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See the original image at guardian.co.uk —

Gallery: A new food crisis in Ethiopia

guardian.co.uk — Some 4.5 million Ethiopians need emergency food aid due to failed rains and high food prices, reviving grim memories of the country's 1984-1985 famine, which killed more than 1 million 2 / 8 A malnourished baby cries in his mother's lap at the M édecins Sans Frontières intensive care unit near the southern town of Sheshemene

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MacBookForMe, on 06/14/2008, -2/+26Poor people, poor children...and we have a health problem, because we eat too much?
- Nac85, on 06/15/2008, -2/+8The incredibly sad and unfortunate part... is that even though many people find these things depressing, the thought will remain for a few hours, and then vanish from our minds.
  
  It is sad... but even I do that as well.
- Duncan3, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Just wait. Corn isn't getting in the ground and ug99 could hit wheat any time. Soon that will be here.
- acegi, on 06/15/2008, -1/+5It's not the over consumption that's causing this shortage.
  
  distribution of food simply suck balls. grocery stores stock more food than they really need, and the food that doesn't get sold end up rotting and become organic waste which goes to landfill.
  
  it's retarded if you think about it.
- fr3ddie, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Reminds me of the SNL skit with Bill Clinton intercepting everyones food to imitate the warlords. ;D
- Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Our fatness only hurts us, their reproductive problem kills their children. I'd say we have the moral high ground.
xpectmore, on 06/14/2008, -16/+1So very heart breaking.
XpectMore
- Blandyman, on 06/15/2008, -0/+13Don't sign your posts. Idiot.
UrbanVoyeur, on 06/15/2008, -1/+44Far more people that the land can support. The Ethiopian economy that cannot produce enough value to import food for it's people. Perhaps the land can produce more, but not with intervention which the economy cannot at this time sustain. Ethiopia will always be on the edge of starvation until its population is reduced to a size that it's land and economy can sustain.

We can wring our hands and cry lamentations for the dead and dying all we want, but until the fundamental issue is addressed - population vs resources, nothing will change.
- LivingMachine, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2Well said, unfortunately it means that the very young and innocent will have to suffer and pay the ultimate cost every year. Keep this in mind, their are governments and organizations that will only help/support those who have children. So therefore, most of these people while understanding that giving birth means unforgivable hardship to the young are forced into submission just to receive necessary support.
  
  Change does not happen through faith and hope, but through education and opportunity.
- osama1234, on 06/15/2008, -6/+4You have to take this in the historical context in not just of the area but also of international fiddling of domestic ethiopian affairs. Yes ethiopia has had famines in the past, and yes the weather doesn't always seem to be the people's side, but you have to keep in mind the human aspects that prevent from ethiopia from being self sufficient in the longer run. And it isn't a matter of population.
  
  The famines in the 70's can be blamed on the land system that favoured the rich at the expense of the poor. The famines in the 80's can be blamed on a counterinsergency that was occuring, and the famines in the 90's squarely at the international monetary institutions (read:IMF and creditors).
  
  Ethiopia had learned its lessons and had established emergency grain reserves after the famine of the 84-85. IF the ethiopians were left to their own devices and allowed to run these reserves, they would have been fine in the crisis of 1999-2000. Instead at the force of the IMF (and international creditors) again land 'reforms' made it such that some commercial farms produced surpluses (not all peasant farms) and this surplus was exported instead of filling the emergency reserves, which would soon be dismantled entirely for the sake of exporting as much as possible to repay external debt (to the glee of creditors).
  
