Wheat crop excess denied to the starving

[Klam]

The following article was in todays London Metro newspaper.  A free give away paper that I normally pick up at the tube station on my way to work.

"Millions of tonnes of wheat are going to waste in India because there's nowhere to keep the grain dry.
After a bumper harvest, sacks full of the foodstuff are being left to rot - despite millions of the country's children starving.
Sharad Yadav, a key opposition leader. said it was a "Colossal waste of food".  He added that while people are dying of hunger, food grain is rotting in the open."

It has been a particularly good year for wheat crops in India but as a result, the country's storage space has run out.
Food minister KV Thomas said the government was taking "all necessary steps" to increase storage and working with the private sector to buy new warehouses.

About 42% of Indians under the age of five are malnourished.

Selling the grain at a subsidised price is not possible because it will expand the fiscal deficit, economists say."



After reading the article and being not too familiar with the "bean counters" lingo, I was a little confused as to what "expand the fiscal deficit" meant.
What I interpret from this phrase is that they are not going to allow someone to buy it at a subsidised rate and then risk the export of  it damaging the trade price of the good stuff.


The mind (mine anyway) boggles at the waste of a resource in this way

[Shuffler]

Uncle Bens would ship huge amounts over to those third world countries and stand by as those countries leadership let it rot on the docks.

This is why we should just not try to help those countries. It waste food that could be out to better use for our own.

[Dragon]

That's what happens when the gruberment gets control of things.  

[PFactorDave]

This is what happens when "feel good" types blindly throw money at a problem without actually exposing the real issue.

[F22RaptorDude]

To many people on this planet, and the numbers are still growing. Here's my question, why the heck are you going to have more kids when your original kids are starving as it is? Or better why have kids when you yourself are starving? Humanity is doing this to itself, why should we be involved in this

[Shuffler]

To many people on this planet, and the numbers are still growing. Here's my question, why the heck are you going to have more kids when your original kids are starving as it is? Or better why have kids when you yourself are starving? Humanity is doing this to itself, why should we be involved in this

In some countries it is an accepted practice to have lots of kids. The idea is the same as in the animal world. Have lots and some will survive. Some folks make a living pointing out the starvation over there to raise funds which for the most part just line someone's pockets. They fail to point out that it is the accepted way of life in another country and business as usual.

[Seanaldinho]

See Rule #14

[F22RaptorDude]

See Rule #14

[Seanaldinho]

School doesn't have that surprisingly. I've checked and asked, its absent 

You should be able to take it at a college as one of your social studies its an interesting course.

[F22RaptorDude]

You should be able to take it at a college as one of your social studies its an interesting course.

I was planning on doing that actually, this just makes me want to do it even more

[Motherland]

See Rule #14

[Reschke]

See Rule #14

[nrshida]

Humanity is doing this to itself, why should we be involved in this

  Insightful comment. 

[rogwar]

See Rule #14

[zack1234]

A friend of mine sister is a medic in the UK army and was explaining they use the black market contacts to distribute medical aid in Nigeria to the outlining villages.

I said that was shocking, but she stated that was the best method to distribute aid in a third world country.

The infrastructure in these countries are incapable of dealing with such issues as we are in the developed world dealing with "Our" certain problems.

India's infrastructure is mainly agricutural and village based and distrubution on a vast scale is not viable.

Its easy to jump to conclusions based on the usual themes ie population exceedind supply etc.

This has more to say about the developed socities than those in the third world.

In India they probly say silly people in the developed countries eating to much and have health issues due to eating to much