Ug99 | Wheat Shortage | Water Shortage | Food Riots

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Ug99 | Water Shortage | Food Riots | Rising Food Prices

As the world's population continues to grow, so does its appetite for cereal grains, which include such dietary staples as wheat. An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race UG99 is currently spreading across Africa, Asia and most recently into Middle East and is causing major concern. The new pathogen goes by the name of Ug99, for the nation-Uganda-1999, the year, which its emergence was formally recognized. This infection is coming, and almost no one has heard about it. Ug99 is a race of stem rust that blocks the vascular tissues in cereal grains including wheat, oats and barley. Unlike leaf or stripe rusts that may reduce crop yields, Ug99-infected plants may suffer up to 100 percent loss. Two thirds of U.S. wheat varieties could be susceptible to Ug99. Also two thirds of wheat grown in India and Pakistan are also vulnerable to this rust, and wheat in China is thought to have similar vulnerabilities. Add to that droughts and floods along with a lot of crop fields being used for growing corn and products that are used to convert to ethanol to feed our hunger for fuel. There appears to be a "perfect storm" coming to bring a wheat shortage and escalating prices worldwide!

In North America we don't take this as seriously as we should. Consider this: Providing water free of disease and toxins is ever more difficult, as old methods prove inadequate and new hazards emerge. Shortages have become endemic to many regions, as record drought and population sprawl sap rivers and lakes. Then there's the threat, unthinkable not too long ago, that now seems to eclipse all others: terrorism. Put it all together, and it's easy to see why concern over clean drinking water might someday make the energy crisis look small in comparison

Rising food prices could threaten political stability around the world; food riots are already being reported across the globe. As well as the riots in Egypt, rising food costs have been blamed for violent unrest in Haiti, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal. Protests have also occurred in Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia and Indonesia. China, India, Pakistan, Cambodia and Vietnam have curbed rice exports to ensure there is enough for their own people.

Water Shortage | World Running out of Water

The world is running out of water. Humans are polluting, depleting, and diverting its finite freshwater supplies so quickly, we are creating massive new deserts and generating global warming from below. This, along with variations in water availability, means that the water to produce food for human consumption, industrial processes and all the other uses is becoming scarce. Right now there are over one billion people on this planet without adequate drinking water. In many parts of the world, surface waters are too polluted for human use. Ninety per cent of wastewater in the Third World is discharged untreated. Eighty per cent of China's and 75 per cent of India's surface waters are too polluted for drinking, fishing, or even bathing. The story is the same in most of Africa and Latin America. Water scarcity threatens economic and social gains and is a potent fuel for wars and conflict. This planet faces a water crisis that will hit Asia especially hard.

We are polluting our water supply at an alarming rate. Water pollution has many causes and characteristics.. Organic wastes such as sewage put high oxygen demands on the receiving water leading to oxygen depletion with potentially severe impacts on the whole eco-system. Industries discharge a variety of pollutants in their wastewater including heavy metals, organic toxins, oils, and solids. Discharges can also have thermal effects, especially those from power stations, and these also reduce the available oxygen. Silt-bearing runoff from many activities including construction sites, deforestation and agriculture can also add to damaging ecological systems. Population growth alone does not account for increased water demand. Since 1900, there has been a six-fold increase in water use for only a two-fold increase in population size. This reflects greater water usage associated with rising standards of living and consumption.

In North America we don't take this as seriously as we should. Consider this: Providing water free of disease and toxins is ever more difficult, as old methods prove inadequate and new hazards emerge. Shortages have become endemic to many regions, as record drought and population sprawl sap rivers and lakes. Then there's the threat, unthinkable not too long ago, that now seems to eclipse all others: terrorism. More than half of humanity will be living with water shortages, depleted fisheries and polluted coastlines within 50 years because of a worldwide water crisis, warns a recent United Nations report. Put it all together, and it's easy to see why concern over clean drinking water might someday make the energy crisis look small in comparison.

Rising Food Prices & Food Shortages

Food prices are on the rise. Oil price increases have not shrunk the human food supply, but biofuel production has! The more biofuels we produce, the less food we have to eat, because we grow biofuel crops, even switch grass, using the same land, water, fertilizer, farm equipment, and labor we use to grow food. The world is running out of wheat because too many wheat farmers have switched to growing corn for ethanol production. The New Scientist magazine reports that a wheat disease called UG99 that started in central Africa actually threatens to destroy most of the wheat crop in that part of the world, leaving millions to starve. Add to that the cost of transporting food, droughts, and flooding and infections like UG99, and we have a scenario where food prices will climb drastically.

Wheat prices have more than doubled in the past couple of years. That means that loaf of bread for your morning toast, and your weekend pizza will cost a lot more. It's likely that a lot of people are unaware of the price of rice hitting $760 a tonne. Part of a surge in global food costs, rice prices on world markets have jumped 50 per cent in the past two months and at least doubled since 2004. A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia where rice is a staple. Beef and poultry will also cost more as it costs more to feed cattle and chicken as well as transporting food. Add to that, the world population continues to grow and will soon approach seven billion, and by 2050 it is projected to reach nine billion. Just two hundred years ago it was slightly over one billion. The emerging countries of China and India have over 2 billion people combined. Where is the extra food coming from? It will simply be a case of supply and demand. Food shortages lead to higher prices. Escalating food costs could pose a greater problem than soaring oil prices for the North American economy because the average household spends close to three times as much for food as for gasoline.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released an extensive report on the current state of the global environment. Climate change, food and water shortage and a decline in biodiversity threaten humanity's survival. Immediate action is necessary, the report warns. So what do we do? Bury our heads in the sand and wait for some miracle? The answer lays in each one of us. We seem to sit around pointing fingers at other companies and countries while the situation becomes more dire. In North America we have not really been exposed yet to food shortages and the types of famines that they have in third world countries. There is an extreme lack of urgency, in North America especially, in regards to this issue. We all are going to be faced with a catastrophic food shortage soon if something is not done. Rising food prices could threaten political stability around the world. The security implications should also not be underestimated as food riots are already being reported across the globe. Current food price trends are likely to increase sharply both the incidence and depth of food insecurity. Rising food costs have been blamed for violent unrest in Egypt, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique and Senegal. Protests have also occurred in Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia and Indonesia. China, India, Pakistan, Cambodia and Vietnam have curbed rice exports to ensure there is enough for their own people.

Experts believe food insecurity should be treated as seriously as climate change.In North America we seem to be more concerned with climate change, the price of oil and the financial crisis. The looming food shortage is something that requires immediate attention.

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