  So we have blood on our hands, we really ought to shut the ***** up instead of claiming a population issue. Not to mention the general 'free market' speculation that has sky rocketed the price of staple foods isn't going to help the poor. We should check what policies we've been forcing upon poor countries forcibly thru the IMF and neo-liberal agents before we go about judging others.
  - WoollyMittens, on 06/15/2008, -0/+6We? Nobody asked me a goddamned thing.
    - osama1234, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0IMF = international organization which WE are all a part of. And yes of course the IMF isn't going to ask what you want, why would they, when they already have an agenda to push.
    - winampman2, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1You're right for the most part. The IMF loans money to poor countries so that they can be in more debt. We as citizens aren't "part of" the IMF though. Our governments are send representatives to the IMF.
- iloveazngurlzs, on 06/15/2008, -3/+3maybe people should leave ethopia. Its been bad for years so, gtfo then.
  - giant.robot, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2How exactly do you propose they leave? The people starving don't have any money or food (hence the starvation). Ethiopia's neighboring countries don't want or need a bunch of starving immigrants. So even if the average Ethiopian could pack up and move where would they move to?
- drakethegreat, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Well you can at least donate so that at least a few have it ok for a short period of time. Its better then nothing and just think about it this way. Whats more important, a new video game, shirt, phone, computer part, etc. or helping someone survive for longer. Plus it will make you feel better to think that despite all the ***** you have to deal with on Digg about how we are just a bunch of liberal lunies, you are the one whose actually following more of Jesus' teachings then all those neocons that sit on here and bitch about how diggers are heartless bastards.
  - Risingashes, on 06/15/2008, -1/+7Every charity that does anything other than installing water wells in Africa is simply making matters worse in the long run. If they provide food fertility explodes, militias are funded, and the people remain complacent while powers within the country screw generations to come.
    
    The only way to end suffering in Africa is through the will of every African to rise up. Donating money simply makes you feel better, it's selfish and shortsighted.
- swiftheart, on 06/15/2008, -1/+6According to Wikipedia, Ethiopia's population in 1983 was 33 million, in 1994 it was 54 million and in 2008 it's 75 million. So in 25 years the population of the country more than doubled.
  
  Certainly it sounds like there are structural problems with its agricultural sector, and those problems rear their head when weather or other factors go to *****. However, for the population to balloon like that, implies to me that, at its core, the land of Ethiopia can feed its people. (It's cuisine is also extremely varied and complex, Ethiopia has a variety of different regions that can grow many types of foods.)
  - SarahC, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2Yeah!
    
    At some point their government should have introduced a system to stop the population exploding and landing them into the same situation they're in now!
    - Risingashes, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2The problem is enforceability.
      
      It's easy to say you have a 1 child policy, it's an entirely different matter to enforce it. They can't exactly tax a family that has no money, and I think bashing the brains out of every second born would attract the wrong publicity.
    - sodade, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2They could ration food. If you have more than one kid - the whole family will have to do with less.
- lattethunder, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1Douchebag.
sgtcaboose, on 06/15/2008, -4/+5*Comment on how it saddens me then do nothing* (I actually sponsor a child, in Zambia though)
- Blandyman, on 06/15/2008, -1/+10You sponsor a child in Zambia? So you send $20 a month so he can go to school and eat dog ***** and what else?
  
  I'm sorry, but the sponsorship system is *****.
- Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -2/+1You're actually perpetuating the problem. Your sponsored child will live long enough to have a child of their own (more than likely several) now you'll have 2 people that depend on your for their survival. Your best bet is to do nothing and let nature sort it out.
pandaboy99, on 06/15/2008, -12/+27Survival of the fittest... obviously these people arent very fit to survive... theres a reason you dont create a family in the middle of the desert.. even animals know better
- 4Paws, on 06/15/2008, -18/+7***** you
- yesimahuman, on 06/15/2008, -2/+25You know, he sort of has a point. I am very empathetic to their troubles, but what can be done from the outside without changing the inside? Aid to these nations does little but calm temporary problems. There are deep issues in these countries that we can not change. They have to change the country themselves.
  - mchisari, on 06/15/2008, -2/+1http://www.verticalfarm.com
    - eryximachus, on 06/15/2008, -4/+6Farming requires:
      
      1) Water
      2) Petroleum based fertilizers
      3) Energy to power farm equipment
      4) A populace that can restrain the desire for immediate gratification.
      
      Ethiopia has none of these things. Agriculture has never worked there. Even if they had the money to buy all the water, fertilizer, and energy they need - the people don't have the discipline to practice agriculture.
      
      These people cannot live independently. Their time on this earth is finished. Let them be subjugated or die. Those are the only paths they can take.
    - bugsy187, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5These people have the same genes as you and I. They don't lack discipline any more than you or I. Their plight is about geography and circumstance.
    - Risingashes, on 06/15/2008, -0/+44) A populace that can restrain the desire for immediate gratification.
      
      Funny how you think American's have that quality.
      
      The moment the ridiculous story about a food crisis came on the air half the country was buying a 4 months supply of rice. I'd like to see Americans forced to eat 2 modest meals a day- it'd be a panic.
    - Alexandru25, on 06/15/2008, -3/+4Thats ***** risingashes. Have you ever heard of the Great Depression and the dustbowl? When Americans were starving great leadership took over and we got through it by working hard. We ***** rationed and ate spam all through WWII so we could go to Europe and save its ass from fascism.
      
      America is a superpower because we ***** worked hard to build it. Democracy, fair government, and economic success is not due to luck but due to hard ***** work.
    - Haecceity, on 06/15/2008, -1/+4You're a good little Nazi, aren't you? And ignorant with it.
      
      "the people don't have the discipline to practice agriculture" -- you have no idea how hard Ethiopian people work, or the levels of discipline it takes to make a living off the land.
      
      "Agriculture has never worked there." So how the ***** do you think people have been living in Ethiopia for the last 60,000+ years? You think they've been living on pizza? You're an ignorant little *****.
      
      "These people cannot live independently." When the Fascist thugs (who I presume you count yourself amongst) invaded Ethiopia they got their asses kicked. It was the first time an African nation had defeated a European nation in war. The Ethiopian people have plenty of independence all right. Once they get themselves a decent government and pull themselves up by their boot straps they have the potential to me their country the Japan of Africa. Ethiopians are very smart people, and very hard-working.
  - osama1234, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1yeah so stop mucking about their business with the IMF and other creditors telling them what they can and cannot do.
  - MetalLizard, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2He might have a point sitting in his comfy armchair analyzing the situation the way he feels fit, but I doubt his "point" would be the same if he had been born in Ethiopia.
    - deathberry, on 06/15/2008, -1/+0Yes, but his logic would still hold regardless. Would you like to address the actual merit of his point?
- saucy05, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2People don't starve because they live in the "middle of a desert" instead, it's because of a drought. They depended mostly on rain water to sustain their farms and when a drought hits they suffer, because they lack irrigation systems.
  
  By your standard almost all of western US is inhabitable, because it's basically a desert
  - diggduggjoe, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2The west doesn't have to be inhabitable, but making large cities doesn't make much sense.
- identifiedlogo, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4FYI, they are not leaving in a desert,. They happen to live in the most fertile part of the country. their problem is they cant irrigate because they dont know how or they dont own the land, the gov owns it.
- bxblox, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4Ethiopia's a desert?
- Haecceity, on 06/15/2008, -2/+91. Ethiopia is not a desert. I've been there. Parts are arid and only suitable for raising cattle, but much of the country resembles Costa Rica.
  
  2. Poor people generally don't have access to birth control.
  
  3. You have some font delusion that animals have access to contraceptives or are otherwise able to control their reproduction. It may surprise you to learn that that's not actually the case. Animals simply starve if there are insufficient resources.
  
  4. Your insinuation that Ethiopians are somehow lesser than animals is a typical piece of racist crap.
  
  5. You have no understanding of Darwinism. The fact that people starve when they have no food (because of drought) says nothing about their "fitness."
  
  6. You're an *****.
  - sodade, on 06/15/2008, -2/+2"2. Poor people generally don't have access to birth control."
    Gee, whose ***** fault is it that they don't have access to birth control? (hint: it's those religious whack jobs ***** the world over with their insane ideas about breeding)
    
    "4. Your insinuation that Ethiopians are somehow lesser than animals is a typical piece of racist crap."
    The value of Ethiopian life is reduced because they are so ***** overpopulated. They are reducing their own value.
    
