[Forumlucca] I: [gas] PEAK FOOD

-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: magius [mailto:gmagius@gmail.com]
Inviato: giovedì 1 giugno 2006 21.51
A: RETE GAS
Oggetto: [gas] PEAK FOOD





Dalla lista HYPERLINK "mailto:petrolio@yahoogroups.com"
\npetrolio@???



Siamo vicini al picco del cibo? Sembrerebbe proprio di si, dato che
quelli che ne sanno qualcosa, ovvero gli agricoltori, stanno cominciando
a preoccuparsene - vedi la lettera inclusa.

Semmai ce ne fosse bisogno, il fatto che siamo di fronte ANCHE
all'emergenza alimentare ci conferma la correttezza dell'approccio
"globale" che già negli anni '70 alcuni, come il Club di Roma, avevano
cercato di proporre. Secondo i calcoli, non è un problema di solo
petrolio. E' tutto il sistema che sta collassando, una nave che fa acqua
da tutte le parti, come si suol dire.


Per inciso, questo dimostra ancora una volta come serissime e
preparatissime Istituzioni, accecate però dalla fede nelle risorse
infinite e nella lunga mano del mercato, e da un positivismo
incrollabile, possano compiere errori tragici come imporre le quote
massime di produzione agricola e la chiusura di intere filiere perchè
momentaneamente anti-economiche (es. zuccherifici). Insieme
all'autoproduzione dell'energia, l'autoproduzione agricola rimane il
bene più prezioso da conservare o recuperare, ma certo pare che la
catena dei problemi si stia facendo un po' troppo lunga e complessa.


In ogni caso, ricordiamo che il nostro mantra è CRESCERE, CRESCERE,
CRESCERE... COME SU UNA IMMAGINARIA LINEA DELL'ABISSO!
(liberamente tratto dalle Considerazioni Finali del Gov. Banca d'Italia
Mario Draghi).



____________________________________________________________________


May 9, 2006

An open letter to the United Nations

HYPERLINK "http://www.nfu.ca/" \nhttp://www.nfu.ca/



Re: Rapidly declining global food supplies



Dear Mr. Annan and Dr. Diouf:



It appears that the world is swiftly drawing down its food supplies.

I write to inquire if the UN or its FAO have reached a similar

conclusion.



Every six years, the world adds the equivalent of a North American

population. The world's cropland area, however, is nearly static.

The UN's FAOSTAT database shows only a 1% total increase in the area

of arable and permanent crops over the past ten years. Further,

that data shows that that area has been declining since 2001. With

population increasing and the cropland area static or declining, per

capita cropland area is fast declining.



The graph that is attached to this letter is compiled from United

States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data covering the most

recent 45 years. It depicts a chilling situation: In five of the

last six years, our global population ate significantly more grains

than farmers produced. In those six years, we have drawn down global

supplies from a 116-day supply in 1999/2000 to a 69-day supply

today. It is almost certain that the current decline in global food

supplies is steeper than at any time since the Second World

War, perhaps steeper than at any time in the past 100 years.



World food supplies have fallen to levels not seen since the 1970s.

In the 1970s, however, our oceans were teeming with fish. In the

1970s, crop production in North America and elsewhere was much less

intensive, with less fertilizer used and some of the land left

fallow. Today, we are using unprecedented amounts of fertilizers and

chemicals, farming nearly every acre every year, irrigating a record

area, and generally maximizing production. We are pushing our land

to produce, and even so, our production is not keeping pace.



Most critically, today the world food production system is facing

multiple threats from climate change, water shortages, and unstable

fossil fuel supplies (nitrogen fertilizer—key to our global food

system—is synthesized from natural gas).



Mr. Annan and Dr. Diouf, it appears to us that global population is

rising rapidly, our cropland base is static or shrinking, production

is struggling (and failing) to meet consumption, and that there is

growing uncertainty over water and energy supplies and the stability

of our climate. Taken together, these factors indicate we may be

risking a calamitous shortfall in the world's grain supplies; global

food security is rapidly eroding.



I request that you immediately make public the UN and FAO's

assessments of current agricultural production and its ability to

keep pace with a growing population. If your assessment is in accord

with ours, I ask you to convene, with all possible haste and

urgency, a summit of the world's leaders to address the massive

challenges to the ability of humanity to continue feeding its

growing numbers.



I thank you for your attention to our concerns, and I urge you to

act rapidly.



Sincerely,



Stewart Wells

President

National Farmers Union

Canada





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