By now we have all heard the news of the Drought in the USA. It has severely affected crops such as corn and soya bean. The trickle down effect means that small island states like ours, here in the Caribbean would now have to pay increased prices on items such as feed on which is largely corn based.
In my country the Table Eggs Producers of Trinidad and Tobago has announced that effective Thursday 23, August 2012 there will be an increase in the suggested wholesale price of eggs. So we are experiencing the effects of drought.
SO WHAT!
This is clearly an indicator that climate change is very much present and much closer to a drastic change than we all expected. Last week I posted on the ability for humanity to create the technology that is necessary when the time comes.
Well, the technology to fight drought already exists. I have posted on numerous topics dealing with water resource management. From Farming, Harvesting and Cultivating Water to creating rain via Laser beams and chemical cloud seeding!
It sounds far fetched but these are technologies that exist and have been in use. Therefore I do not see a drought issue that the super power, USA cannot solve. If by political, financial or just plain chance, none of these technologies are effective, I still have an answer.
CONSUME LESS!
Do we really need all that corn and soya bean in our lives. I think not. Cut back a little. If the price of something has gone up, buy less of it and eat less of it. Manage your food expenses carefully or start growing your own food.
In the case of livestock feed, do your research! A colleague of mine and myself recently discovered a cheaper, more nutritional alternative to duck feed. The work and independent research of a local duck producer provided all the evidence we needed to prove that there are better, more natural alternatives to feed in existence.
We just have to find it. It’s that simple!
Hi Keron, very interesting post, really. I only have more than one doubt that the USA can always solve a drought issue. Yes, you mention many promising technologies, that are readily available in the USA of course. But these technologies need not only to be implemented top-down, but also to be tested (health issues are always round the corner!), to be acquired by farmers (training and information is needed) and accepted by both the farmers and the consumers. As you can imagine, the adoption of a new technology in agriculture could be a quite long process, and the outcomes are not easily predictable. There are many examples of new promising technologies that turned into a fiasco!
Therefore, I would consider your second solution much more reliable: consume less! You said it well, and I especially like your point when you say that the consumer should adjust his/her diet according to the offer.
However, in the case of agricultural products, this means that the consumer should be aware of the price trends, which is normally not the case. Not many people are in fact aware of the drought in the USA, and I bet that no one in the US will stop buying pop-corn at the cinema because price grew 50 cents. They will just complain and buy the huge basket anyway, as they have no information about (1) why the price grew and (2) the alternatives. In this sense, agricultural knowledge and information could be mainstreamed: the consumer should have a clue about what she/he is eating, where and how it is produced and (more importantly) what are the alternatives and why they are “good alternatives”.
Again, thanks for this post Keron, this was actually food for my brain!
Giorgio
Thanks for your very insightful comment! You also had the effect on me. I almost forgot about the research process. It does take some time. But I think it is possible. As I highlighted in previous blog posts there are useful technologies out there but they may not be suitable. We truly need investment and research. But we also need action. If we were talking about oil or some other product, I bet you action in research and invest would have occurred much faster. I agree with you as well that people are not informed and they do not realize the importance of food and the effects that drought may have. Here in the Caribbean there is a saying: “You must feel to learn.” People will one they educate themselves of the situation and consume less however they will have to learn the hard way!