blatant propaganda article:

Not enough food in the world? Rubbish!

Genetic Engineering is promoted as being the solution to the apparent global food shortage problem...

However, consider that in 1995 the European Union (E.U.) ordered the destruction of 2.5 million tonnes of fresh fruit & veges so as to keep prices for farmers artificially high. The E.U. paid farmers an estimated $987.6 million (Australian) for the food, which had to be of marketable quality before it could be accepted for destruction. This is part of the E.U.'s Common Agricultural Policy, under which food prices are protected. (Source: "The Australian" Newspaper, 19 March 1996)

Similarly, over 40% of the world's grain is fed to animals raised for meat consumption. Consider the wastage of energy when it takes 16 kilograms of grain and soy to produce just 1 kilogram of beef, or 3 kilograms of chicken. If we ate less meat and the grain that is now fed to livestock was fed to starving people, there would be more than enough food to support a human population much larger than the present. (source: the books Diet for a New America by John Robbins & Why You Don't Need Meat by Peter Cox).

It seems there has been enough food in the world, or at least, the means to make it so, for quite some time. However, neither of the above methods (ie. distributing excess food to starving people and/or shifting society towards a non-meat based diet), have the potential to produce large profits for transnational companies. However, with the prospect of patenting new foods and life forms through genetic engineering, some of these corporations are salivating at the prospect of the fortunes and power that lies ahead for them.

For more information:

The Ecologist Magazine http://www.theecologist.org A terrific magazine that we just discovered in our local state library. Possibly the best source of information on environmental issues, politics, corporate power and government corruption/negligence that we've found so far. (August 2001)