WHY IS THIS NOT IN THE NEWS?

(NaturalNews) The year 2011 is shaping up to be one of the most treacherous years in recent history, at least as far as the nation's weather patterns are concerned. While much of the Midwestern US continues to get drenched by record rainfall and torrential flooding, the Southern US is experiencing tremendous heat and drought conditions that, combined with flood conditions to the north, will have devastating effects on the nation's food supply.

Extreme heat threatens US agriculture

For several weeks now, extreme heat conditions have afflicted much of the Southern and Midwestern US. According to the National Weather Service, Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Warnings have been issued in 17 different states, with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in many areas, and heat indexes topping 115 degrees F (http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-...).

The 17 states under heat advisories or warnings include Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. And cities that have reached record highs include Oklahoma City, Okla., at 105 degrees F, Tulsa, Okla., at 107 degrees F, Medicine Lodge, Kan., at 111 degrees F, and Columbus, Miss., at a scorching 116 degrees F (http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-...).

Besides threatening human life, these extreme heat conditions have contributed to the widespread destruction of US food crops. Back in June, WATE in Knoxville, Tenn., reported that crop fields in the eastern part of the state were wilting from extreme heat conditions (http://www.wate.com/story/14899573/...).

Similar crop failures have also taken place as a result of extreme heat in Alabama (http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-heat-...), North Carolina (http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-heat-...), and various other southern states as well.

And crops are not the only thing being harmed by the heat, either. Livestock across the Midwest and South are threatened by extremely hot and humid conditions that are either limiting production of their feed, or flat-out killing them.

"High temperatures, high humidity, low wind speed -- those are the three things that really create problems for cattle in confinement," said Todd Donner, spokesman for the Kansas Livestock Association, to The Kansas City Star in a recent interview. Both crops and livestock across the state face devastation as a result of such conditions.

"My biggest concern with the heat and wind is the fact we are already dry and our pastures need rain," added Ken Grecian, a Kansas rancher who has already had to cull back his herd by as much as 15 percent due to lack of adequate feeding grass, according to reports. "Our grass is less than half the growth we would normally expect due to the dry weather. I am concerned we are going to be running out of grass if we don't have precipitation out here in the next week or so" (http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/2...).

Extreme drought threatens US agriculture

To make matters even worse, many of the areas being hit by scorching heat are also experiencing devastating drought conditions that have left land parched and unusable.

A recent report in The New York Times (NYT) explains that at least 14 US states, stretching from Florida all the way to Arizona, are experiencing Dust Bowl-type conditions. Some of the worst drought areas happen to be in Texas, which NaturalNews reported back in March was experiencing its worst drought situation in over 44 years.

Texas, of course, is the nation's largest cattle producer, and the second-largest producer of winter wheat (http://www.naturalnews.com/031853_T...), and every single one of its 254 counties has been declared a "natural disaster area" as a result of extreme drought conditions.

"It's been horrible so far," said Mike Newberry, a Georgia farmer who grows cotton, corn, and peanuts, to the NYT concerning his crop failures. "There is no description for what we've been through since we started planting corn in March."

The same NYT piece explains that Oklahoma, which is hardly faring much better than Texas, is 72 percent short of its normal summer rainfall at this point in time. In other words, the state has only experienced a little over 25 percent of its normal rainfall, which in practical terms is utterly devastating the state's agriculture.

Extreme flooding threatens US agriculture

To top it all off, the extreme flood conditions that have devastated portions of many states along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers have also destroyed millions of acres of farmland in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and various other areas (http://www.naturalnews.com/032366_M...).

And the situation is only set to get worse as built-up snowpack in the northern Midwest and Canada continues to melt throughout the summer, increasing pressure on the levees and dams along the rivers (http://www.naturalnews.com/032870_F...).

This deadly combination of heat, drought, and flooding will eventually cause food prices to increase sharply as supply diminishes and demand increases. And despite the fact that the mainstream media is largely downplaying or ignoring the situation, its very real consequences will soon manifest themselves -- so now is the time to get prepared.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/u...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032994_food_supply_extreme_weather.html#ixzz1SZTiIRZM

 

Record heat, drought,

EAT AMERICAN MADE, OR...!

China has become an exporter of poisons and the poisons are in everything from toothpaste, eggs, teas, medicines, baby foods, herbs, vitamins, pet foods, fish, wheat, rice and who dares do guess what else? Given that the FDA inspects only 1% of food imports and tests only 0.5%, how safe do you think our food supply is?

China is one of the world’s leading producers of rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, soybeans and pork. China is also the world’s leading producer of vitamin “C” and B12. Almost all of China’s food exports have come under close scrutiny by their trade partners. There have been bans by the EU, Japan and the U.S. What is unknown is what ingredients from China have made their way into the food production process. Even within China there have been reports of massive food poisonings including adults and babies.

According to the China Economic review, “The US rejects more food shipments from China than from any other country, AFP reported. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected some 257 Chinese food shipments last month, with at least 137 labeled "filthy" after testing positive for salmonella or for containing banned ingredients. The FDA seized more than 1,000 shipments of tainted cosmetics, food supplements and counterfeit medicine from China last month. Earlier this month, 4,000 pets died in the US from eating tainted pet food imported from China.”(5/21/07).

On Friday, May 25th, officials in Costa Rica seized more than 350 tubes of toothpaste that contained chemicals found in brake fluid and antifreeze. The toothpaste was made in China. There have been reported deaths from the use of such products in other countries.

There can be no doubt that all food imports from China must receive closer scrutiny. Is China the only country with tainted agricultural products? The answer is no and, in fact, the U.S. has had its share of banned agricultural products. The issue is the scope and the nature of the problem. Reports that Chinese tea is dried by using hot exhausts of trucks that run on leaded gasoline is very disturbing. And, the issue seems widespread across the total array of products from China from wheat to toothpaste.

The U.S. must put more money into its food safety and inspection programs. Aside from the immediate threat of poisoned imported foods, who knows what long term effects might emerge from hidden chemicals that have found there way into our food supply? Is it worth the risk to our children and grandchildren to allow them to ingest low level toxins?

The U.S. must alter its food policy. There is no reason to import food into this country. We have been the twentieth century food basket of the world and if we are not careful, we will become the 21st Century “death basket” of the world. Food is one item where we do not need to globalize. Impending climate changes will threaten food imports and if we are dependent on those imports, many will needlessly suffer. Once we lose agricultural lands to development, it will be hard to retrieve. Our goal must be to regain our food independence and to strongly support ag-land preservation. We should be thinking along the lines of regionalizing our food production system in the U.S., and not globalization. With fears of spreading contaminations brought on by global warming, the U.S. must give top priority to stabilizing and enhancing our own food production and position ourselves to help others who will definitely be in need. And, while our food system in not perfect; I would eat American any day over imports from who knows where?