The Inflation Intifada: Hunger And Revolution In The Third World - by Jerry Bowyer

When food prices rise, so does fear–and the likelihood of revolution. Egypt, the nation that invented bread 40 centuries ago, began to starve. Bread riots rocked the nation. "Today the riots in Egypt also have a lot to do with rising food prices"

We take corn, wheat, soy and sugar and instead of processing it into tortilla, bread, tofu or candy, we ferment it into ethanol and burn it in our gas tanks. The problem is that our gas tanks burn it in much larger quantities than our bodies do. If you fill up an SUV or minivan with 25 gallons of ethanol and use that to drive around for a week, your vehicle has consumed as many food calories in one week as the average human being consumes in a year. No wonder the food commodities that make up the ethanol complex have surged in price vastly higher than other food commodities. The U.S. now turns over 40% of corn production into biofuels. How could any sentient person be surprised about tortilla riots in Central and South America? ( or about the riots in Egypt)

So, how do we get the world back on track? Not with more fiddling. Obama’s bootprint on Mubarak’s backside will do no more good for the world than Carter’s slipper print did on the Shah’s. The way that America can get the world back on track is to get itself back on track. A stable dollar, free farming and energy policies, and a resumption of our historic growth path will do more to restore world order than all of the diplomats, retired diplomats turned pundits, and foreign aid checks combined.
If you want a free world, America, be free yourself.


For more: The Inflation Intifada: Hunger And Revolution In The Third World - Jerry Bowyer - The Great Relearning - Forbes