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Food security and the coming storm

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Re: Food security and the coming storm

#391

Post by pphysch »

enraged_camel wrote: post #97
pphysch wrote: post #80

> Over the last three months, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shocked agricultural markets Did Washington's illegal invasions of Iraq, Libya, or Syria shock global energy and food markets, leading to global crises? No, because a large part of the global economy did not attempt to cut off USA from the global economy following those blatant violations of sovereignty. This real lede is buried deep in the article. The f…

>> Did Washington's illegal invasions of Iraq, Libya, or Syria shock global energy and food markets, leading to global crises? Not a good comparison in terms of food. Ukraine produces 6% of the world's wheat. Russia produces 17%. The former is unable to export its stockpiles due to the Black Sea blockade by the latter, and the latter is not going to be exporting what it produces because they recognize that they can u…

Russia created humanitarian corridors for Ukraine to get wheat out. That 6% will be impacted either way, but is not going to 0%.

Of course Iraq is not a major food exporter. You didn't explain why major global energy crises didn't start after Washington illegally invaded major producers.

The bottom line: this is an economic crisis of Washington's designs.

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#392

Post by ALittleLight »

oneoff786 wrote: post #384
ALittleLight wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know anything about the safe DIY manufacture of baby formula, but, even if I assumed what you are saying is true, and I'm pretty confident you're wrong, that isn't even an argument. We should deny people good instructions, forcing those who want to try to use bad instructions, because some people might incorrectly follow the good instructions?

There is no safe DIY manufacture of baby formula. It’s just not something you should attempt without being an expert. Step one is to become an expert. The reason to not put out a set of instructions that people cannot follow is because they cannot follow it, and those that attempt to follow it will likely make serious mistakes. It would do more harm than good to put out a government sanctioned recipe, no matter how m…

That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#393

Post by ajsnigrutin »

vstck17 wrote: post #322
ThunderSizzle wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then the government will need to admit much of a price tag is taxes, probably 1st after taxes.

In the US, the federal gas tax has been 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. If anything, they are losing money with inflation and the decreased demand that higher fuel prices will create.

This depends on the country.

In slovenia we had regulated gas prices until 2020 - https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MGRT/Dokumenti/DNT/cen... [docx]

If we look at the last price (top row), the price (without any taxes) was 0.395eur/l. Then they add (in column order) CO2 tax, "saving energy tax", excise duty ("trošarina"), "tax to help electricity production", and VAT (DDV), bringing the total price to 1.00eur. The total of taxes added is ~153% of the base price (0.395 without -> 1eur with tax).

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#394

Post by artificialLimbs »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #325
Sylveste wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Of course, if your child is literally starving, you should look to a less than ideal, short term solution. Yes. That's the issue we're having here. People are encountering that situation of being unable to find formula, meaning that their children are literally at risk of starving, asking for alternatives and being told 'there's just no viable alternative' by the media as though that information will make formula ap…

> 'there's just no viable alternative' by the media This isn't the media's job. Their recommendation is to talk with your doctor. This is realistically the only safe suggestion since all of the alternatives are bad. > Famine relief, missionary and other charities do have reliable and nutritious recipes for baby formula alternatives that can be made in bush conditions and over open fires in metal pots. Please, please,…

“…talk with your doctor. This is realistically the only safe suggestion since all of the alternatives are bad.“

What exactly do you think we did before baby formula even existed? Or doctors, for that matter? This absolute dependence on systems is disheartening. We need a drastic reconnection with nature.

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#395

Post by artificialLimbs »

drdec wrote: post #232
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For all the "Baby formula shortage" media coverage, how many stories have included a recipe for alternatives to commercial formula? Mostly I've seen admonitions to not try making baby food at home, which is incredibly useless for people trying to feed kids. Thanks for pointing this out. It's like we've forgotten how to function as humans in some respect. Baby formula isn't some magical combination of ingredients. A…

> Baby formula isn't some magical combination of ingredients. And I get it, authorities are wary to recommend recipes because of the risk of people fucking it up. But when people are out of options they'll likely make worse decisions, like watering down formula. There was a large drop in infant mortality in the US about the time commercial baby formula caught on. Draw your own conclusions.

Source?

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#396

Post by WalterBright »

rfrey wrote: post #334
WalterBright wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You blamed the speculators, but when a farmer locks in long term prices, he is also speculating in futures.

If you lock in both your costs and your profits, it's the opposite of speculation.

You're speculating that the price you "lock in" will be advantageous to you in the future.

It's the same as buying options in the stock market.

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#397

Post by oneoff786 »

ALittleLight wrote: post #392
oneoff786 wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no safe DIY manufacture of baby formula. It’s just not something you should attempt without being an expert. Step one is to become an expert. The reason to not put out a set of instructions that people cannot follow is because they cannot follow it, and those that attempt to follow it will likely make serious mistakes. It would do more harm than good to put out a government sanctioned recipe, no matter how m…

That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

That applies to assertions of fact, not reasoned arguments. There is plenty of evidence that incorrectly produced baby formula is dangerous. There are many studies showing the narrow range of nutrition and form of the baby formula that is safe.

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#398

Post by hansvm »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #158
hansvm wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anyone here is new to cooking and wanting to start on a budget, you can easily get away with a cheap knife, cheap set of diamond stones, a cutting board, and an enameled dutch oven. $60-$100 after shipping and tax, and you'll be able to cook basically everything. The knife being sharp is much more important than it being high quality (being sharp is also not essential, but it makes a big difference). If you want t…

Honestly for someone starting out I'd just tell them to get a fibrox and a pull through sharpener. $50 and you'll be good to go for years.

The $60-$100 counted the pot and cutting board. Totally agree that fibrox or something is plenty fine enough.

What's the argument for the pull-through sharpener? A decent enough set of stones is tiny, costs $15 after shipping, and isn't that hard to use. Are we just making sharpening as easy as possible so they don't give up?

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#399

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

imtringued wrote: post #368
pixl97 wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the massive efficiency of corn its actually kinda hard to do that to the level you expect. Corn is very effective at turning space into starch.

What massive efficiency? You're feeding it to animals. 80% of the calories are immediately pooped out.

Which is why you could just feed it to people instead - or grow something else.

Solar panels destroy corn in terms of converting solar power to energy. Ethanol is geopolitical and special interests, definitely not efficient.

Re: Food security and the coming storm

#400

Post by jasonwatkinspdx »

hansvm wrote: post #398
jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly for someone starting out I'd just tell them to get a fibrox and a pull through sharpener. $50 and you'll be good to go for years.

The $60-$100 counted the pot and cutting board. Totally agree that fibrox or something is plenty fine enough. What's the argument for the pull-through sharpener? A decent enough set of stones is tiny, costs $15 after shipping, and isn't that hard to use. Are we just making sharpening as easy as possible so they don't give up?

Yes. I find the enthusiasm for wet stone sharpening to be overblown for beginners. It's so far down the list of things that will matter when cooking vs using an inexpensive knife and pull through. If you like the process that's fine, I just don't like it being turned around into a "you're doing it wrong if you use a pull through" expectation, when the root problem is 99% getting people to sharpen period.
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