TresSugar

North Korea Creates Special Noodle to Turn the Hungry Full

LibertySugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:00:42 -0700

North Korea may have found a way to get around relying on foreign food aid or producing enough food to feed its hungry population. Scientists in the communist country have developed a super noodle that leaves eaters feeling full for a longer time.

Thanks to flooding, six million North Koreans are in urgent need for food aid. The noodle, made of soybeans and corn, has twice as much protein and five times as much fat as a typical noodle. According to a Kim Jong Il-friendly newspaper, the noodle doesn't make people feel the sense of hunger that generally comes soon after eating noodles.

North Korea's leaders do not suffer from a lack of imagination. In March, Kim Jong Il announced plans to make extra cash by turning North Korea's embassy in Berlin into a hostel. Perhaps the noodle can save lives in North Korea, and become the latest diet fad in America. Do you have hope in this noodle, or do you think it's government big-fat propaganda?

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UN Leader: World Needs 50 Percent More Food

LibertySugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:00:21 -0700

The world must produce 50 percent more food by 2030, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders yesterday at a summit hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

The UN leader urged nations to minimize trade barriers, and to produce more food. Pope Benedict XVI had a slightly different message, noting that the world already has the means to solve the problem. The Pope said: "hunger and malnutrition are unacceptable in a world which, in reality, has sufficient production levels, the resources, and the know-how to put an end to these tragedies and their consequences."

While they meet about how to solve the immediate hunger crisis caused by rising food costs, world leaders don't want to look like a bunch of foodie hypocrites. To see what they'll be eating, read more.

Leaders, including Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy, President Sarkozy of France, and Iran's Ahmadinejad, will dine off a more modest menu which includes: pasta, mozzarella, spinach and sweetcorn, instead of the usual lobster, goose, and foie gras. But don't worry, they'll still get to sample some Italian wines.

From where I'm sitting in America, surrounded by frequent news of chronic obesity, it's hard to imagine needing more food. The world leaders' decision to cut back on their own consumption may be a signal to those who have plenty, or to those who only experience the food crisis at the cash register, but not in their stomachs. Perhaps we need to increase the supply of food and cut back on demand in certain places.

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See North Koreans Flee For China in the Middle of the Night

LibertySugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:42 -0700

Starving and desperate North Koreans flee their homes for relative paradise in China. But as this astonishing footage shows, the journey to China is nightmarish. Naked North Koreans swim across a freezing river, often trading drugs or women with corrupt boarder police.

North Korea is facing a grave food shortage and hunger crisis right now. During the 1990s, 1 million of the country's 23-million citizens perished during a famine caused by a mismanaged farm sector and flooding. Another disaster appears on the horizon. Unfortunately, North Korea's isolationist character, as well as South Korean political demands, are preventing South Korea from providing crucial food aid. Thus, many people have no choice but to flee.

China does not consider North Koreans refugees but rather economic migrants. To find out what that means for the escapees, read more.

If the escapees manage to avoid being sent back to North Korea and punished with time spent in labor camps, they have no real protections in China. Some are sold into the sex industry, some get married for papers, some try to escape to South Korea.
Sadly, a risky crossing and clandestine life in China exceeds their quality of life (or potential death) back home.

Should the surrounding countries like China and South Korea do more to address the humanitarian crisis, or is it North Korea's problem? South Korea is reluctant to send food aid if North Korea does not make concessions regarding its nuclear program - but is that a fair trade? Will a starving population put pressure on North Korea to change its international policy?

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Saudi Arabia Donates $500 Million to Help Food Crisis

LibertySugar — Sat, 24 May 2008 11:00:52 -0700

Saudi Arabia made an impressive $500 million donation to the United Nations World Food Program, the UN announced Friday.

The country, benefiting from high oil prices while many others feel the pinch, is doing its part to help assuage the developing global crisis caused by rising food prices. The effects have been seen all over the world. In Mexico, the government is preparing for a backlash against rising tortilla prices, in Suburbia, USA, big box stores have rationed staples, and in Haiti the government collapsed over the crisis.

Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels of oil a day and oil prices have now topped $130 a barrel. You don't even have to do the math to know that's a whole lot of revenue.

The UN World Food Program, the world's largest humanitarian operation, set a goal of $755 million to be raised by all its member agencies. Thirty-two countries added to the Saudi donation, contributing a total of $960 million, exceeding the target significantly. Hopefully the money will quickly help the 130 million of people in hunger as a result of rising food prices.

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Rising Tortilla Prices Could Cause Political Unrest in Mexico

LibertySugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:00:20 -0700

Fearing political backlash, Mexico's government is promising citizens that it will do what it can to keep tortilla prices right where they are. According to Mexico's National Chamber for the Tortilla and Dough Industry, prices will rise 18 percent in the coming weeks.

The government, sensing troubling inflation and massive protests, is planning to offer financial support to offset the price of transportation and warehousing, according to BBC.

The high costs of corn and gasoline are causing the spike. Hording of corn by producers is also putting a strain on supply. Tortillas, being such a staple, have ability to influence Mexico's national economy. Bloomberg News reports that a 40 percent jump in tortilla prices would probably force the central bank to deliver a significant interest rate hike.

Can you think of a food staple for which an 18 percent rise in price would cause massive street protests in your neck of the woods? Is it surprising that food prices would have a direct impact on the bank's interest rates? What food would cause the government to intervene in the States?

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India Blames US Gluttony For Food Crisis - Are They Right?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:53:15 -0700

Researches at an independent research institute in India think they've solved the food crisis - hold on to your drumstick - they say the US's voracious appetites that is to blame. That if Americans slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, “many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates.” The spokesman for the organization added pointedly that the amount of money spent in the United States on liposuction to get rid of fat from excess consumption could be better spent feeding famine victims.

The super-sized backlash on American consumption stems partially from remarks made by President Bush about India’s growing middle class and food prices. He said, “when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food, and so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up.”

An editorial in India slammed these comments, saying Bush was trying to pass the food inflation buck to India, instead of where India thinks it properly belongs. Figures may show they're right. The United States uses - or throws away - 3,770 calories a person each day (according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) compared with 2,440 calories per person in India.

Is consumption to blame for the food crisis and grocery bill sticker-shock? Are factors like poor crops, climate change, biofuels, and fuel prices more to blame than the US liposuction habit? Is India making a fair point?

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Food Crisis? Not According to What's on a US Plate

CitizenSugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:45:25 -0700

There has been a lot of finger pointing about what's to blame for the global food shortage. Some claim global warming, or gobbling up certain foods for ethanol means less for eating, or just harvests coming up short. All of this may be true, but add to that the newest figures from the United States Agriculture Department from 2007 and Americans can point a fat finger at themselves too.

Ready for this? It's gut-check time: the Agriculture Department states that while one Indian eats roughly 392 lbs of grain in a year, a US citizen eats 2,306 lbs. - over five times greater. Yup. And it's not just Indians - US citizens also eat twice the amount of an EU citizen and three times the amount of someone living in China. To see the specifics, read more.

In terms of meat consumption, the US leads the world per capita by a beefy mouthful. In America it is 94 lbs per person compared to 3.5 lbs in India and 13 lbs in China. True a significant portion of Indians are vegetarian, but even in liquid milk consumption Americans use 172 lbs per year for each person while India has 79.3 lbs and China 24.2 lbs.

As for African grain and milk consumption, both are as low as one might expect given the political and economic woes that continually plague the continent. In 2007, foodgrain consumption was 357 lbs per year for each person and as for meat or milk products, the figures were too insignificant to count.

What factors are behind the discrepancies in these numbers? Do US eaters have an obligation to cut down on their chowing down? Should the US government step in to help equalize what's on the global menu?

