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I don’t know about you but I am convinced that Global Warming is very “real” and I am also convinced we are not taken this “real” problem seriously enough. I am also convinced that global warming is now not only an environmental problem, today Global Warming is a very “real” socio-economical problem.
One way out of Global Warming is a draconian reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, not a simple task by any means.
There are serious economical and technological factors involved. On the economical side Richard Tol, leading author of the U.N. climate panel, stated that to cut carbon emissions enough to meet the 2 degrees goal set by the industrialized nations, the leading industrial nations would have to slap a huge tax on carbon-emitting-fuels. One that by the end of the century will reach something in the order of $4000 per metric ton of Carbon Dioxide, or $35 per gallon of gas ($9 per liter). According to Tol, the impact of a tax hike of this magnitude could reduce world GDP 12.9% in 2100. Good Luck with that one…
On the technological side of things, at the present moment most of the word’s electricity comes from coal. For two of the biggest emerging economies, China and India, the production of electricity based on coal is about 80%, Ouch!!! And the worst thing is that there isn’t a clean, dependable and most important cheap source of abundant energy that will entice industrialized and emerging economies to make a quick switch from coal based energy.
So what is the solution?
In my opinion one of the solutions is to pour lots of $$$ in R&D looking for technological breakthroughs in energy generation. Unfortunately our beloved leaders are putting the money in other areas that promise little or no chance to solve the real problem. Must have listened to Mr. Paul David Hewson when on the issue of Global Warming he quoted Thomas Friedman’s line “Don’t change your light bulbs – Change your Leaders”.
I also think we need to do our part, we need to be mindful on how use the energy resources that are available to us everyday. Think about it this way: we have a time limit to solve global warming, last time I checked we don’t have anywhere else to live but planet Earth. So it’s still a good idea to change your light bulbs to energy efficient ones.
Think about the future generations and the impact that your decisions will have on them, Please.
Technorati Tags: Global Warming, Carbon Dioxide, U.N. Climate Panel
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I recently read an article in Time magazine concerning one of my favorite dishes, Toro Sahimi (Tuna).
I love Toro Sashimi and every time I have the opportunity, I indulge myself with more than one piece of this Japanese culinary delicacy. There are however a few things I didn’t consider when savoring my delicious chunk of fatty tuna.
Most of the tuna that we eat in the Bay Area comes from the port town of General Santos City in Southern Philippines, one of the world’s great tuna-fishing ports. The best tuna will sell for about $700 wholesale. After being cleaned and put in dry ice it takes the 10.30 a.m. flight to Manila. The next day, the fish will be in Tokyo, Seattle of California.
So think about the Carbon footprint my nice and delicious little piece of sushi left behind. And it doesn’t end here, in September the European Commission recommended that the European Union support a temporary suspension of the global trade of Atlantic Bluefin tune. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that Alantic Bluefin that spawn in the Mediterranean could disappear from those waters as early as 2012. As you might have guessed the ban was shot down by E.U. members with high stakes in the tuna trade.
Scientists believe stocks of southern bluefin around Australia have probably fallen more than 90% since 1950 and could continue to drop.
In order words the amount of tuna we are consuming worldwide is not sustainable and the consequences of not having tuna in our oceans could be disastrous for the ocean ecosystem and probably many economies.
So next time I go for sushi I might choose an alternative dish, probably Corn Sushi. With nice supersweet corn grown in the Northwest of the USA.
We can make a difference, one mouth at the time… Leave some of that delicious tuna to your great-grandchildren.
Technorati Tags: Tuna, Sustainable, Carbon Footprint
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On Sunday, August 16th, Yoko Hiserote and Chiaki Tanaka rubbed shoulders with the Golf Stars at the 91st PGA Championship held at Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, MN. We understand Yoko even shared a few words of wisdom with Japanese Golf Rock Star, Ryo Ishikawa, also known by the nickname “Hanikami Oji” (literally, “Bashful Prince”), we are not sure what the conversation was about, probably just giving him an update on Corn conditions observed during the week.
All of them had a great time courtesy of Seneca Foods Corporation.
Picture of Chiaki at the 91st PGA Championship
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It is Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in Japan! Hanami has been a custom in Japan since the 7th century when the aristocrats enjoyed the beautiful Sakura (cherry blossom) and wrote poems about them. Sakura is a symbol of Japan and it is said that there are over four hundred varieties of trees. The blossoms flower at different times throughout Japan depending on location and weather conditions. The milder the climate the earlier the blossoms open. For instance on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, cherry blossoms open as early as January while in Tokyo the first blossom (kaika) usually takes place at the end of March. There is nothing more breathtaking than walking under the trees when they are in full bloom (mankai). People from all walks of life head out to the parks where they have picnics under the trees – they eat and drink and have a wonderful time – it is truly a special moment in Japan when Hanami is taking place.
