I do believe that there are still a lot of poverty and starvation in Laos.
Do you know what living in extreme poverty is like? Meet Kaisong, a typical girl from Laos (in South East Asia). She has dreams like everyone else but she's got a day-to-day battle infront of her just to survive.

What is the problem of world food crisis going to do with India and China again? 

Anonymous wrote:

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What is the problem of world food crisis going to do with India and China again? 

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 Those countries become richer and richer

People eat better and better (often more)

The buy more and more product, travell more and more

So those countries need more and more food, gas , and material.

 

In fact, the problem is more global... it's the problem of "sustainable development"

 

Do you know that if everyone one earth choose to live in the "western style" (USA, western europe), we will need the equivalent of 5 earth planets to provide the ressrouces necessary for this way of life (food, energy, material..)

But we have only 1 planet!

The problem is that the major emerging countries, like China or India (we can say, i think, the NEW WORLD LEADERS), stupidly copy this western way of life.

About 1,5 billions of chinese, more than 1 billion of Indians start to copy this way of life that our planet cannot support for everyone.... cannot suport over long term even for the very little part of the population that currently choose it (about 600 millions of western people... so few compared with the "eastern" population)

At short term, this generate growth of demand, and price rising!

 

If we want to avoid a dramatic crisis, we wil all have to find anorther way of life. A kind of balance beetwenn the western way of life and thos life in less developped countries...enhanced by the benefits of the newest technologies.

Western countries cannot continue to consume all the ressrouces of this planet, they have to change their way of life

Emerging countries have to run away to from this western way of life that our planet cannot support and find another. This don't mean don't develop, this mean FIND ANOTHER WAY OF DEVELOPMENT.

 

This is a huge, but great and very interesting challenge for all those who are interested in building our future!

 

But as i wrote before.... this is not the only reason of the growth of price food.

The food crisis also hit Japan, where the country is relied mostly on the import.

Read this news:

Food Crisis Hitting Japan

MARIKO Watanabe admits she could have chosen a better time to take up baking. This week, when the Tokyo housewife visited her local Ito-Yokado supermarket to buy butter to make a cake, she found the shelves bare.

"I went to another supermarket, and then another, and there was no butter at those either. Everywhere I went there were notices saying Japan has run out of butter. I couldn't believe it — this is the first time in my life I've wanted to try baking cakes and I can't get any butter," said the frustrated cook.

Japan's acute butter shortage, which has confounded bakeries, restaurants and now families across the country, is the latest unforeseen result of the global agricultural commodities crisis.

A sharp increase in the cost of imported cattle feed and a decline in milk imports, both of which are typically provided in large part by Australia, have prevented dairy farmers from keeping pace with demand.

While soaring food prices have triggered rioting among the starving millions of the third world, in wealthy Japan they have forced a pampered population to contemplate the shocking possibility of a long-term — perhaps permanent — reduction in the quality and quantity of its food.

A 130% rise in the global cost of wheat in the past year, caused partly by surging demand from China and India and a huge injection of speculative funds into wheat futures, has forced the Government to hit flour millers with three rounds of stiff mark-ups. The latest — a 30% increase this month — has given rise to speculation that Japan, which relies on imports for 90% of its annual wheat consumption, is no longer on the brink of a food crisis, but has fallen off the cliff.

According to one government poll, 80% of Japanese are frightened about what the future holds for their food supply.

Last week, as the prices of wheat and barley continued their relentless climb, the Japanese Government discovered it had exhausted its ¥230 billion ($A2.37 billion) budget for the grains with two months remaining. It was forced to call on an emergency ¥55 billion reserve to ensure it could continue feeding the nation.

"This was the first time the Government has had to take such drastic action since the war," said Akio Shibata, an expert on food imports, who warned the Agriculture Ministry two years ago that Japan would have to cut back drastically on its sophisticated diet if it did not become more self-sufficient.”

This food crisis can be a great opportunity for Laos
Laos have lot of land, productive land with good weather, anf very few people compared with many other countries... this mean few people to feed.