    "5. You have no understanding of Darwinism. The fact that people starve when they have no food (because of drought) says nothing about their "fitness."
    You don't think that their evolutionary response to short resources of over breeding so that you have a better chance on one of your kids living to breeding age would eventually kill out their population?
    - winampman2, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2"You don't think that their evolutionary response to short resources of over breeding so that you have a better chance on one of your kids living to breeding age would eventually kill out their population?"
      
      Their evolutionary response to short resources? Ethiopians aren't some species of animal. They're ***** Sapiens and have the same genes as you. You have no idea what causes overpopulation. In poor countries, there is no social security system that gives people money at age 65. There are no retirement funds, no IRAs, or 401k plans. There is no health insurance. I doubt they even have a decent banking system to save up money. When they get too old to work, or if they suffer an illness or injury that prevents them from working for a period of time......
      
      ....they ***** starve, unless they have children who can work for them. Children ARE the retirement fund, children ARE insurance. When you're old or sick, why have 1 kid when you can have 4 of them working for you, bringing food and money home?
      
      Do you understand now? Its called poverty. Its a social problem.
- winampman2, on 06/16/2008, -1/+2Survival of the fittest, eh? That's called social darwinism. Rich upper class people in the late 19th century began using that term to justify their wealth. If you were poor and couldn't find a good job, it meant you were inferior to the upper class.
  
  Is it really fair to say that to an Ethiopian? You were born into a family that fed you 3 times a day. They were not. Therefore, they aren't fit to survive, and we should let them die?
  
  I don't think so.
mark076h, on 06/15/2008, -9/+5But we don't care about this stuff, we want to know more about the iPhone 3G!
- Greg2k, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Don't think the iPhone would work in Ethiopia, you know.
  
  By the way, I remember watching news about the elections in Kenya (I think it was Kenya), and you would see people walking around these dirt roads with huge Blackberry banners above them. You could literally see people wearing next to no clothes using a phone.
  
  Weird...
nuno86, on 06/15/2008, -2/+7"A new food crisis" ?
Was there any time space in the last century in which there wasn't a food crisis in Ethiopia?
Anyway, it depends on each one of us to help them.
- Haecceity, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1"Was there any time space in the last century in which there wasn't a food crisis in Ethiopia?"
  
  Yes. Ethiopia can generally feed itself except during extreme droughts, like this one. Poor government doesn't help, of course.
- deathberry, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2What happens if we send food aid? Sure, the current generation would be better off, but the only thing that would guarantee is more Ethiopians in the coming generations, and more starvation.
  
  Those who want to truly help need to address their agricultural industry and infrastructure. Failing that, then birth control.
pl0v3, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4Most/all of the starving countries have their land owned by their government. This case is no exception.
- DeFex, on 06/15/2008, -2/+2Yes its called eminent domain. the government of YOUR country can take your land whenever they like.
  starving countries have been destroyed by humans, or were useless places humans should not live in.
  
  problem is religion causing over breeding, and "growth" economics relying on it.
  - pl0v3, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0what I meant was that these countries do NOT allow private land ownership.
    - goon5000, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0just look at China, as soon as they started letting the farmers own their own land their productivity skyrocketed
  - nuno86, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1I think it's the lack of televisions that is causing over breeding.
    Instead of food, we should send them modern days entertainment, like internet.
    OH, God knows internet helped me prevent my over breeding.
mchisari, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3
Failed rains? Hydroponics uses 10% of the water that traditional geoponics requires.

http://digg.com/environment/The_Vertical_Farm_May_ ...

http://www.thanetearth.com/

It's the desert, they have no shortage of sunlight. Let's get them some glass and steel!
AgmLauncher, on 06/15/2008, -1/+4New?
godfood, on 06/15/2008, -1/+8But they have money for war with Somali and Eritrea to the tune of 400 million.
Anyone else get the feeling from Sudan (Dafur), to Maymar (the cyclone kerfuffle)
the idea of nation states are failing it's citizens. That includes us in the U.S.
education costs - inflation - no money for the poor but we have billions for Iraq
and cooperate welfare. This does not bode well for the future of humanity.
- goon5000, on 06/15/2008, -1/+0"no money for the poor"
  
  shut up *****. some bitch is pumping out 15 kids right now and taking welfare money out of my paycheck to pay for them.
DeFex, on 06/15/2008, -6/+4starving countries have been destroyed by humans, or were useless places humans should not live in.in the first place.
maybe the destroyers came from a far away country near Mexico, but having 6 children ..bad idea.

problem is religion causing over breeding, and "growth" economics relying on it.
- goon5000, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0religion is not causing over breeding, people breed because they like to *****. It's always been that way, before birth control or religions existed people still liked to *****.
p0s3r, on 06/15/2008, -10/+4Thanks liberals for forcing ethanol down our throats and starving people so you can feel good about yourselves. Because that's what it's all about it, isn't it? That you feel good about yourselves? Not that you actually do anything.
- SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4Usually it's those in the right that don't care about others but themselves. Nonetheless, if you were to look at most real leftist papers (not liberal) you'd see them speaking out against ethanol.
  
  http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon04112008.html
  http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/nader030508.html
  http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/ethanol-is-not- ...
  - p0s3r, on 06/15/2008, -4/+1Yeah, they're coming out against it now that their eco-fascist policies are destroying countries. Go find some articles from 5 or 6 years ago that say the same thing.
- Bakebehe, on 06/15/2008, -3/+1Yea, screw alternative fuel, let's burn more oil, and bitch about prices!!!!
  - p0s3r, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2yeah screw oil! let's use the food we normally export for food as our alternative fuel and starve millions of people in 3rd world countries that rely on our once generous exports!
    
    But hey, atleast you'll feel good about yourself!
- argo2d, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1when did bush-lackeys become liberals?
  don't naively associate the real solution that exists in switch grass cellulosic based fibers with the ridiculous corn ethanol schemes of greed motivated farm lobbyists
- Haecceity, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2Ah yes, the farm lobby -- famously liberal they are, those multi-million dollar corporations who control US agriculture and who screw us for every last penny in subsidies that they can get their hands on.
- mempko, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1you mean pro capitalist neo-liberals...yeah, they suck. socialist liberals are awesome though...
SemiSarcastic, on 06/15/2008, -0/+15Just another day on planet Earth.
DetpackJump, on 06/15/2008, -7/+1oppressive religion - oil = East Africa. The genocide and famine won't end until they replace Mohamed with modern education and humanist values.
- WoollyMittens, on 06/15/2008, -1/+3Ethiopia isn't a muslim country you ignorant jerk.
  - DetpackJump, on 06/15/2008, -1/+0A third of the country is Muslim.
- SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2You're a moron. The problem is exploitation. When you have powerful external powers corrupting African leaders into selling out their land to multinational corporations so that they can grow coffee beans to feed the consumption of the west, it has NOTHING to do with religion.
- identifiedlogo, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Dude they are Orthodox Christians, get your facts right. about a third or so are Muslims and the marry one another. deal with that.
M2Mills, on 06/15/2008, -5/+0how come the US doesn't put much effort into helping people in Africa? because it wouldn't "benefit" our nation. thats shady *****. and you thought america was the bringer of light and that we help ppl around the world...psshhhh.
- p0s3r, on 06/15/2008, -4/+2Bush has done more for Africa than any other President in history.
  - fuzzybeard, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2Shouldn't that read "Bush has done more to Africa than any other President in history?"
- Bakebehe, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3Do you realise just how many dollars in aid the U.S. spends a year around the world. Stfu.
Haoie, on 06/15/2008, -2/+3The unfortunate thing is that people in the west are so used to this, that famine/plague/war is practically the norm for them.
- Bakebehe, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2Lol yea, those poor people in the West watching this on tv, can't those crazy people on the dark continent come up with new disasters?
- Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1I've learned that people who have no respect for live aren't worth helping. Anyone who would bring a child into that world to starve and die deserves a bullet, not aid.
rasde, on 06/15/2008, -4/+5nuke
Trickybunny, on 06/15/2008, -1/+4wow...talk about an eye-opener. Yeah gas is crazy-expensive, the economy is slumping and everyone is just *struggling to survive here but its so easy to forget that the rest of the world is literally struggling for their life.

And to Defex - Lets be real for a moment, "religion" didnt cause this and more, at least they are out there doing something about it. What have you done to help fix the problem?
- Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1The difference is, you'll criticize someone with a V8 SUV that drives 30 miles each way to work getting 15 mpg, but you wouldn't dare suggest someone starving shouldn't be having children.
sfacets, on 06/15/2008, -1/+5The Guardian UK's CEO's salary could easily fix the situation.
aetouch4, on 06/15/2008, -5/+2maybe just maybe a small fraction from the $500 billion spend on the war could've actually did some good.
Lognose, on 06/15/2008, -4/+2The world must have been like this for a long time before the "thinkers" showed up....
nitesoIja, on 06/15/2008, -5/+4The gods must be crazy.
- paloooz, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2Good movies. :)
- fuzzybeard, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2Good movie, that.
rustylindquist, on 06/15/2008, -8/+0At the very minimum this should cause us to appreciate the relative wealth and prosperity we enjoy, the abundance of food at our disposal, not to mention the many other blessings we have been given. But then again, I hope it does even more.

Rusty
rustysblog.com
- WoollyMittens, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1You're comment started okay, until you got to the blog-spam part.
shawnanigans, on 06/15/2008, -5/+9Please, to a lot of African countries I ask you please, stop ***** so much. Your population grows as your available crop lands decline from over use. It's going to get worse.

Please, to a lot of developed countries, I ask you please, stop using biofuels made of edible crops. People are starving and you are turning corn (an incredibly inefficient source of fuel), and other food crops into fuel.
- duggdowncatisad, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Please, to a certain country that is an enclave of Italy, stop getting in the way of people trying to help the African countries do item (1) above.
  - shawnanigans, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Dude, what the ***** did Monaco ever do.
- metric7, on 06/15/2008, -2/+1Please, to shawnanigans stop being
  such a ***** idiot.
IntelSoap, on 06/15/2008, -5/+4look, suffering people! LETS TAKE PICTURES!! (with cameras that no doubt cost more than it would take to feed an entire village)
- paloooz, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3Buying them food today will not fix their problem. Tomorrow they will still have no food to eat, or the next day. It would make more sense to help them set up irrigation, setup pipelines from nearby rivers or lakes to water crops, etc. Teach them to maintain this system, and let them grow their own food.
  - theloofa, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1That doesn't make it not ironic
binaryloop, on 06/15/2008, -6/+25I think I have the answer. You want to stop world hunger? Stop sending these people food. Don't send these people another bite, folks. You want to send them something, you want to help? Send them U-Hauls. Send them U-Hauls, some luggage, send them a guy out there who says, 'Hey, we been driving out here every day with your food, for, like, the last thirty or forty years, and we were driving out here today across the desert, and it occurred to us that there wouldn't BE world hunger, if you people would LIVE WHERE THE FOOD IS! YOU LIVE IN A DESERT! YOU LIVE IN A ***** DESERT! NOTHING GROWS OUT HERE! NOTHING'S GONNA GROW OUT HERE! YOU SEE THIS? HUH? THIS IS SAND. KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA BE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW? IT'S GONNA BE SAND! YOU LIVE IN A ***** DESERT! GET YOUR STUFF, GET YOUR *****, WE'LL MAKE ONE TRIP, WE'LL TAKE YOU TO WHERE THE FOOD IS! WE HAVE DESERTS IN AMERICA -- WE JUST DON'T LIVE IN THEM, ASSHOLES!"
- blackdude, on 06/15/2008, -3/+2True, also the more we feed places like this and other places in africa, the more content the people are; the less likely they are to begin Revolution. I know this is kind of not related but it's something that should be considered.
- neio, on 06/15/2008, -2/+2Agreed.
- binaryloop, on 06/15/2008, -1/+9I can't take credit for this. It's a Sam Kinnison comedy bit from 1984.
- SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -2/+8Except that their land is good enough to grow food, but instead they grow coffee beans because it's the multinational corporations that control the country and tell them what to grow, so your trendy kid can have his nice cheap coffee @ the local starbucks... *****!
  - AZRoboto, on 06/15/2008, -1/+6Except Starbucks isn't cheap
    - SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -1/+3That's because the execs reap all the profits, but you can bet they get cheap coffee from Ethiopia and own hectares upon hectares of land for the sole purpose of growing coffee beans.
    - paloooz, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2I accept that Starbucks isn't cheap.
    - fuzzybeard, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2Except Starbucks can't make coffee that doesn't taste like week-old cat piss that been left to ferment.
  - RationalXubrnce, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2 Ethiopia's major staple crops include a variety of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and coffee. Grains are the most important field crops and the chief element in the diet of most Ethiopians. The principal grains are teff, wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, and millet. The first three are primarily cool-weather crops cultivated at altitudes generally above l,500 meters. Teff, indigenous to Ethiopia, furnishes the flour for injera, an unleavened bread that is the principal form in which grain is consumed in the highlands and in urban centers throughout the country. Barley is grown mostly between 2,000 and 3,500 meters. A major subsistence crop, barley is used as food and in the production of tella, a locally produced beer.
    
