For some reason I have not been updating my blog for quite some time now, but the other day one of my friends gave a valuable piece of advice saying that our blog has to be updated not just with the activities that we plan or take up; but to sensitize our readers. Like any other philosophy, we all laughed at it as he said but then I felt he was right and right to a larger extent and decided that I shall post one article in two weeks at least. I am thinking this aloud so that I keep my word or my friends who read it compel me to keep my word. Having said that, this blog would continue to be a medium to discuss general issues... issues that we really need to ponder about.

There is a reason why I picked on this topic, which is of course not of much importance here...

“[India’s] middle-class is bigger than our entire population ... When you start getting wealth, you demand better food ... and prices ... go up.”

Remember some one speaking this? Yes, it was President Bush blaming the Indian middle class for the world food crisis. Before we start accusing someone, lets better consider these facts

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the per-capita consumption of grain in the United States is 2,300 pounds [1,046 kg] compared to 392 pounds [178 kg] in India, in other words - five times more.
The per-capita consumption of poultry in the U.S. is 100 pounds [45.4 kg], in the E.U. its 35 pounds [16.2 kg], while in India, its 4.1 pounds [1.9 kg]. So who's eating more?

78 percent of Indians still live on less than ¢47 [20 rupees] a day. According to official data, 136,324 farmers have committed "distress suicide" between 1997 and 2005. The daily per-capita consumption of cereal has declined from 468 grams in 1990-91 to 412 grams in 2005-06. The consumption of pulses, the main source of protein, declined from 42 grams (72 grams in 1956-57) to 33 grams during this period.

Even if we were to presume that Indians are consuming more food, its impact on the global economy would only be felt when Indian imports from global markets were significant. The fact is that India’s share of total world imports is a mere one percent. Of this, the import of agricultural products is a mere 11.7 percent of that total. Therefore, Indian consumption patterns in no way contribute to the global food crisis.

On the contrary, almost all of the growth in global maize production is being diverted towards bio-fuels. Which was what Fidel Castro exactly warned about a few years ago, that given the large-scale shift toward bio-fuels, a global food grain crisis would be imminent. The result is for us to see now... According to the World Bank, the entirety of the production increases - 51 million tonnes between 2004 and 2005 - was absorbed by the U.S. alone for ethanol production. The E.U. has declared that by 2010, nearly 6 percent of fuel should be bio-fuel. To fill up an average tank with bio-fuel, the amount of maize required is equivalent to its per-capita annual human consumption as a staple.

It is for us to see - who or what is the reason for this food crisis? I unlike; the loud mouthed rulers of certain countries will not prefer to blame the people of a country for their well being and prosperity. Instead it is a shame for the entire world that such capacious amounts of food is being used to quench the insatiable hunger of a handful of power mongers.

Despite all this I have nothing but sympathy towards Mr. Bush. He just relied on his trusted lieutenant, Condoleezza Rice. After all, seeing his own countrymen making a mockery of his intelligence on hearing him say to an Iraqi national that “I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein." President Bush might have thought of playing safe by blindly following & restating Rice.