Originally published February 1 2011
Governments hoard food stockpiles in anticipation of public uprisings
by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Economic failures, government corruption, banking system fraud -- these and many other factors have together contributed to the escalating turmoil that the world currently faces. The costs associated with everything from energy and fuel to food and health care have soared in recent years because of manipulation of the fiat monetary system, and actual shortages of resources. And according to reports, nervous governments are now starting to stockpile massive food stocks to offset what they believe is a coming wave of civil unrest over the continued rising costs of basic essentials.
Though not typically a course of action in the U.S., protests and even aggressive riots are rather common in many countries around the world, particularly those with blatantly authoritarian governments. When the noose gets a little bit too tight, the people of these nations often quickly push back and demand changes. The current situation in Egypt, for example, is a perfect illustration of what people are willing to do when they are pushed too far by their tyrannical overlords.
But the unrest is beginning to spread worldwide. As food prices continue to rise, and commodities traders warn about "panic buying" over fears of massive price increases, desperate populations are starting to take it to the streets, much like they did in 2008 when food prices skyrocketed (http://www.naturalnews.com/023277_rice_food_...). But it appears as though the world is headed for another, and this time possibly worse, food crisis in the very near future.
The U.K. Telegraph reports that various countries in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, are buying up rice, wheat, and other grains by the hundreds of thousands of tons. In some cases, they are buying enough to last up to a year.
These efforts, which presumably are to offset the disruption caused by major shortages, are actually creating shortages of their own, however. They are also further driving up prices, which is causing average citizens to panic.
"It's really something that can topple regimes, as we have seen in the Middle East," explained Nouriel Roubini, a New York University (NYU) economics professor that predicted the 2008 financial crisis, to listeners at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He added that something as isolated as high food prices can cause "riots, demonstrations and political instability."
According to some experts in the industry, the wave of panic buying has only begun. Once one country takes the first move in initiating panic buying, many others follow suit, which makes the situation perpetually worse.
"This is only the start of the panic buying," said Ker Chung Yang, a commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore. "I expect we'll have more countries coming in and buying grain."
According to the same report, Algeria has already purchased 800,000 tons of wheat, while Saudi Arabia has stockpiled 12 months worth of wheat. Bangladesh has reportedly tripled its rice imports, and Indonesia has purchased 820,000 tons of Thai rice. Ironically, all this buying activity is creating even worse shortages that will raise prices for other countries who import these commodities.
Food shortages are coming to the West
NaturalNews recently covered a report released by the National Inflation Association that warns of massive food inflation coming to the West in the very near future. And the report identifies the Federal Reserve's practice of printing fiat money and manipulating the money supply at will as one of the primary causes of the coming food crisis. The practice of creating money backed by nothing only leads to rapid inflation, as it devalues the overall worth of money through dilution (http://www.naturalnews.com/030309_food_infla...).
Then there is the problem of actual food shortages. Changing weather patterns, unseasonable warm and cold spells, droughts, floods, and other erratic climate conditions in various growing regions have destroyed many crops and significantly reduced yields over the years (http://www.naturalnews.com/026453_drought_fo...). Combined with the countless diversified agricultural systems that have been replaced by genetically-modified (GM), monoculture varieties -- many of which have failed to deliver upon their promised yields -- the entire global food system is destined for failure (http://www.naturalnews.com/030913_Monsanto_s...).
Self-reliance is truly the key to solving the food crisis. Dependance on an unsustainable system of industrialized agriculture that depletes soil, eliminates crop diversity, and contaminates the environment with harmful pesticides and other toxins will only lead to disaster. Such a system is controlled by a few powerful elite, such as multinational biotechnology giants like Monsanto, whose only goal is profits and control. The end result is a centralized power that controls the food supply for its own gain.
Instead, it is time for a food reformation based on local, community-based agricultural systems -- and even simple backyard gardens -- which will greatly improve Americans' food independence and decouple them from the corrupt, centralized food system on which they largely rely.
A return to an honest money system, where the dollar is backed by something of value like gold or silver rather than nothing like it currently is, is also necessary to bring about real, positive change. When the value of a dollar is no longer controlled by the money masters who print it at will, but instead by the value it actually holds as a real currency, is the day Americans will begin to understand the true meaning of freedom and liberty.
Sources for this story include:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mi...
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml