The World Food Crisis
Could it be Coming in 2010?

The world food crisis is not something you are likely hearing about with all the talk of the economic crisis and other problems. However, we are headed for a world crisis in our food supply. In an economic crisis, the Federal Reserve can (apparently) just print as much money as it needs. But they can't print food. And they can't even manufacture it without the raw materials which, at some point, come from the earth; from crops grown by farmers. And the farmers and their crops have been in big trouble for a few years and it is rapidly getting worse.

In this month's newsletter, there are a few items related to the Middle East and religious (Sunday) laws but most of the emphasis is on the coming world food crisis.

Note that I am simply sharing items of interest. That does not imply that I agree with everything presented.

What Temple? Fatah Says 'Only A Muslim Holy Site'
'U.S. partner' demands Jews, Christians be banned from praying on Mount
By: Aaron Klein / WorldNetDaily.com / October 4, 2009

JERUSALEM - The Temple Mount does not exist alongside the Western Wall, and neither Jews nor Christians should be allowed to pray on the Mount site, Dimitri Diliani, the spokesman for Fatah in Jerusalem, told WND in an interview.

"Fatah, once named by the U.S. as a Mideast 'peace partner,' is the party led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Diliani spoke hours after Fatah and PA officials were accused of inciting a riot on the Temple Mount, claiming Jews were threatening the site.

"'Don't use the term Temple Mount,' Diliani lectured WND. 'It doesn't exist. I don't know where it is. I cannot see any Temple. Can you? No one can find any trace of it. The area you refer to is only a Muslim holy site.'"

Ahmadinejad: Not a "Damn Thing" Israel Can Do to Stop Nuclear Program"

"'The Zionist regime (Israel) and its (western) backers cannot do a damn thing to stop Iran's nuclear work,' Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech, according to Reuters.

"Iran said Wednesday it will enrich uranium to a higher level on its own, the latest indication the country was rejecting a U.N.-backed proposal aimed at thwarting any effort by Tehran to make material for a nuclear weapon.

"The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, passed a resolution on Friday demanding Iran to cease all enrichment immediately and halt construction on a recently revealed uranium enriching facility hidden in a mountain.

"Iran reacted angrily by promising to build 10 new plants and on Tuesday Ahmadinejad said he was considering decreasing cooperation with the IAEA.

"In his speech Wednesday in Isfahan, Ahmadinejad further slammed the IAEA as being a tool of the Western powers hostile to Iran."

The World from Berlin
'Even Atheists Need to Switch Off On Sundays'
By: Siobhán Dowling/ SPIEGEL ONLINE.com / December 2, 2009

"Germany's highest court has ruled that Sunday should be kept as a day of rest and has overturned a Berlin law easing restrictions on Sunday shopping. Most German newspapers on Wednesday greet the ruling, some for reasons of religion and tradition, others out of a concern for workers' rights.

"Many visitors to Germany can find themselves standing outside a closed department store, perplexed to find that they cannot do a bit of shopping during their weekend trip.

"Yet many of Germany's 16 states have already made some exceptions, allowing stores to open a few Sundays a year. And in Berlin the city government had gone the furthest in chipping away at the ban on Sunday trading. In 2006 the German capital gave the green light for retailers to open on 10 Sundays a year, including the four Advent Sundays preceding Christmas.

"However, Germany's Constitutional Court has now upheld a complaint made by the country's Catholic and Protestant churches, based on a clause in the German constitution that Sunday should be a day of rest and 'spiritual elevation.'

"The court on Tuesday decided in favor of the churches, saying that Sunday opening should not take place four weeks in a row. The ruling will not affect shopping this December, but would come into force next year."

Germany Reaffirms Sunday Law
By: Charles Krauthammer / The Trumpet.com / December 1, 2009

"Coincident with the enacting of the Lisbon Treaty/EU constitution on December 1, Germany's Constitutional Court has ruled that the nation's capital must, akin to the rest of the country, abide by the law instituting Sunday as a day 'of rest from work and of spiritual improvement.'

"Those aware of the history of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation will see this move by Germany's highest court as one step further toward enforcing Rome's religion, not only as the state religion on Germany, but on the whole European empire enacted by treaty on this infamous day, Dec. 1, 2009.

"The prophecies of Revelation 13 leap into current-day perspective with this latest ruling of Germany's Constitutional Court.

Ray's note: We can see where this is going. A day of rest per week is a great thing but no man should mandate a commandment regarding our relationship to God - that is between us and God. Such laws interfere with freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.

Early in 2009, the supply and demand in agricultural markets went badly out of balance. The world experienced a catastrophic fall in food production as a result of the financial crisis (low commodity prices and lack of credit) and adverse weather on a global scale.

