With U.S. gas prices steadily creeping up to this summer’s dreaded $4 per gallon mark, it’s bothersome to throw dollars away to fill your SUV’s tank. But next time you’re fueling up, stop griping and think instead of those around the world who cannot even afford to fill their stomachs. Our society is incredibly egocentric. While we complain about losing a few hours’ worth of pay to keep our cars running, several countries, including Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt and Pakistan, are breaking out into riots over the cost of basic foods such as bread and rice.
People in countries like these where the average household income is far less than $1,000 a year are suffering not only because of high-priced imported goods, but also due to the growing demand for food within their own country. Reports on CNN show that although Egyptians grow about half of the wheat they consume, the worldwide demand for wheat is so great that prices at home have also skyrocketed.
What’s driving these prices up? Is it the increase in fuel prices that make it more costly to transport food? Or have we reached Earth’s carrying capacity and simply cannot feed all the mouths we birth? The answer, surprisingly, is neither. They both may be slight contributors to the problem and are certainly issues that need to be addressed, but let’s set those aside for now and return to our SUV at the gas station scenario.
When you swipe your card at the pump, you prefer to get more gallons for your dollar than less. The nation’s complaints flow into the White House where a decision is made. That decision was to decrease our dependency on coal by developing new sources of fuel.
So far so good, right? The problem that arises is what these new fuel sources are made of. President Bush’s idea is E85, or 85 percent ethanol, a corn-based fuel, in every gallon of gasoline.
According to the July 2007 Energy Information Association report, our country consumes nearly 400 million gallons of gasoline each day. One bushel of corn will produce 2.5 gallons of ethanol.
Without even doing the math, it’s obvious a lot of corn will need to be grown or imported, and many U.S. farmers have devoted their land to solely growing corn for ethanol use.
It’s an amusing cycle, really. We complain about gas prices going up, and then food prices go up because we’re throwing all our food into our gas tanks. What was thought to be a simple solution to the fuel crisis is worse than just a few extra dollars out of our pockets — it’s causing a worldwide famine.
And while $200 million in emergency food aid is being distributed courtesy of the U.S. Agency for International Development, this cycle will continue.
Americans are obsessed with consumption. Holding the title of earth’s most obese nation, we are a disgrace to humanity. We eat and throw away leftovers that could feed a family for a week. We sit and enjoy the A.C. and leave our cars running in the car rider line at public schools. We leave lights on in closed buildings. We have driven ourselves into debt over a senseless war. We waste money, food, fuel, energy — everything. And now we’re starving millions of people worldwide.
E-mail Jessie at [email protected]
