Stuffed? Then Listen To This

Today is not a lazy day. Oh, how I wish it were. Somehow I am coping with this rather upsetting fact, although my restlessness will soon be encapsulated by a tennis ball hurled across the court by my needs-to-be-restrung racket later today after 5:00pm. I cannot really feel angry, but rather numb at my restlessness. Last week was a hard one with leering customers at a work conference who I was relegated to entertaining for almost three days. Whew. What a chore. Thankfully, there were quite a few bright spots, as this conference turned to be a huge success and my hard work was part of the reason for its success. We had some highly intelligent and charming vendor representatives who presented great marketing and sales stories, impressing many in our audience. But, enough about work.

Although, I must admit, it is more and more difficult to think about concentration in business when the weather is so unbelievably beautiful. So, back to the restlessness at work, which leads me to an interesting discovery. My favorite public radio station was discussing the shortage of food the other day and I was floored to realize what a huge distribution problem we have in India. Not only is this food shortage disturbing this growing emerging market, but is also affecting Haiti. The man I heard the other day on the radio, Raj Patel, author of a new book, Stuffed and Starved, also showed up in my email updates from the Institute of Public Accuracy today, a liberal think tank I don't always agree with, but who bring up interesting points I find compelled to read more on. Read on about the current status of this problem below. I find this element of the problem troubling: "First, there has always been a sudden and rapid discrepancy between what people expect to be able to eat, and what they can actually feed their families." This made me consider just how often I buy a half gallon of milk and half the carton goes to waste because I forget to eat cereal often enough in the morning to finish. Or, that the blueberries in my fridge which are scrumptious antioxidants, grow mold because I snacked on animal crackers and not fruit the other day. There is the occasional choice of not buying enough groceries and sneaking a pack of tacos for dinner because I start to get the classic "hunger headache." I swear I must be hypoglycemic! Regardless of those negative test results, I almost faint when I don't have something to eat on time. Seriously! In any case, it makes me sad to think there are people hurtling rice at the distribution facilities in Haiti or long lines for a pound of rice in India because people have been buying too much rice at a time and hoarding to themselves, so the poor can't have enough food at the end of the day. I wish I could give them my blueberries before they go bad. Then, maybe the antioxidant power would let them live longer and have more energy. Some days I just wish I could help. And I feel helpless.

RAJ PATEL, [currently in NYC] rajeevcpatel@gmail.com, http://www.rajpatel.org
Author of the just-released book "Stuffed and Starved: The
Hidden Battle for the World Food System," Patel said today: "What's
happening in Haiti is an augury to the rest of the developing world.
Haiti is the poster child of an economy that liberalized its
agricultural economy and removed the social safety nets for the poor,
despite the protests of the majority of its people. Food riots
throughout history have happened when two conditions have been
fulfilled. First, there has always been a sudden and rapid discrepancy
between what people expect to be able to eat, and what they can actually
feed their families. The price shocks around the world have introduced
this discrepancy, and the politics that might have dampened them --
grain reserves, tariffs, support for sustainable farmers -- have been
eroded by modern development policies.
"But the second feature of food riots in history is that riots
happen when there are no other ways of making powerful people listen.
Like many other countries in the developing world, Haiti has been forced
to liberalize its economy despite popular opposition -- in other words,
modern development policy has been forced to be anti-democratic. And
since there has been no effective way for the people to hold their
leaders accountable, we're seeing riots not just in Haiti, but in places
as diverse as Mexico, India, Egypt, Senegal and even Italy. It's
something to expect to see with increasing frequency, until governments
realize that food isn't a mere commodity, it's a human right."