MSN talks about investing in seed companies

Noreen Thomas from My Sister's Farm sent out the following link to a story in MSN Money: Could We Run Out of Food?. It is a story about the shortages of food that create an opportunity for investment. The summary line says, "Biofuel production, poor harvests and emerging nations' growing appetites are emptying the world's pantry, sending prices soaring. It's a good time to invest in agricultural stocks." I find the story interesting because it recommends putting money into the big seed companies like Monsanto, a move that, in my opinion, will further consolidate the control of food worldwide by a handful of companies. There is a video in the story too in which a consultant talks about why he thinks investing in these companies is a good idea.

The recommendations in this story are in stark contrast to Fifty Million Farmers, by Richard Heinberg (originally published Published on Friday, November 17, 2006 by Energy Bulletin). About halfway through this essay, Heinberg says, "Is it possible, then, that a solution lies in another direction altogether—perhaps in deliberately de-industrializing production, but doing so intelligently, using information we have gained from the science of ecology, as well as from traditional and indigenous farming methods, in order to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining total yields at a level high enough to avert widespread famine?" About three quarters of the way through, he suggests that we redefine farmers: "We should perhaps start thinking of a farmer as someone with 3 to 50 acres, who uses mostly hand labor and twice a year borrows a small tractor that she or he fuels with ethanol or biodiesel produced on-site."

It would seem that there is a growing consensus that a worldwide food crisis, caused ultimately by a shortage of petroleum, is on the horizon. These two articles suggest alternatives, the first being to make investments and ride the crisis to increased wealth, the second suggesting that everyone start taking a more active role in producing their own food. Personally, I favor the second.