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Hungry World - Are We Headed For a Global Food Crisis?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:30 -0700

It's not fun dinnertime conversation, but the amount of news and the potential effects of growing food prices released today makes it hard to ignore. No scare-tactics, just the facts:

India has halted rice exports. The price of rice has doubled in the last month. India is the number two rice producer after China, and exports more than 4 million tons every year. Now that they're not exporting, there could be more big rice price jumps. It's a staple food for half the world population, especially for poor and for Asian populations. Other rice-producing countries are considering following suit.
US corn farmers are expected to plant less corn this year, due in part to the high cost of growing it as well as the high price they get for growing the crop for ethanol. The high corn prices will affect beef and poultry producers, passing high prices on to consumers.
The UN World Food Programme said food prices are affecting their ability to feed around 73 million people. They've already been forced to increase its budget by an extra half a billion dollars this year.
The LA Times ran a story today called "A Perfect Storm of Hunger," pointing to ballooning food and fuel prices, a slumping dollar, the demand for biofuels and a string of poor harvests. All of these factors mean that the number of needy is skyrocketing.

All of these stories appeared within the last 24 hours. Is it a case media alarm, or are we headed for big problem?

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"Fat" Kate Moss Is a Sign of Lean Times?

TresSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Kate Moss, fairly or not, has been a symbol for heroin-chic and anorexia since the mid-90s when, at the tender age of 14, her modeling career took off.

Making her the symbol for unhealthy thinness has always seemed unfair to me for many reasons. Some healthy teenagers are scrawny looking; Kate's body type has always been on the waifish side (especially compared to the size-six early '90s glamazons like Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford); and since then, her slender '90s frame has been replaced by the truly skeletal clothes-hanger body types on the runway.

But her body and its symbolism is back on the table: a recent article makes a connection between a heftier Kate Moss (yes, that's supposed to be visual evidence right there) and the economic crisis. Want to understand the reasoning? Then read more.

People are describing Kate as fat not as an insult, but with admiration. According to researchers, in lean economic times, men prefer heavier women (to make up for their leaner wallets and hence, depleted egos); people are eating more processed food because it's cheaper and gaining weight; and counting calories seems too self-involved. Whatever the case, it's fascinating that we haven't stopped looking at Kate's body as a barometer of what's going on in culture. She must be used to it by now.

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Climate Change Costing Lives and Crushing Human Rights?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:30:19 -0700

If you don't get all your news from David Letterman (who lit into the subject last night), a new report by Oxfam International says not recycling or curbing your carbon footprint is effectively violating the human rights of people living in the poorest nations. The report's author says, "Climate change was first seen as a scientific problem, then an economic one. Now it is becoming a matter of international justice."

She continues, "Litigation is seldom the best way to solve a dispute. That is why we need a strong UN deal in 2009 to cut emissions and support adaption. However, vulnerable countries do need options to protect themselves. Rich country polluters have been fully aware of their culpability for many years." Oxfam is advocating a two-pronged approach including mitigation and adaptation to help quell the mounting crisis - like these Haitians fleeing the aftermath of Hurricane Ike yesterday.

Not convinced there is a pending crisis? To see what's looming, read more.

A panel of hundreds of environmental experts found a whole batch of grave trouble about to befall the poorest residents of the planet, including:

75-250 million people across Africa facing water shortages by 2020.
Agriculture (read: food) grown using rainfall cut by 50 percent in some African countries by 2020.

Forgive my mounting an ecological soapbox, but if one's actions deny another human food and water, then yeah. I'm going to go with "it's a human rights problem."

Though plenty don't agree. This review of Thomas Friedman's new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded puts to task the alarm over global warming, saying:

Why does the cocktail-party circuit embrace claims about a pending climate doomsday? Partly owing to our nation's shaky grasp of science-many Americans lack basic understanding of chemicals, biology, and natural systems. Another reason is the belief that only exaggerated cries of crisis engage the public's attention; but this makes greenhouse concern seem like just another wolf cry.

Adding, "Friedman can't bring himself to admit he is lord of a manor and racing through more resources in his daily life than 10,000 rural Africans."

Is it hot enough in the kitchen for global warming warnings? Or is it just the crying boy and his wolf on the other line?

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