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POPSCorn – The Main Ingredient in Your Fast Food What’s more, the animals were found to be raised in harsh confinement. If they go organic... I repent BTW the other day I wasn't able to resist to catch my favorite chicken nuggets meal. It's already more that $8. Guess what? Same as before, strange hunger after couple hours, heartbeat, running and colorful dreams in the morning. There is no only corn and its syrup. May be we'll never know, what else. No, I said to myself, no more such experiments. Until next time...;)
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POPSEnvironmentalists Hold On Congress
What's the political response to our energy problems? It's more congressional and White House kowtowing to environmentalists, farmers and multi-billion dollar corporations such as Archer Daniels Midland. Their “solution," rather than to solve our oil supply problem by permitting drilling for the billions upon billions of barrels of oil beneath the surface of our country, is to enact the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that mandates that oil companies increase the amount of ethanol mixed with gasoline. Anyone with an ounce of brains would have realized that diverting crops from food to fuel use would raise the prices of corn-fed livestock, such as pork, beef, chicken and dairy products, and products made from corn, such as cereals. Ethanol production has led to increases in other grain prices, such as soybean and wheat. Since the U.S. is the world's largest grain producer and exporter, higher grain prices have had a huge impact on food prices worldwide.
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POPSSlick-A** Pet Food Labeling They do the same thing with human food. I love K. Trudeau's "Natural Cures..." advice -- If it comes from a publicly traded company, don't buy it. (Of course that almost precludes shopping in grocery stores)
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POPS Tremendous Range Of Unintended Consequences On the losing side of the equation have been cattle, hog and chicken producers, as well as consumers. The government’s latest projection, released Friday, is that food prices this year will rise as much as 5.5 percent. Some products, including cereals and eggs, are expected to rise about 10 percent. The idea of easing ethanol mandates, while it would also lower the price of corn, is contentious. Keith Collins, the former Agriculture Department chief economist, will release a study on Monday saying that as much as half of the sharp increase in corn prices over the last few years is due to the demands of ethanol production. “We’ve seen a tremendous range of unintended consequences” from the requirement that increasing amounts of ethanol be blended into gasoline. The White House will be forced to confront the ethanol issue next month. States are allowed to asked for waivers of the mandate for corn ethanol on the ground that it is harming the economy or the environment.
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POPSDon't Blame The Market For The Global Food Crisis! New products, impossible if corn had been sold at its market value, were developed to make use of the artificially low cost commodity. The ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup replaced sugar and became the sine qua non of the modern American diet, leading to today’s “obesity epidemic." If using corn to force-feed grazers like cattle* flies in the face of reason and sound market principles, using it to fuel cars is absurd. In essence, ethanol is nothing more than the continuation ad absurdum of the same policies begun in the Nixon administration as part of its corporate welfare package to agribusiness. *grass-eating animals whose stomachs are not designed to eat grains. Thus, they require massive injections of enzymes and antibiotics to be able to digest what we force-feed them. “Ethanol is so costly that it wouldn’t make it in a free market,” said Williams. The only reason it is produced in the first place is that it is subsidized heavily with money confiscated from citizens.
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POPSGMO - what we don't know An interesting article. I, for one, would like to have a choice about what I consume. Without accurate labeling, it's next to impossible to make an informed purchasing decision.
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POPSWho Will Pay For The Politicians Promises? Because of onerous regulations, it has been 30-plus years since a new refinery has been built. Similar regulations also explain why the U.S. nuclear energy production is a fraction of what it might be. Congress' solution to our energy supply problems is not to relax supply restrictions, but to enact the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that mandates that oil companies increase the amount of ethanol mixed with gasoline. Anyone with an ounce of brains would have realized that diverting crops from food to fuel use would raise the prices of a host of corn-related foods, such as corn-fed meat and dairy products. Wheat and soybeans prices have also risen as a result of fewer acres being planted in favor of corn. Congress' proposed "solutions" to the energy and food mess it has created include a windfall profits tax on oil companies, food stamps, etc. These measures will not solve the problem, but will create new problems.
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POPSWashington Post misrepresents reasons for food cost rising. Truth be damned! Once again our biased media can not get the facts right concerning a topic as important as the rapid increase in food costs. The Post blames it on everything from global warming to less crop production none of which is proven by the actual facts. In fact the biggest contributor to the rapid increase in world food prices may just be the 40% increase in the fuel costs to produce and transport the food products around the world. All other indicators would seem to indicate that a drop in food prices would be in order. However it is costing the farmers more to produce and ship the product thus adding to the bottom line, (the price charged at the actual consumer). I believe if they were to admit that fact they would also have to admit that the more you tax an operation the MORE it will cost the consumer in the end. I know they do not want to state that.
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POPSUndoing America's Ethanol Mistake Expanding biofuels while refusing to take other measures, such as lifting the ban on oil and natural gas production in Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf, is counterproductive. We should be tapping into a broad portfolio of energy options, including clean coal, nuclear power and wave energy. By taking these measures, we can enable biofuels to be part of the energy solution, instead of contributing to the energy problem. Restraining the dangerous effects of artificially inflated demand for ethanol should be an issue that unites both conservatives and progressives. As a recent Time cover story pointed out, biofuel mandates increase greenhouse gasses and create incentives for global deforestation. In the Amazon basin, huge swaths of forest are being cleared to meet the growing hunger for biofuels. In addition, relief organizations are facing gaping shortfalls as the cost of food outpaces their ability to provide aid for the 800 million people who lack food security.
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POPS CRP, “Times Have Definitely Changed.” The CRP hit a zenith last summer with more than 400,000 farmers getting $1.8 billion for idling 36.8 million acres. When five million acres came up for renewal last fall, only half went back into the program. Ardell Magnusson, a Roseau, Minnesota farmer, is typical of those wanting out. “Another nine months of wheat at today’s prices and there will be political pressure on this program like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “The pipeline for wheat is empty,” said Michael Kalupa, bakery owner in Tampa, Florida. Kalupa said the price of flour has doubled since October. Jay Truit of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association barked; “Do you think its right for you to pay so there’s more quail in Kansas?” Right now USDA is leaning towards raising the rent for idling needed farm ground. Farmers are finally learning that allowing government to dictate how they can use their land can have disastrous consequences.
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POPSFood Prices On The Rise The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently confirmed what shoppers have been noticing for months: the price of food is increasing at an unusually rapid rate.
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POPSBiofuel flight gets turbulent response
He says algae will be the most likely source for renewable energy in the future. Algae? The way energy use is skyrocketing, in time anything available will be used, corn, rice, wood, cotton. Over above any waste material any fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The problem is the escalation of energy use is beyond the capacity to produce it. Has it ever occurred to anyone that the biggest waste by product of energy use the way things are designed today, is HEAT. There should make more productive means of energy transformation developed. So much of the 'energy' that is produced as fuel burns to power an engine amongst other things, goes straight out the exhaust pipe, without performing any useful function. Like the way they use nuclear energy to boil water to make steam. after the medium is expanded through heating/combustion, it stays that way. Why? because we're too busy thinking about the next 5 minutes. The children, and grandchildren can worry about the future. If there is one.
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POPSCommodity Prices Soar coffee, cocoa, palm oil. Money to be made from these notoriously 'unethical' products. If people really give a damn maybe now is time for a bit of sacrifice.
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