Normally, food prices should have gone much higher months ago, leading to lower food consumption and bringing the global food supply/demand situation back into balance. However, this never happened because the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), instead of adjusting production estimates down to reflect decreased production, adjusted estimates upwards to match increasing demand from China. In this way, the USDA has brought supply and demand back into balance (on paper) and temporarily delayed a rise in food prices by ensuring a catastrophe in 2010. And the weather and conditions for farmers around the world were so bad that many are going out of farming. They have been losing crops and herds and facing financial ruin. Here are some reports:

United States - Reports of the state of agriculture for the 2009 crop year point to a world food crisis

Nebraska, July 3 - Lethal heat, hailstones as big as baseballs, rain seemingly without end and tornadoes, some reported to be a quarter- to a half-mile wide. After a relatively placid May, Nebraska's weather went from meek to mad in June. Widespread hail was reported across the state, with one rancher telling the National Weather Service that he found dead animals along the road. In the far western Panhandle, it hailed so much that the roads had to be plowed, as hail reached 6 to 8 inches deep.

Iowa, August 4 - When hail decimated crops near Lawler and Waucoma in June, it was the worst Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Brian Lang had ever seen. "I've never really seen bad hailed corn at tassel state and I've never seen it this bad, this widespread," Lang said. "There were 400,000 acres damaged with 10 percent totally destroyed. Even for the crop that didn't get hurt too much, this came at the worst possible time, tasseling."

New York - "The people who feed the nation can't feed themselves," Gretchen Maine, a dairy farmer from Waterville, "what's wrong with this picture."

Texas - State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said Friday that at least nine of the 254 counties in Texas - the nation's most drought-stricken state - are suffering through their driest conditions since modern record-keeping began in 1895.

Wyoming, August 21 - That's little comfort to David Kane, a rancher near Sheridan, Wyo., who said the grasshoppers on his ranch are the worst they've been in more than 20 years. Kane already sold off part of his herd because the pests ate his cows' food.

Louisiana, October 17 - Northeastern Louisiana farmers finally saw the sun Friday afternoon, but it might be too late to save the bulk of the soybean, cotton and sweet potato crops.

Mississippi, October 21 - Bolstering this is a fact-sheet released the week of Oct. 12 by Delta Council. The release says, "Large areas of the Mississippi Delta have received 15 to 20 inches of rain over the last 30 days with many areas receiving 25 to 40 inches of rainfall over the past 60 days since Aug. 15. In places this is anywhere from 400 to over 600 percent of normal."

Adverse weather conditions across the globe are contributing to the world food crisis

American farmers weren't alone in their suffering this year. Abnormal weather has ruined crops around the world in 2009:

The World Food Crisis: Argentina: The worst drought in half a century has turned Argentina's once-fertile soil to dust and pushed the country into a state of emergency. The country's wheat yield for 2009 was 8.7 million metric tons, down from 16.3 million in 2008.

The World Food Crisis: Australia is suffering the longest running and most severe drought on the planet. November temperature records were broken all over eastern Australia, and lower wheat yields than expected were reported, leading to production estimate cuts. Profarmer Australia has cut their Australian wheat production estimate by 1 MMT to 20.9 MMT, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia reduced their estimate by 0.7 MMT to 21.6 MMT (USDA's current estimate is, of course, is an insane 23.5 MMT).

The World Food Crisis: Northern China was hit by worst drought in 50 years. Chinese wheat production was predicted to be down 10% "In A Best Case Scenario". The sustained drought lead to water and food shortages in June for more than 1.37 million people in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Region. Chinese corn production is expected to shrink at least 10%, with shortages developing by spring-summer of 2010.

The World Food Crisis: The Middle East and Central Asia are suffering from the worst droughts in recent history, and food grain production has dropped to some of the lowest levels in decades. Total wheat production in the wider drought-affected region is currently estimated to have declined by at least 22 percent in 2009.

Wind, rain, and hail ruined India's spring wheat crop. Following failed wheat harvest, India then experienced the driest monsoon in 37 years. In terms of affected area, India's drought was the worst since 1918. Farmers who could no longer irrigate crops now feared nothing would be left to drink. Millions of poor villagers across southern India are facing an imminent food shortage following months of intense drought and recent devastating floods.

The picture does not look good. And that is the main point I am trying to get across. Individually, we can't do much for the general world situation or to stem a world food crisis. But we can, if our situation allows it, produce more of our own food. In uncertain times, greater self-sufficiency is always important. It allows you some independence when the trend is generally making people more dependent on the system which, of course, also makes them more dependent on the system's rules and regulations. And, world food crisis or not, it is nice to be able to eat. I'm thinking ahead to Revelation 13:17

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