    Sorghum, millet, and corn are cultivated mostly in warmer areas at lower altitudes along the country's western, southwestern, and eastern peripheries. Sorghum and millet, which are drought resistant, grow well at low elevations where rainfall is less reliable. Corn is grown chiefly between elevations of l,500 and 2,200 meters and requires large amounts of rainfall to ensure good harvests. These three grains constitute the staple foods of a good part of the population and are major items in the diet of the nomads.
    
    Pulses are the second most important element in the national diet and a principal protein source. They are boiled, roasted, or included in a stew-like dish known as wot, which is sometimes a main dish and sometimes a supplementary food. Pulses, grown widely at all altitudes from sea level to about 3,000 meters, are more prevalent in the northern and central highlands. Pulses were a particularly important export item before the revolution.
- paloooz, on 06/15/2008, -5/+5I live in the desert, but we're able to survive out here because we're smart. We know how to set up irrigation and grow our own ***** food. We know how to build trucks to ship food in that doesn't grow well in some areas. We know how to pipe water in to places where there normally would be no water. We know how to build entire cities with running water.
  
  Instead, these tribal village idiots don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, prancing around fires, stuck 2,000 years behind in technological advancement, and they wonder why they are having a hard time surviving? I say let them starve. Once there's no one left who's starving, there won't be a food crisis anymore. Survival of the fittest, these Ethiopians are clearly not the fittest.
  - voleur, on 06/15/2008, -2/+3You know how to do all of those things because your ancestors did it before you and passed down their knowledge and technology. The technology problem in many African countries is not the fault of the people, but the government. It's the governments that need to invest in this technology and teach its citizens how to take advantage of it.
    And I'll just ignore the blatant racism in the second paragraph.
    - paloooz, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2Oh please. My ancestors weren't wasting time prancing around fires and painting their faces.
      
      They were building ***** out of wood. Sailing across the Atlantic to escape their corrupt governments, building steam engines, and later internal combustion engines. They were building their own schools so that they could pass their education on to their descendants. They were inventing airplanes and building railroads to ship goods and people around the country. They were smart. Africa needs to figure it out. We managed to, why should we help them if they can't even help themselves?
      
