Bio fuels causing a tortilla crisis…will we all be farmers soon?
Aug. 15th, 2007 by Al
The recent surge in the planting of corn and other food commodities for use in the production of bio fuels has caused the price of corn and other commodities to rise, and as such the price of tortillas (made from dried corn) have risen dramatically. Tortillas, which are the staple food of the Mexican diet, have recently risen so high as to prompt concerns of food riots in some poorer Mexican states.
The web of influence spread by the increasing costs of crude oil seems to widen by the day, and we are now hearing regularly about both the environmental destruction these bio fuel plantations are causing in the world’s primary rainforest zones, and as well that the expanding hunger for commodities to be used as bio fuels are driving the prices up, and increasing the poverty level for many in the world’s less developed nations?
So what’s to be done about peak oil and food production?
Speaking at the Soil Association Conference in Britain, American oil expert Dr. Heinburg said that eventual rising oil costs and supply concerns would ultimately force a remigration back to rural areas, and suggested that as many 16 times as many people would be working the fields as do currently. Dr. Heinburg bases some of his forecasts on the model of Cuba, which after a US trade embargo, saw its oil supplies dwindle substantially, and as a result saw a dramatic increase in its rural communities.
Less oil means that food will be more expensive to grow, and will be more expensive to ship, and one way that some of these expenses are offset are by increasing the population of growers, and as well decreasing the distance that food must travel to market.
Dr. Heinburg calls for this shift to occur within the next 2-3 decades and says that some major American cities, such as Oakland, are already implementing strategies to greatly increase their food production needs within a small radius outside of the city.
It will be very interesting to see whether peak oil costs are enough to reverse an urbanization trend that has continued unabated for hundreds of years. Will the rising price of oil have us back on the farm…and will we need a team of mules to plow with?
I think this is a very important post. I had never thought about the direct link between the increasing price of oil making food more expensive to grow (fuel for tractors, power for irrigation) AND more expensive to SHIP. No wonder prices are going up for fresh foods lately, with the price of oil increasing.
Eileen
Dedicated Elementary Teacher Overseas
elementaryteacher.wordpress.com
Yea eileen,
Most city dwellers in major cities nowadays have no idea about the connection neither do I till one do a bit of research.