Arab News points out:
But Bush’s analysis has no takers in India. Figures released by the US Department of Agriculture for 2007 say each Indian eats only 178 kg of grain in a year, while a US citizen consumes 1,046 kg. Likewise, milk consumption per person per year is 36 kg in India, while in the United States is 78 kg. While each American consumes 45.5 kg poultry meat per year, an Indian takes in only 1.9 kg. Besides, while the US per capita grain consumption rose from 946 kg in 2003 to 1,046 kg in 2007, India’s per capita consumption remained static during this period.
Bush's remarks were termed by the Indian Defence Minister as a "cruel joke".
I've collected various reactions here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/5/01711/17237/345/509182
Bush has the analytic and research power of the entire Federal Government at his hands and ought not to make such statements. His own Department of Agriculture contradicts him. National Public Radio story quoted an economist (sorry I forget his name) saying that the food trade figures for China show that China is not responsible either.
But the idea that increased consumption in India and China has resulted in the world food shortage is uncritically accepted as true by far too many people.
1,046 kg is a lot of grains. That mean around 3 Kg per day. That figure doesn't look correct.
ReplyDeleteThe per capita consumption is computed by (all the grain consumed in the country)/(number of people).
ReplyDeleteIf grain has non-human-food uses - such as feeding cattle, making ethanol, that would be included.
Most grain in the US goes to feeding animals for dairy, beef,poultry, pork.
Yes, and this would be a valid method of computing per capita consumption. After all, that dairy, beef, poultry, pork is being consumed, at a much higher carbon footprint, than the corresponding levels of consumption of those items in India.
ReplyDeleteIt is their beef industry that consumes a lot of food grains to produce all the " Flesh " they munch on.
ReplyDeleteThe level of consumerism reflects a civilization made from pure and absolute greed.
Augadha