Technorati Tags: Hanami, Cherry Blossom, Japan
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Did you know that Japan’s agricultural ministry estimates that 23 million tons of food was discarded in 2007, about JPY11 trillion worth – that is the monetary equivalent of Japan’s annual agricultural output. It also cost about JPY2 trillion to process that waste. In Tokyo alone food accounts for 30 percent of all household waste. That’s about 6,000 tons a day, which is enough to keep 4.5 million starving people alive for a day!
Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven discard food as the expiration date looms close, however recently they are recycling the foods into fertilizer and livestock feed – well maybe responsible, but it only justifies the wasting of more food.
Freshness of food is extremely important in Japan, especially in the last few years with all of the food labeling scandals, however food safety is not the only factor. There was a survey done by the Sankei Shinbun last fall and based on this survey Japanese diners never ask for a doggy bag because they are afraid it might offend the restaurant owner. Little by little, consumers are becoming less self – conscious about taking home leftovers and you can now buy special colorful containers made especially for doggy bag purpose. What does that mean – Japan’s solution to food waste – make it fashionable!
Technorati Tags: Japan, Food Waste, Doggy Bag
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I am in a business trip in Australia trying to convince my buyers that the price increases we are experiencing on vegetables are more part of an structural change rather than a cyclical phenomena. They are probably so tired of listening that, yes, prices are going up so they rather talk about something else hoping that the tune will change in the short term.
Once again I don’t think this is going to happen and some of the reasons that help me substantiate my belief that prices will remain on the high side for a considerable period of time are:
1) Crude oil has hit record prices of USD$135.00, this point needs no explanation, I think we all feel it when filling up our tanks with precious petrol. Remember oil is a limited resource, we can’t achieve unlimited growth with limited resources.
2) Energy Policies around the world. The agricultural output in the USA, Europe and Latin American countries has shifted to crops destined to the production of biofuels. So our farmers are now either competing against biofuel producers to get land to grow human consumption crops or have decided altogether to just plant crops intended for biofuels.
3) Worldwide inventories for basic soft commodities such as corn, wheat, soy bean and rice are at decades low. Part of why this has happened has to do of course with supply and demand however the fact that production subsides to farmers have been decoupled from production in the USA and Europe has played and important role in the reduction of inventories.
4) Global demand has also played an important role, the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have experienced a rise in per capita income which has lead into changes in dietary habits. More and more Chinese are now going to restaurants such as the successful KFC and are eating more and more chicken. So how does this affect the global demand for grains in average you need 2 kilos of grain to produce 1 kilo of Chicken.
5) Climate Change. Prolonged Drought in Australia, the extreme harsh Chinese winter and the severe frost in Argentina and recent poor conditions in agricultural producing countries have resulted in a reasonable reduction in agricultural output. The scary thing here is that if we don’t do something radical to fight climate change things will not get any better.
At the of the day I think we all know prices are indeed going up since we are starting to feel it in our wallets. For us in living in developed economies this might force us to change some our habits like waiting a bit longer before we buy the new 108″ plasma screen however I challenge you to think about most of the people that live in 3rd world countries, for them the recent increases might mean skipping a meal and sometimes not eating at all.
This is a really serious matter, high prices and shortages have lead to riots in countries like the Phillippines, Haiti, Egypt and some African countries.
I do hope for prices to come down however I don’t have a clear answer as far as how this would be achieved, at least not in the short run.
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Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer announced last week that it would ration the rice each customer can purchase at it Sam’s Club stores because of recent “supply and demand trends”. “We are limiting the sales of Jasmine, Basmati and Long Grain Rice to four bags per member visit” the company said in a statement.
Costco, the USA largest warehouse retailer, last week made a public announcement stating it had seen increased demand for basic food staples as well like rice and flour. The company had a two 50 lb limit on rice purchases as well to keep people from hoarding and reselling the rice.
So how do we put the current rice situation into perspective?
The world has over 50 000 edible plants. Just three of them, rice, maize and wheat, provide 60 percent of the world’s food energy intake. Rice is the predominate staple for fifteen countries in Asia and the Pacific, ten countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, one country in North Africa and seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa according to the FAO. This translates to the fact that rice is a staple food for close to 50% of the world’s population.
Over the past 3 months rice has surged from USD$400 MT in January to USD$770 in March. In the past week, the benchmark Pathumthani Thai rice was priced at $930/MT, which is up 52% in just a month, according to the Thai Rice exporters association.
Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has recently rejected selling some of its two million tones of rice stockpile as prices soar towards USD$1000/MT. As a result, global shortages and hoarding are emerging, with food riots recently in the Philippines, Haiti, Egypt and many African nations.
