Some
of the largest contingents came from Denmark, France,
Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. "Tuesday's
big protest, in front of the EU institutions, will by
symbolic and more calm than spraying milk on their
facades. They must understand that in recent years, 150,00
producers have closed their doors, 3,000 of them in
Belgium," Erwin Schopges, the head of EMB's Belgian
branch told Belgian broadcaster RTBF. "It's
very simple: you can't live off milk any more. If I go on,
it's thanks to European aid ... If they do it [phase out
subsidies] there will be no more small and medium
producers here in five years," French farmer Leopold
Gruget told AFP.
FOOD STORAGE? NO! ONLY SPECULATION AT PRESENT WHICH CAUSES PRICE RISES - SHORTAGES BEGIN AS gOVT. ENCOURAGES BIO-FUEL FOR eTHANOL: With the possibility of food shortages, the vultures of finance, otherwise known as commodity speculators, will once again begin to circle the food markets, looking for a killing. As the financial markets were not re-regulated after the economic crisis of 2008, hedge funds and short-sellers will inevitably be on the look-out for additional profits by gambling on the price of food, exactly as they did four years ago. Rather than any lack of actual food, most analysis indicates that the primary cause of the dramatic escalation in food prices that caused the 2008 food crisis was financial speculation in the food commodity sector. That is to say, a human tragedy manufactured by the laws of motion of capitalism, rather than the laws of nature. Ethanol: Even on the best of days, turning corn into ethanol is an idiotic thing to do. Many studies have shown that it takes more energy to turn the corn into ethanol than is recovered when the ethanol is burnt in a car engine. Not only that, but ethanol doesn’t have the energy density of gasoline, so cars running on a mixture of ethanol and gasoline have to burn more fuel to go the same distance and the blended mix costs more to transport. In any year, this is bad policy; in a year of extreme drought, it should be a criminal offense to waste food resources in this manner.Additionally, in one of the more ridiculous circular irrationalities to emerge from the anarchy of capitalist decision-making, because growing crops in the West is heavily dependent on oil for fertilizer production and mechanization – to the extent that it takes 10 calories of oil to produce 1 calorie of food, and because ethanol derived from corn – which in turn is derived from oil, is increasing in price because the corn is dying, means that the cost of ethanol-blended gasoline in the US is also on the rise.http://climateandcapitalism.com FOOD AND COMMODITY INVESTMENTS "Discover how to earn massive returns at low entry levels plus:
Find out how Food Production and Agricultural Investment opportunities lead to massive gains while feeding the worldGLOBAL
GREEN CHERRY PLC WHEAT Wheat (Triticum spp.)[1] is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East and Ethiopian Highlands, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2010 world production of wheat was 651 million tons, making it the third most-produced cerealafter maize (844 million tons) and rice (672 million tons).[2] In 2009, world production of wheat was 682 million tons, making it the second most-produced cereal after maize (817 million tons), and with rice as close third (679 million tons).[3] This grain is grown on more land area than any other commercial crop and is the most important staple food for humans. World trade in wheat is greater than for all other crops combined.[4] Globally, wheat is the leading source of vegetable protein in human food, having a higher protein content than either maize (corn) or rice, the other major cereals. In terms of total production tonnages used for food, it is currently second to rice as the main human food crop and ahead of maize, after allowing for maize's more extensive use in animal feeds. Wheat was a key factor enabling the emergence of city-based societies at the start of civilization because it was one of the first crops that could be easily cultivated on a large scale, and had the additional advantage of yielding a harvest that provides long-term storage of food. ..........................Harvested wheat grain that enters trade is classified according to grain properties for the purposes of the commodities market. Wheat buyers use these to decide which wheat to buy, as each class has special uses, and producers use them to decide which classes of wheat will be most profitable to cultivate. Wheat is widely cultivated as a cash crop because it produces a good yield per unit area, grows well in a temperate climateeven with a moderately short growing season, and yields a versatile, high-quality flour that is widely used in baking. Mostbreads are made with wheat flour, including many breads named for the other grains they contain like most rye and oat breads. The popularity of foods made from wheat flour creates a large demand for the grain, even in economies with significant foodsurpluses.................................This grain is grown on more land area than any other commercial crop and is the most important staple food for humans. World trade in wheat is greater than for all other crops combined.[4] Globally, wheat is the leading source of vegetable protein in human food, having a higher protein content than either maize (corn) or rice, the other major cereals. In terms of total production tonnages used for food, it is currently second to rice as the main human food crop and ahead of maize, after allowing for maize's more extensive use in animal feeds. Wheat was a key factor enabling the emergence of city-based societies at the start of civilization because it was one of the first crops that could be easily cultivated on a large scale, and had the additional advantage of yielding a harvest that provides long-term storage of food. Wheat contributed to the emergence of city-states in the Fertile Crescent, including the Babylonian andAssyrian empires. Wheat grain is a staple food used to make flour for leavened, flat and steamed breads, biscuits, cookies,cakes, breakfast cereal, pasta, noodles, couscous[5] and for fermentation to make beer,[6] other alcoholic beverages,[7] orbiofuel.[8] In 2007 there was a dramatic rise in the price of wheat due to freezes and flooding in the northern hemisphere and a drought in Australia. Wheat futures in September, 2007 for December and March delivery had risen above $9.00 a bushel, prices never seen before.[55] There were complaints in Italy about the high price of pasta.[56] This followed a wider trend of escalating food prices around the globe, driven in part by climatic conditions such as drought in Australia, the diversion of arable land to other uses (such as producing government-subsidised bio-oil crops), and later by some food-producing nations placing bans or restrictions on exports in order to satisfy their own consumers. Other drivers affecting wheat prices include the movement to bio fuels. In Medieval England, farmers saved one-quarter of their wheat harvest as seed for the next crop, leaving only three-quarters for food and feed consumption. By 1999, the global average seed use of wheat was about 6% of output. Several factors are currently slowing the rate of global expansion of wheat production: population growth rates are falling while wheat yields continue to rise, and the better economic profitability of other crops such as soybeans and maize, linked with investment in modern genetic technologies, has promoted shifts to other crops....................The biggest wheat producer in 2010 was EU-27, followed by China, India, USA and Russian Federation Wheat normally needs between 110 and 130 days between planting and harvest, depending upon climate, seed type, and soil conditions (winter wheat lies dormant during a winter freeze). Optimal crop management requires that the farmer have a detailed understanding of each stage of development in the growing plants. In particular, spring fertilizers, herbicides,fungicides, growth regulators are typically applied only at specific stages of plant development. For example, it is currently recommended that the second application of nitrogen is best done when the ear (not visible at this stage) is about 1 cm in size (Z31 on Zadoks scale). Knowledge of stages is also important to identify periods of higher risk from the climate. For example, pollen formation from the mother cell, and the stages between anthesis and maturity are susceptible to high temperatures, and this adverse effect is made worse by water stress.[71] Farmers also benefit from knowing when the 'flag leaf' (last leaf) appears, as this leaf represents about 75% of photosynthesis reactions during the grain filling period, and so should be preserved from disease or insect attacks to ensure a good yield. *************************************************************************** "harmonisation of aviation rules" another flagrant suicidal rule - who thought this one up? 01.10.12 @ 09:17 Flying 22hrs on end and then landing the passengers with certain safety?More early starts, longer night shifts and cuts to crew numbers - all part of new EU rules harmonising flying rules - risk increasing the likelihood of crashes, the British pilots' union, Balpa, has said, reports the BBC. The European Aviation Safety Agency is to announce the rules Monday.
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