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From: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics
Subject: Re: The role of America in world hunger & red spread
Message-ID: <1500@shark.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Aug-85 03:14:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: shark.1500
Posted: Wed Aug 14 03:14:53 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Aug-85 04:12:17 EDT
References: <295@SCIRTP.UUCP>
Reply-To: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison)
Distribution: net
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 93
Keywords: Amazon Basin,  mcDonalds,  Middle East
Xref: watmath net.flame:11574 net.politics:10474
Summary: 

In article <295@SCIRTP.UUCP> todd@SCIRTP.UUCP (Todd Jones) writes:
>
>> Todd Jones again (sigh) writes:> 
>> > However, It is clear that many citizens of these third
>> > world countries are turning to communism to address the
>> > problems that were created by multinational American
>> > "agribusiness" corporations acting with the cooperation
>> > of the leaders of these countries.
>> 
>> OK, great, now we the bread basket are removing over half the food crop from 
>> already impoverished nations.  What are we doing with this food?  
>> Storing it with our already over abundant crop?  
>
>We are providing Americans with foodstuffs we cannot grow as cheaply
>in America.  E.G. bananas, sugar, coconuts.

Let us not forget Big Macs.  America now consumes more than 3/4 of the
world's annual output of sesame seeds; lands in the middle east, India,
and Africa have been turned over from production of opium and food to
production of sesame seeds for McBuns.

In addition, about 5000 acres of Amazon Basin jungle PER DAY is destroyed,
and will not come back, EVER.  This is so McDonalds can buy cheaper meat
for the McBurgerPatties.  Oh, and Wendy's and Burger King also buy this
cheaper meat.

>> Our farmers must appreciate that.
>
>They don't care they can't grow the aforementioned.

But they can and do grow beef, sesame seeds, wheat, and other McIngredients.

>> If you are talking about a particular crop, sugar or coconuts for example, 
>> you might be right, but items such as these can hardly 
>> be considered as staples.
>
>Of course they're not staples. They are being farmed from land
>*capable* of growing staples for the persons of that country.
>But as long as "agribusiness" controls land use, staples for
>the locals will not be grown. The locals cannot afford to
>buy food at prices Americans buy food for.

Amazon Basin lands are not suitable for growing staples for anyone.
They are barely able to support the indigenous indian population who
are being driven either deeper inside, or slaughtered, or dragged
into Brasil's entirely alien culture, where they will never be allowed
to fit.

Middle eastern lands which were used to grow one kind of drug are being
used to grow components of something equally insidious.  Still not for
foods used by locals.  But let's take a closer look, here.  According to
Time, people of one place grow foods, yes, but cash-crops which are
preferred by other people in neighboring areas, and they instead buy
their food from some other place.

>> Above you mention the reason for poverty is modernization.  
>
>Au contraire, I stated the primary reason for poverty is the
>resource drain from these countries to America and Europe.
>I'm all for modernization that focuses on the long-term
>interests of the country adopting it. Modernization in
>South America for American consumables doesn't do South
>America a whole lot of good, does it?

You cannot ignore the effects of continual war, drought, and bad
government on the Middle East and Africa.  Sure, some parts of those
places are quite wealthy, but they have ALWAYS depended primarily on
imported food, using trade as a source of wealth.

>These countries need modernization, but above all
>THEY NEED THEIR LAND BACK! They need to eat and
>a lot of these people see socialism, for better
>or worse, as a means of regaining control over
>their land. If we can't stop this molestation
>of foreign resources, we should be prepared
>for the (regrettable, I believe) inevitable
>swing toward socialist alternatives.

Modernization?  How so?  What they NEED is education, which is hardly
a modern thing.  What they need is good government.  What they need is
peace, not war.  What they need is to stop killing each other over
grudges their great**n-th grandparents started.  What they need is rain.

Oh, sure, maybe they would benefit from improvements in technological
understanding, but low-tech improvements are necessary before we start
importing tractors and baby formula. And guns and bombs.  WE need to know
what the hell WE are doing  for a change  before we start just wholesale
dumping of our culture into their cultures.  Sure, there are thousands who
can benefit without being harmed, but there are millions who will be harmed
more and more.


Hutch (in a purple-grey funk)