Thera Flu induced Conspiracy Theories

Posted by chefalaska

Posted: April 16, 2008 - 1:49 pm

I have finally succumbed to the malaria-like flu that is running rampant in Anchorage.

Thursday night I came home early and slept 14 hours. Friday I lay comatose in the living room napping off and on. I managed to catch Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBCA. What I saw next made me get up and scribble notes so I would not forget. BBC News Network reported wheat prices are up 74 percent, rice prices are up 120 percent and corn is up 31 percent. In the Philippine's there are warehouse raids with severe punishment for hording grains(seven years imprisonment). Rice supplements in Indonesia are being transported by armed guards.

Saturday's ADN world section B-3 spoke of food riots in Haiti. Developing countries spend up to 60 percent of their budgets on food, and with the recent increases in whole grains, people cannot afford to eat.( We're talking about RICE). Most of the developing countries that produce grains are trying to hold off exporting until further notice.

VANITY FAIR magazine put out their third annual GREEN issue for the month of May 2008. An alarming story was about the Monsanto "seed " company. The company has been around for a century and got their start as a mom and pop domestic saccharin producer. This led to growth in chemicals like vanillin, caffeine and digestive aids. Successors brought development of plastics, resins, industrial fluids and herbicides. In the 70's and 80's they put efforts into biotechnology. The company that once produced dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls(pcb's), Agent Orange and is responsible for 50 EPA Superfund Sites in the US is now selling you genetically modified soybean, cottonseed, corn and canola seeds that will survive a Round Up weed spray(also THEIR product!!).

A world wide powerhouse, they bully farming co-ops into law suit settlements or bury them in legal bills, according to the article. Monsanto has recently expanded into dairy growth hormones... This is only a taste, PLEASE read the rest of the article.

Speaking of rebranding, this is a strategy we are seeing with BP British Petroleum today, Beyond Petroleum tomorrow. If you look at their website, you can even see how big of a carbon foot print you have. Fuel prices are up, yet did you know that gas stations still only are making $.20 on the gallon? Increase of taxes and transportation are factors, the highest % goes to petroleum companies -- 50%, just under $2. This is of course for research and development....

As a service industry professional I can tell you that local business is taking the brunt of higher raw cost of product, tack on the inflated gas, electric, other utility bills and the fact that we are officially in a recession. Food service is a business with thin profit margins already. Text book average is 3 to 6%, based on a million dollar annual sales 4% profit would be $40,000. Over the last ten months I have seen prices for cottonseed oil rise over 60 percent, the price of flour – (regular all purpose) has doubled, typical food cost represents 32% average($320,000 cost based on above mentioned sales) a conservative 20% increase on food cost is $64,000 -- Is it still a value meal if businesses have to charge $20?

I thought all price increases were because of higher gas prices and our weak dollar. Is there a world domination of seed racketeering? Is Big Oil inflating prices to become Big Green? Investing in research and development in alternative energies? Are the Chinese really drinking that much beer? Are government subsidies encouraging that much potential biofuel crop? Are there that many real estate deals going on in developing countries and rural America?

As Alaskans, we have seen gas prices rise, and this in turn means production and shipping prices, for farmers, producers, wholesalers, restaurants and retail stores will all face inflated prices as well. A beautiful, vicious circle that snares consumers on every level. How much more are we willing to sacrifice before we are rioting ourselves?

Perhaps instead of a big port renovation encouraging shipping we should think of investing and enhancing our Alaskan economy and our own alternative resources. I would take a third less dividend to have my utilities go down with the benefit of alternative energies. This could be further stimulated with a 3 percent for energy initiative with all the building going on to be sure that we are not stuck with short-sited construction. (Kind of like the 1 percent for art initiative ) What if we pursued hot-house product -Like British Columbia and /or Norway, Iceland-giving Alaska year round commodity in agriculture?

Alaska is an owner state. What if we invested some of our returns back into what Alaska has to offer? We are fortunate to have insulated ourselves from a lot of turbulent times recently, the dot.com bust and corporate book cooking collapses in the early 2000s. Currently the housing boom and bust nationwide is causing a fraction of the mayhem up here.

Perhaps, as I wean myself off my saltine cracker, nilla wafer, and Gatorade diet this craziness will sink into the back of my mind so I can concentrate on hot news topics like a teen beating posted on "you tube" and how poor Britney is doing.

Find out more about Alaska as an "owner state:"
www.institutenorth.org/

www.institutenorth.org/servlet/download?id=29 - Similar pages

Here's where you can read about the issues I mentioned, and about Monsanto, and renewable energy in Iceland.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1727312.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Iceland

http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/Agriculture_Plan/

http://winecompass.blogspot.com/2008/02/hops-barley-shortage.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

http://seekingalpha.com/article/46479-the-grain-drain-3-reasons-for-the-current-
wheat-shortage

Being Green is FUN! And COOL !!

http://www.bp.com/home.do?categoryId=1

Even Sam Walton is doing it!!

http://www.walmart.com/earth?povid=cat14503-env15844-module158049-lLink7

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