Malaysian Palm Oil Demand Drop Risk

[errolanderson]

cotton . . . always enjoy reading your
comments. as you can tell, i have my days
as well.

all the best . . .

errol

[BTO_farmall]

I Agree, Sit Down and STFU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[oneoff]

Charlie: I was farming in the 70's and the 80's and 90's and the new century and in this decade as well.
The lessons I learned are past history; and involved hard work; analysis of then current situations; good timing, bad timing; no credit; opportunities and missed opportunities.
In fact exactly what I would face if starting over.
What I now see; that wasn't on my radar in those early days; is the belief that growth and insatiable consumption can continue forever; to feed and meet the desires of billions more humans; who now know about affluent lifestyles. We are led to continue to trust industry spokepersons for information, researchers who (largely) no longer exist; economists and leadership who were and are in charge while this situation has developed.

What has changed is the focus of the individual on their self; and our coincidentally linked small universe. And that is probably why so many are disengaged and even cynical persons; to the point that the stress and personal problems are enough without even considering being involved in wider community or larger world issues.

My concern is that there had better be some serious thought given to feeding everyone of those humans at every meal; their air had better be good enough to breathe throughout their lives and into the future; and fresh water must be available for their wasteful use. The financial system had better not collapse; and the waste products produced and the resources needed surely have finite limits. Is it not foolhardy to attempt oxidizing as much as possible of the hydrocarbon and coal bound carbon in the span of a few generations?
We have opened up new continents; cleared jungles; broken near every additional grain growing prairie regions throughout the world; added direct seeding; chemical and genetic engineering and still are barely keeping up with demand. What will be done for encores; when we are running out of space; paving over and ruining productive land, preparing for large scale efficiency and carving it up into small pieces at the same time?

And waste is enormous.

Oh; and no setbacks or cut backs to any current or desired lifestyles please..

Do you think that can be pulled off?. Remember; no meaningful moves on population control; every compound in the world considered to be mixed into every good and food imaginable; and developing every resource, product and mineral and transporting it around the world. And fresh water limits and a changing environment (also probably warming for a few years just before the onset of the next many millenia of ice ages). The rise in ocean levels as ice caps and glaciers melt will not be a maneagable problem within a relatively short term period.

And then we constrict ourselves to everything done "just in time"; and even draw or run reserves right down to nothing.
Planning or not?

[oneoff]

Are you all sure that the policy makers; the spokespersons; apologists or anyone has it right.

These aren't minor economic hiccups. There are casualties with zero percent interest rates. Bailouts and "too big to fail" are not supposed to be in the vocabulary that should ever need to be spoken.
And the Facebook IPO sounds like a poor recommendation as to how the stock market is meant to treat common unsophisticated investors.
Who is running the economic system? Any evidence of smart planning you've noticed lately.
And cotten: I too watched a half hour of the video you pointed us to. There's lots of changes improvements that never/never will be given a chance; and there are advisors, brokers, banks, "lobbiests", insiders, and spokespersons who will try to twart what isn't in their self interests. Don't be too easy on them in an effort to stay out of their sights.

[charliep]

I think we all have agreement on the issues facing the world economy. Where we might disagree with each other is impact, risk assessment and strategy. I find everyones ideas in the discussions interesting and food for thought.

[oneoff]

I don't think there is any intention of seriously allowing anything but minor changes in the way the levers of power were pulled yesterday and the day before.
We're doomed by the albatrosses that will have no intention of sharing their grip.