[onlooker]

I am not sure if this particular topic has been posted if not here is this article describing this new trend:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/won ... dwide-why/

It reminds me of vultures circling dead carcasses , as though these rich entities feel entitled to all this land as well in the case of Africa perhaps they feel that not too many Africans will be around in the near future so all this land is up for grabs. I cannot say it surprises me.

[Shaved Monkey]

The 1% know they have to feed the people near them or they become revolting and start interrupting their enjoyment of the polo.

[onlooker]

haha, good to know I live in a rich country where the 1% is taking care of me and allowing me to eat and become greater in debt. A fool's paradise.

[Keith_McClary]

It reminds me of vultures circling dead carcasses , as though these rich entities feel entitled to all this land

At least they pay for it, unlike in Palestine.

[ROCKMAN]

"Land grabbing" is a nice hot button term to suck people into reading the article. But it points out those lands were purchased and not stolen which is the typical interpretation of "grabbing". So X% of the world's land has been bought by someone who plans to grow crops for commercial benefit. Doesn't that description cover the vast majority of agricultural lands in the US? England? France? Germany? Etc? Then to follow the theme of the article hasn't most of the farm land been "grabbed" by the folks who now own it? I don't think I've seen the stat but I doubt more then a few % of all farm land in the US is being planted for personal subsistence.

[KaiserJeep]

I plan to sell my overpriced house in Silicon Valley and go grab enough land to live out my years comfortably. I'll be paying cash and not have any debts is the plan.

Note however that family sized farms, permaculture, and even old-fashioned victory gardens are not going to feed the World of 7+ billions of humans, they are actually another example of foolish and selfish behavior, because they are all less efficient than the mass production of food on corporate farms.

I still plan to grab my piece. I just thought to point out that self-sufficiency is yet another form of selfishness.

[ROCKMAN]

Guess instead of KJ I'll have to call you "LG" from now on... you dirty Land Grabber.

[Keith_McClary]

Guess instead of KJ I'll have to call you "LG" from now on... you dirty Land Grabber.

You O&G folks just rent land temporarily.

[GHung]

Jeez, KJ, there is the concept of constructive selfishness. If you don't take care of yourself, you can't help take care of anyone else. Leverage your good fortune to improve the fortune of others. None of us break even, but at least we can reduce our own weight.

[Paulo1]

We have had Germans pretty much buying up all the old homesteads and ranches in BC interior as they came up for sale over the years. Locals don't like it. After awhile they fit in and the resentment fades. Some rich guy from Montana has been doing it where I live....His life doesn't intersect anyone elses around here. He is an oddity convinced, (go figure)...US is going down. He just bought 160 acres from a friend of mine, (for his daughter). We have yet to see her.

So far the Chinese haven't bought up the grain lands on the Prarries. Give 'em time. Of course they would have to live here and farm it as hired workers do better working in oil/gas/potash for big dinero. I don't think people would work it for them unless they matched wages.

Paulo

[ROCKMAN]

Paulo - Wouldn't be the first time huge numbers of Chinese are transported to western regions to help commerce. I imagine there are tens of millions of young Chinese who can be taught to drive a combine (made in China, of course) who would be thrilled to take wages lower then Canadians.

[efarmer]

Why not Turf Tryster? Land Grabber sound like a sister product to the Garden Weasel.

[careinke]

Note however that family sized farms, permaculture, and even old-fashioned victory gardens are not going to feed the World of 7+ billions of humans, they are actually another example of foolish and selfish behavior, because they are all less efficient than the mass production of food on corporate farms.

Really? do you have any research on this, or did you just make it up? I think you have been brainwashed.

I guess two can play at this game.

Note however that conventional farming is ultimately unsustainable and will eventually collapse. On the other hand, permaculture can feed twelve billion people sustainably.

[radon1]

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_a ... _gmos.html

Ukraine opens up for Monsanto, land grabs and GMOs

Hidden from mainstream media exposure, the World Bank and IMF loan has opened up Ukraine to major corporate inroads, writes Joyce Nelson. Loan conditions are forcing the deeply indebted country to open up to GMO crops, and lift the ban on private sector land ownership. US corporations are jubilant at the 'goldmine' that awaits them.

Finally, a little-known aspect of the crisis in Ukraine is receiving some international attention.

The California-based Oakland Institute recently released a report revealing that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under terms of their $17 billion loan to Ukraine, would open that country to genetically-modified (GM) crops and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture.

The report is entitled 'Walking on the West Side: the World Bank and the IMF in the Ukraine Conflict'.

[careinke]

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2526593/ukraine_opens_up_for_monsanto_land_grabs_and_gmos.html

Ukraine opens up for Monsanto, land grabs and GMOs

Hidden from mainstream media exposure, the World Bank and IMF loan has opened up Ukraine to major corporate inroads, writes Joyce Nelson. Loan conditions are forcing the deeply indebted country to open up to GMO crops, and lift the ban on private sector land ownership. US corporations are jubilant at the 'goldmine' that awaits them.

Finally, a little-known aspect of the crisis in Ukraine is receiving some international attention.

The California-based Oakland Institute recently released a report revealing that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under terms of their $17 billion loan to Ukraine, would open that country to genetically-modified (GM) crops and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture.

The report is entitled 'Walking on the West Side: the World Bank and the IMF in the Ukraine Conflict'.

Oh but this is a good thing. It lets us sell more herbici.........I mean feed more starving people.

[ROCKMAN]

"On the other hand, permaculture can feed twelve billion people sustainably." Then the obvious question: why isn't it sustainably feeding the 7 billion we have now?

[careinke]

"On the other hand, permaculture can feed twelve billion people sustainably." Then the obvious question: why isn't it sustainably feeding the 7 billion we have now?

Hmmm.... Monsanto, USDA, the petroleum industry, Conagra, come to mind off the top of my head.

Seriously though, the answer is, some of us are working on that. It's just now starting to take off. In the end it will be feeding those people.

[KaiserJeep]

Maybe permaculture costs more than using mechanized agriculture fuelled by petroleum fuels and fertilizers/herbicides/pesticides made from petroleum feedstocks....

Because if it was actually cheaper than what is often called "agricultural science" around the MidWestern grain belt where I grew up, it would have displaced those admittedly unsustainable practices.

'Fess up, permaculture costs more, takes more labor, and produces "Boutique Foodstuffs".

careinke, I'm NOT trying to bust your chops on this, BTW. I know you are a true believer and I respect that. But if you are really interested in promoting permaculture as a GOOD THING, you also should not be deceiving yourself about the benefits.

Because relatively cheap oil makes it possible to grow a head of cabbage in California's "Lettuce Bowl" (Monterey Peninsula) and ship it to NYC far cheaper than one can be grown in a garden or greenhouse in NY State. That one small section of California (aka the Salinas Valley) plus one area around Yuma AZ (the so-called "Winter Salad Bowl") between them produce 90% of the lettuce and cabbage and several other vegetables consumed in the USA.

If you want to argue that your cabbage or lettuce tastes better, is more nutritious, or better for the planet, I would not dispute that. But over half the world is barely scraping by and the drought in California may eventually kill more people in Africa and Asia than live in the USA, because our grain is costing a few percentage points more today.

I do NOT believe the corporations you mentioned are in a conspiracy to suppress permaculture, either. I just think permaculture doesn't scale up very well to the production levels needed to fill hundreds of ships with food needed in other countries, by billions of people.

So work faster and smarter. It starts with admitting what the real issues are.