Food vs Fuel

[Fransisco]

Gee, I didn't know Canada was at war with Nigeria over oil. Must have missed that one on the evening news.

Thanks for enlightening us.

[skhadenuf]

My how interesting this debate is. Governments and some in the city have for years told us we are poor managers that's why we're not making money, and boy those subsidies are causing those taxes for everyone to rise. The minute we decide to develope an industry that potentially raises our ability to legitimately expect to make a dollar or two and therefore not need subsidies, all of a sudden this becomes immoral. It's been allright for thousands of farm families to be driven off the land, but now it's immoral that we have potential to make money. Gee we all must have become good farm managers overnight. Maybe when those buying our products pay what they should be paying and have less to take home our government could give them a subsidy just so they get by and then we farmers could wine about how our taxes are going to go up becuase of the subsidies.

[parsley]

cotton,

Empathy? I love that kind and giving image garbage you want to portray!

Get real.

The realization is this...if all the money from the G8's was distributed equally amonst all the people in the world, you would be living on $1500.00 per year, max. You noble enough to do that? I don't think so.

Either you didn't realize that wealth ditribution does not have the effect you think it has, or else you are not being honest about living on that amount of money.

I doubt if you'd sell your half-ton and that new machine you bought this spring, and live on $1500 this year. One of your dogs is worth more than that!

Read some Ayn Rand, cotton. Expand your mind.

Parsley

[cottonpicken]

900 million people are malnurished.
30,000 children die everyday from preventable causes.
If the g-8 gave what we spend on pet food these problems would disappear.

[just_wondering]

As far as subsidized Bio fuels, I agree that we as farmers should not expect subsidies into perpetuity but as a startup industry give a guy a hand up not hand out and all that stuff.
And for the starving in the world how is me making even less going to help them. If all farmers are driven to leave the farm who will feed even the rich let alone the poor?
I would hope Bio fuels are given the chance they deserve.

[parsley]

cotton,

Do the math


The G8's bank no more than $11,000.00 per year per capita

The rest of the world banks $1000.00 per year per capita.

Average out everbody to maybe 1100.00 per year at the very best.


Too many poor.

It's like taking your net income and spreading it over Harlem.

Do the math.

You're a bright boy, just not diversified enough in your thinking.

Do the math.

Your responsiblity is to feed your family. Then be generous if that is YOUR choice.

Parsley

[Fransisco]

Take a look at item three of the [URL="http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/Default.aspx?ID=227"]Copenhagen Consensus report.[/URL]

We could do with trade what we have never been able to do with aid Cotton. All by simply giving everyone'choice'.

[cottonpicken]

1 tank full of ethanol in a suv= enough food to feed a person for a year

Hows my math?

Pars,are you an atheist?

[wd9]

A couple more figures. $50 billion a year is spent on global food aid. Seems like a lot until you realize $350 billion a year is spent on agricultural subsidies.

2 billion people make less than $2 per day and 900,000 make less than a dollar per day. Raw food costs about $7 per month, any more spent is on infrastructure, packaging and processing. What's you're grocery bill per month minus $7?

Great comments so far, thankyou.

[kamichel]

Cotton, can you explain how you come to that calculation?

[Fransisco]

Lets keep those numbers going then. If we eliminate all of those subsidies wd9 was talking about the expected boost to the global economy is in the range of 2 trillion dollars with half that amount expected to go back to third world countries and 70% back to farmers.

Trade kicks aid's butt every time.

[Fransisco]

By the way, can we keep discussions on the existence of God out of this?

We fight about enough things here already.

[cottonpicken]

Pars brought up ayn rand not me.

As far as the trade issue,give me a break.The rich countries have WALKED all over the poor countries for a long,long,long,long,long time.But then BOOM we need what you produce so lets have it just like your oil,gold and copper before.And guess what were going to do to you if you try to keep some of those resources for your own people and sell/give them below market value.

Alex i'll take a c,e,r,g,n

reg__e c__nge

Would you like to solve?

[Fransisco]

Parsley was talking about Rands views on the redistribution of wealth not her views on God. Pay attention.

And the whole point about trade liberalization is that neither rich nor poor countries can walk all over each other. Your solution just trades ones abuse for the other.

[parsley]

Good thing fransisco was here to keep you on track, cott, as this is a food vs fuel as opposed to God vs Buddha vs Allah topic.

So if you do away with your dogs, and send the dogfood cash money cash to Uganda, how many will it feed?

We don't have enough money.

Would you advocate just printing more money(deficit) , or do you want to work longer hours?

Parsley