Saturday, March 29, 2008

Building houses on farmland - a good idea just now?

It's called the Sandown Farm isn't it? Well perhaps we might need to grow a bit more food soon so should we rush into tarmac the whole site in one go? Maybe a few more allotments first until we see how things develop worldwide?

The New York Times reports:

Shortages and high prices for all kinds of food have caused tensions and even violence around the world in recent months. Since January, thousands of troops have been deployed in Pakistan to guard trucks carrying wheat and flour. Protests have erupted in Indonesia over soybean shortages, and China has put price controls on cooking oil, grain, meat, milk and eggs.

Food riots have erupted in recent months in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen. But the moves by rice-exporting nations over the last two days — meant to ensure scarce supplies will meet domestic needs — drove prices on the world market even higher this week.

Full NY Times article here.

3 comments:

Nairn said...

Och...

when we run out of farming land we can just have a new clearances policy and remove folk to cities?

Bill said...

Has this got anything to do with actual agricultural production, or is it simply a poorly-disguised case of Nimby-ism (aka 'stop the world I want to get off')? ;)

Graisg said...

Not so much stopping the world Bill as changing the direction. Ironically some of the world food shortage seems to be down to a switch to bio-fuel production. The Gurn operates on a 'why not walk to school with your kids instead' sort of wish-list in the hope things might change.
The editor remembers hearing a phrase from the eighties, 'It isn't 'Not in my back-yard' now, it is a case of 'Not in anybody's back yard.'I think it might have been Jonathon Porrit or even Sarah whatsername? (what ever happened to her?) Anyway a big hall full of green loonies cheered!
Sunshine in Nairn today too ;-)