Food Security and Land Ownership

Previously, people in Ireland starved while grain was exported from Ireland. I think we all expect that now we have our independence this can never happen again.

We are now possibly facing into global food shortages in a way that has never existed before. There might just not be enough to go around in the future. Before there was enough but it was not shared.

Under EU law we have to allow all EU individuals and corporations to buy land in Ireland and to trade from Ireland as they please. Are we possibly facing into a situation where the Irish population could be riven by the high cost of food while grain and biofuels are exported from the island?

Even if it is not that dramatic the issue of food shortages and food price increases are real. What policies could the Irish Government start to implement and lobby for now in order to protect us (and possibly others) against the coming dangers?

[bagel]

its more serious than most people realise:-
ownership of the seeds, from which we grow our food, is in the hands of just 5 corporations worldwide;
they control our food supplies and the price thereof;
i don't have a link but i acquired this worrying information from a law lecturer;

[david]

From here:

Last week, in France, the independent seed-saving and selling Association Kokopelli were fined €35,000 after being taken to court by corporate seed merchant Baumaux. Their crime was selling traditional and rare seed varieties which weren’t on the official EU-approved list – and, therefore, illegal to sell – thus giving them an ‘unfair trading advantage’. As the European Commission met this week to prepare new legislation for seed control, due in 2009, which will further restrict the geographic movement and range of crop varieties, this ruling will set a dangerous precedent.

You may think that in an era of mass extinction it would be a no-brainer that we need to protect biodiversity and the heritage of the crop varieties which have been build up over centuries... but no. Since the 1970s, laws in the UK and Europe mean that to sell seeds, the strain needs to be registered – and everything else becomes ‘outlaw’ seeds, illegal to sell. In the UK it costs £300 per year to maintain the registration and £2000 to register a ‘new’ one – which all disadvantages smaller organisations.

This is worrying for the likes of Irish Seed Savers Association in Scariff, the type of organisation which the world so badly needs.

[Auditor #9]

Previously, people in Ireland starved while grain was exported from Ireland. I think we all expect that now we have our independence this can never happen again.

We are now possibly facing into global food shortages in a way that has never existed before. There might just not be enough to go around in the future. Before there was enough but it was not shared.

Under EU law we have to allow all EU individuals and corporations to buy land in Ireland and to trade from Ireland as they please. Are we possibly facing into a situation where the Irish population could be riven by the high cost of food while grain and biofuels are exported from the island?

Even if it is not that dramatic the issue of food shortages and food price increases are real. What policies could the Irish Government start to implement and lobby for now in order to protect us (and possibly others) against the coming dangers?

How much land do you own, Zhou?

Irish Farmer Forced to Export Green Fuel to UK

How much land do you own, Zhou?

Not enough to feed myself off if the caramel pie hits the fan. I see rice prices are up 30% in Asia stoking fears of civil unrest. There are threats of riots in Egypt over price increases with the Egyptian army having to bake bread for the population.

[Cod Commando]

Previously, people in Ireland starved while grain was exported from Ireland. I think we all expect that now we have our independence this can never happen again.

We are now possibly facing into global food shortages in a way that has never existed before. There might just not be enough to go around in the future. Before there was enough but it was not shared.

Under EU law we have to allow all EU individuals and corporations to buy land in Ireland and to trade from Ireland as they please. Are we possibly facing into a situation where the Irish population could be riven by the high cost of food while grain and biofuels are exported from the island?

Even if it is not that dramatic the issue of food shortages and food price increases are real. What policies could the Irish Government start to implement and lobby for now in order to protect us (and possibly others) against the coming dangers?

The majority of the worlds population live in high density urban environments, forming super-organisms that drive scientific and cultural progress.

There is a vast machinery established to prevent rural folk from withholding the necessary sustainance.

Regardless, there are solutions to every problem; this one can be solved through behavourial modification and technology.

[cactus flower]

How much land do you own, Zhou?

Not enough to feed myself off if the caramel pie hits the fan. I see rice prices are up 30% in Asia stoking fears of civil unrest. There are threats of riots in Egypt over price increases with the Egyptian army having to bake bread for the population.

Good thread, Zhou.
This is probably the biggest and most immediate impact of climate change on human life. There are so many different impacts on food prices running parallel and it is likely to escalate. It hits on us as individuals in terms of how we cope as well as politically. We need world and national governments to come together to tackle the pressures on food supply from climage change, switch from staple foods to meat dairy and biofuels for the rich.

http://machinenation.forumakers.com/pol ... od-t51.htm