Food and water are basic human rights not commodities and people should not be subject to fluctuating prices and supply in the privatized, unregulated, profit-oriented market that benefits investors and multinational corporations. Treating food and water as commodities is the quintessential example of profits over people. It makes no sense to allow one group to earn profits at the expense of another group's ability to feed itself.
The speculation boom is one extreme example of investors funneling their money into speculative exchanges rather than into real production that contributes to the economy. Speculators have also contributed to the rapid rise in oil prices which also contribute to the expense of growing food,
Even some of the so-called natural factors that contribute to a worldwide shortage of food such as floods and droughts may very well be related to global warming which is partly a result of the government's refusal to manage greenhouse emissions and seek alternatives to fossil fuel.
Government has turned a blind eye to the privatization of water and the regulation of water consumption, and toxins which pollute the water. Forty percent of American rivers and streams have been so severely polluted that they are dangerous for fishing, drinking, and swimming. For a number of reasons, a major part of the United States is running out of water. For example, California has a twenty year supply of freshwater remaining, New Mexico a ten year supply, and Arizona is out.
The problem is worldwide. In addition to companies such as Coca Cola and Nestle depleting aquifers in India and countries turning to biofuels which requires large quantities of water, countries have been forced by the IMF, largely under the control of the U.S. Treasury, to privatize their water putting the price beyond the reach of most people.
The trend of profits over people has penetrated our basic needs as human beings and is no longer only sucking the dollars out of our pockets but the food and water from our mouths. Governments need to recognize that their mandate is to serve the people not the coffers of large corporations and actively engage themselves in this problem.
http://www.stateofdarkness.com
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