So Laos have great potential to improve it's food productions, modernising it's agriculture (but using production technics that remain respectfull of enviromnent please), and can be able to sell a large part of it's production... at high price in case of worldwide food crisis! This can generate huge income to improve the country!

So wake-up lao people. A strong agriculture is probably a part of your future!
But please, use the benefits of this developement not to buy big and luxury cars that pollute a lot (or any other stupid thing), but rather to improve education and healthcare... it's so much more important and your country need it so much!

I do agree with all causes mentioned above, but I still want to share my thought. The main cause, in my opinion, has been not revealed yet. That is a war. 

According  Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist, chief economist of the World Bank, the US-led war in Iraq affects the whole world. He believes that mankind will suffer direct and indirect losses of six trillion dollars as a result of the Iraqi war alone. The amount is comparable with gold and currency reserves of all countries of the world and a half of USA’s annual GDP.

The repayment of loan costs of military operations in Iraq will make up another trillion dollars for the US authorities. The total spending will thus reach three trillion dollars.

The rest of the world will suffer losses similar to those of the USA – about three trillion dollars as well, the scientist believes. The world will have to suffer such an enormous damage because of oil prices, which continue to grow mainly because of the Iraqi war.

Now, imagine that if this six trillion dollars or at least a quater of this amount  was put on food production, definitely world food crisis would not have had happened. Unfortunately, this problem would affect only poor countries; Laos has no way to escape, no doubt. In the rich countries they have money to buy, although the price is high.   

-- Edited by TSP at 13:04, 2008-05-04

Anonymous wrote:

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I am surpised that somebody said the world food crisis is because of China's and India's economy grown as though they are not human beings. Everything is wrong with their moves, China in particular.

Given their will, they would want India should stay poor being beggars and China living with hunger, let western countries eat alone, probably. That is I just wonder.

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Did you read Paris_Vientiane explanation? He also  mention China and India. I didn't want to go into detail like him because I assume you are smart enough to know or go look for the news on Google to what I meant when I mention those countries.

TSP:
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I do agree with all causes mentioned above, but I still want to share my thought. The main cause, in my opinion, has been not revealed yet. That is a war. 

According  Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist, chief economist of the World Bank, the US-led war in Iraq affects the whole world. He believes that mankind will suffer direct and indirect losses of six trillion dollars as a result of the Iraqi war alone. The amount is comparable with gold and currency reserves of all countries of the world and a half of USA’s annual GDP.

The repayment of loan costs of military operations in Iraq will make up another trillion dollars for the US authorities. The total spending will thus reach three trillion dollars.

The rest of the world will suffer losses similar to those of the USA – about three trillion dollars as well, the scientist believes. The world will have to suffer such an enormous damage because of oil prices, which continue to grow mainly because of the Iraqi war.

Now, imagine that if this six trillion dollars or at least a quater of this amount  was put on food production, definitely world food crisis would not have had happened. Unfortunately, this problem would affect only poor countries; Laos has no way to escape, no doubt. In the rich countries they have money to buy, although the price is high.   

-- Edited by TSP at 13:04, 2008-05-04

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I would like tO ADD :

Someone (some counrties) are trying to POLICE the world , instead they  made themself a double standard's life.  The RICHER get RICHER.  In the last  7 years,  the  ECONOMIC BOOM  became ECONOMIC BUST,  the MORGAGE-BOOM became MORGAGE MELT-DOWN and  The BERLIN WALL had gone the new WALL made along the MEXICO's border. The PHONE-LINE being tapped. The BRAVE became FEAR among THEMSELF. The MOST APPROVE of the READER (~76%) of the country to the LESS APPROVE (~27%) in the history of never seen before !!!!

What is the next move for him ?? Destroy the WORLD ?? Or make world HUNGRY??


Help Arrive;

Maybe it cannot today... but just improve the technics and the use of land and for sure the Land of Laos will be able to feed many more people than just lao population.