The UN warned in February that 36 countries, including China, face food emergencies this year as prices of rice and wheat soar, and world stockpiles of coarse grains fall to multi-decades lows.
So what is causing the increase in prices? Supply and demand? Yes, but what is behind this supply and demand equation.
There is no doubt that weather-related issues can take part of the blame however not all of it. Farmers in North America, Europe and some Latin American countries are switching to crops destined to the production of biofuels.
Government food subsidies paid to North American and European farmers have decoupled from production, this has put an end to an era of overproduction as global inventories keep coming down.
Global population keeps going up, the United Nations expect population to reach 8.13 billion by 2030, this is a 26% increase from 2005.
The industrialization of the Chinese economy is driving rise in per capita incomes hence an increase in living standards. So Chinese people have now more disposable income to buy food, the result is a change away from staple foods to include a more balanced diet of animal protein and dairy products. Nevertheless this dietary change has a multiplier effect on coarse grain consumption. Consensus is that two kilos of grain produce one kilo of chicken or one liter of milk. Three to four kilos of grain are required to produce 1 kg of pork and six to eight kilos are needed to produce 1 kg of beef.
So it isn’t only rice, it’s a bit more complex than just rice I would say. The effect of what is happening to staple foods in our global village is something worth considering since it is going to affect our pockets sooner rather than later.
Technorati Tags: Noon International, Rice, Food Riots, Wal-Mart, Costco
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Environmental issues are the second most frequent subject of public protest in China after disputes over land. Wonder why?
Some of the actual facts are:
80% of China’s electricity comes from coal; the sulfur that spews from the smokestacks of coal-fired power stations causes acid rain and the soot generates smog.
The OECD cites a finding that air pollution alone reduces China’s output by between 3% and 7% a year, mainly because of respiratory ailments that keep workers at home.
The amount of water available per head of population is only a quarter of the global average. In the arid North and West of China the figure is only one tenth of the global average.
Two in three cities already suffer from water shortages of some sort.
Groundwater in China is being pumped out much faster than is being replenished.
Most cities don’t treat sewage water at all; Beijing the hosting city for the 2008 Olympics doesn’t treat 100% of their sewage water.
Over half the water in the seven biggest river basins is unfit for consumption, according to a recent report from the World Bank. The resulting health problems reduce rural output by 2%, the World Bank found. The cost to industry and agriculture of dirty and scarce water sap GDP by another percentage point.
The World Bank put the price tag for China’s air and water pollution at $100 billion a year, or about 5.8% of GDP.
China’s paramount environmental regulator estimates the annual cost of environmental damage at 8 – 13% of GDP – much the same as the overall economic growth rate.
These are really scary numbers which make me think about Thomas Friedman, NY Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author, quote on climate change: “Don’t change your light bulbs; change your leaders.†Bono from U2 during the recent Davos Forum suggested changing both, I concur.
Technorati Tags: Environment, Water pollution, Air pollution, Beijing 2008 Olympics, GDP, World Bank
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Senior Chinese officials have visited China this week to pledge that food safety is a prime concern to China and that the incident will be seriously investigated. Despite this and other announcements from Senior and Non-Senior officials in China consumers are not quite convinced. Daiei Inc., one of Japan’s major supermarket chains, stated that the sales of frozen food, mainly of Chinese origin, have dropped at least 30% compared to last year since the news of the poisoned dumplings emerged last week. On the other hand sales of produce used to make dumplings went up.
Ito Yokado, another supermarket operator, set up special areas inside its stores selling produce used to make your own dumplings.
Both China and Japan will have to handle this with extreme care since China is the second biggest supplier of food into Japan after the USA.
We’ll keep you posted on how this saga develops.
Technorati Tags: Contaminated Dumplings, food safety, China, supermarket
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released data showing that India and Mexico have worse records than our flavor of the month: China.
The US FDA figures show a total of 1,763 food shipments rejected from India, 1,480 shipments from Mexico and 1,368 shipments from China in year ended June 2007.
Some of India’s spices and seafood contained salmonella while Mexico’s seafood, chili and cheese were found unsafe to eat. China presented a scenario similar to Mexico on seafood, bean curd (tofu) and noodles.
We can’t really tell the amount of rejected product since the FDA didn’t release this data, so it could have been a 1k box or an entire container load. I think we should also put into perspective the amount of product exported into the USA from each country in order to give this analysis a bit more relevance.
Fourth on the list was Dominican Republic followed by Denmark, Vietnam, Japan, Italy and Indonesia, all of them having rejected product either for sanitary or for mislabeling reason.
Something to think about…
Technorati Tags: Â FDA, India, Mexico, China, Shipments Rejected
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