the other regions, there are likely still more areas to grow potatoes (outside of densely populated cities). I also wonder how much production density has to do with the type of economy that is in operation in the growing area. While the market-driven economy does have its draw backs, it does force farmers to squeeze all they can (for better or worse) out of their land.
Here's a neat little diagram on HOW potatoes grow. Here's the U.N.s fact sheet on potatoes, including nutritional content and how it will be a key player in solving the world's food shortage keeping the developing nations more stable.
Reuters did an interesting article on potatoes in mid-April. Potatoes are cheap, mostly due to a lack of a financial speculation market - most potatoes aren't exported. This makes farming them difficult on the farmers - they end up selling them cheaply, which means they have to grow and sell a very great many of them & it's labor intensive. BUT for us home gardeners, potatoes are perfect - the seed is cheap and it's nutritious. Less fat than wheat, good source of protein, half of your daily vitamin C intake. They keep pretty well too.
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