Dear producers and bloggers,

Please take a moment to review the article below about the strange situation we are about to confront: an increase in famine even as agricultural output is increasing. In fact, record crops are necessary to avoid famine. The reason? More grain is being used for ethanol production rather than livestock feed or food processing.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Journalism Fellow Lene Johansen commented on this dangerous shift:

"Food prices are going up. Since the green revolution in the 1940s-1960s food prices have been going down, but now they are on an upward trend. There are two reasons for this, the first is grain-based ethanol and the second is that prosperity is catching up with more people in India and China. Grain-based ethanol is a bad idea, combined with subsidy programs; prices of corn have soared to new heights. We should stop that insanity."

The increase in food prices is something we can and ought to stop. We can play around with scary scenarios of global warming, but nothing will kill people faster than higher food prices. The global community ought to pay attention to this trend.

Famines May Occur Without Record Crops This Year, Potash Says
By Christopher Donville
February 20, 2008
Bloomberg News

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Grain farmers will need to harvest record crops every year to meet increasing global food demand and avoid famine, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. Chief Executive Officer William Doyle said.

People and livestock are consuming more grain than ever, draining world inventories and increasing the likelihood of shortages, Doyle said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Global grain stockpiles fell to about 53 days of supply last year, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1960, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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