Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Oxfam overstates...


"Leftist agitprop fake charity Oxfam has been given the run of the BBC this morning..." [Biased BBC]. Click on image for BBC report or read the Oxfam summary HERE (pdf file). The Oxfam report unfortunately spreads the climate change aspect far too thickly (something the Beeb are bound to love). It talks of says a 'broken' food system that causes "hunger, along with obesity, obscene waste, and appalling environmental degradation": fine, but climate change isn't (and won't IMHO) causing rising food prices. They also suggest increasing investment in smallholder farmers ("especially women"??); the irony is that this would greatly increase their carbon footprint (oh, the dilemma): intensive farming is far more efficient and better for the environment. I wish they would wake up and realise this.

Some points I agree with: they say there should be a scale up food reserves and also highlight the powerful investors "playing commodities markets like casinos" creating a need to increase transparency in commodities markets and regulate futures markets. However, perhaps they should look at the 'real' cause of food shortages (and "man-made global warming"?) - world population (already mentioned in the comments at BBBC).

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2 comments:

Paul said...

I see you got your name on the reply sheet. Not sure how you address world population other than a Chinese style of programme.

Commodities markets are a real danger, saw an item on the news about Brazil's coffee crop being played on the futures markets, it's morally obscene but morals and capitalism don't go together. You know that being a Tory!

Span Ows said...

Oi, you cheeky monkey! ;-)

I agree entirely...almost. And I think a Chinese style programme isn't out of the question...but could it be immoral? :-)