MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) “I’m hungry and yet cannot even buy food,” Abdifatah Hussein, 25, told Reuters, clutching a bunch of Somali shillings. “I fear we might start eating one another. We will never stop protesting until traders accept the notes.”
The problem: there has been so much inflation, in this case caused by the illegal printing of money, that the local currency has nominal value and food has huge value. The local people only have local currency and they are now out of the running to buy the food on world markets. (is globalism really good?)
This quote says a lot about the state of desperation that exists in Somalia and many other countries as inflation and a failing currency are rejected by world market traders.
The fundamental problem with rising prices for commodities throughout the world is that investors and middlemen are trying to either make or preserve their money. If the food stocks were in the hands of the individuals who grew it, it would be a different situation, they would sell food, instead of hoarding it.
The situation is sad, but this is the result of globalized markets where there is always someone who has the money to pay more. The poor are out bid by the rich for the only thing that really matters – food. Globalization has turned food into a commodity and that commodity is traded for gain to the highest bidder.
In this climate, one would ask themselves what can I do? How should I respond to this crisis? What is moral? What is ethical? How can I impact this bidding war.
We live in a culture that considers unbridled consumption the pinnacle of success. It is our right to consume just because we are able. We wear our consumption like a badge of honour. However, here is another way to look at life and this crisis that is taking place throughout the world. Whenever we bid on energy or food we bid with a currency which has many times the power other countries and people do not have. They have no chance of competing with us. Their work is worth one/one-hundredths of ours just because of the country they were born in. When we out bid them for the food they need to live, we sentence them and their families to malnutrition, sickness, and a shortened life.
What Can You Do?
When we reduce our consumption levels we take the pressure off the demand side of the supply/demand equation thereby freeing up food for others. If we grow as much of our own food as possible we take our consumption off the world market. We are no longer bidding for the limited supply of food on the world market. By reducing our consumption in the area of energy and food we can literally save thousands of lives. By getting off the grid as it were, we are eliminating or minimizing our consumption of energy and food from world supplies. We are literally taking food out of the hand of the hungry. Our level of consumption is literally a life death matter for some people in countries less fortunate then the one you were lucky enough to be born in. Our culture is driven by the media the media is programmed by the proponents of consumption. Our consumption is indirectly but literally killing people in countries around the world. I think we should know that and do something about it. More on ways to reduce our consumption in upcoming posts.
P.S. I have been hypermiling (see the previous post) and it really works!!! I have reduced my consumption by at least 25%. Currently fuel is $1.20 a litre ($5.00 a gallon). I have also reduced miles driven by a least 25%. I didn’t think it possible to cut my consumption in half but it has been easier than I thought.
Paul Weigel