      How is calling tribal Africans stupid racist? The evidence is clear and has nothing to do with the color of their skin.
    - voleur, on 06/15/2008, -2/+0One reason would be that it is foolish to judge the merit of a culture you don't understand.
    - SuperMoses, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1They know how to grow food you moron. It's just that when an African leader attempts to do things for their country rather than the imperialists, they get killed.
      
      Look up leaders like Lumumba who wanted to invest into his country's infrastructure.. read what happened to him.
  - DentThat, on 06/16/2008, -0/+2Yo I applaud your good logic my man.
- swiftheart, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2To be fair, a lot of Ethiopia *isn't* desert and is fine for agriculture.
  
  In fact, Ethiopian cuisine is almost absurdly diverse. A meal from an Ethiopian restaurant will have a mind-boggling array of vegetables, lentils, meats and spices. The only other ethnic cuisine with a similar complexity is French. (Ethiopian cuisine is one of the world's most unique because Ethiopia spent centuries culturally separate from the rest of the world.)
  
  A lot of food can grow in Ethiopia, but with a lousy government and bad land use and it doesn't take much for marginal changes in weather to reverberate into big problems.
- identifiedlogo, on 06/15/2008, -4/+2Dude, why dont you read about it first. THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT LEAVING IN DESERT, THEY HAPPEN TO LEAVE IN THE MOST FERTILE PART OF THE COUNTRY. THE 1985 INCIDENT HAPPENED IN THE DESERT PART OF THE COUNTRY. THESE PEOPLE ARE STARVING BECAUSE THEY RELY HEAVILY ON THE !!!TIMELY!!! ARRIVAL OF RAIN. IT RAINS ALRIGHT BUT IT DIDNT RAIN WHEN THE FARMERS WERE EXPECTING it TO RAIN. THE GOV DOESNT ALLOW THEM TO IRRIGATE, BECAUSE THEY OWN THE FREAKING LAND. THESE ARE SUBSISTENCE FARMERS; THEIR IS NO BACKUP. FARMING METHODS ARE SOOOO BACKWARD. I HOPE YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WESTERN FOOD AID. MOST OF IT ENDS UP IN GOV. BUNKERS. THESE PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO IRRIGATE, AND PRODUCE FOOD ALL AROUND THE YEAR. EDUCATION IS THE KEY. THE CASE WITH THIS COUNTRY IS IRONIC, BECAUSE ITS NOT A DESERT LIKE SUDAN; ITS GREEN ALL THE WAY.
  - binaryloop, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1Cry me a ***** river. Boo Hoo.
    
    History is written by winners. These people aren't writing any history books any time soon.
zmigliozzi, on 06/15/2008, -0/+8New? Food in Africa, rather the lack of has been a problem for quite some time.
iloveazngurlzs, on 06/15/2008, -0/+3Sooo... this has been an ongoing problem for as far as the history books remember. I think its time to gtfo of Etheopia.
- SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4But who will grow the coffee beans for Starbucks if there aren't any wage slaves working the fields in Ethiopia?
MoneyFriends, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4I feel bad for being Fat! :(
- fuzzybeard, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1WEIRD AL YANKOVIC LYRICS
  
  "Fat"
  
  Your butt is wide, well mine is too
  Just watch your mouth or I'll sit on you
  The word is out, better treat me right
  'Cause I'm the king of cellulite
  Ham on, ham on, ham on whole wheat, all right
  
  My zippers bust, my buckles break
  I'm too much man for you to take
  The pavement cracks when I fall down
  I've got more chins than Chinatown
  
  Well, I've never used a phone booth
  And I've never seen my toes
  When I'm goin' to the movies
  I take up seven rows
  
  Because I'm fat, I'm fat, come on
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, come on you know
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  Don't you call me pudgy, portly or stout
  Just now tell me once again who's fat
  
  When I walk out to get my mail
  It measures on the Richter scale
  Down at the beach I'm a lucky man
  I'm the only one who gets a tan
  If I have one more pie a la mode
  I'm gonna need my own zip code
  
  When you're only having seconds
  I'm having twenty-thirds
  When I go to get my shoes shined
  I gotta take their word
  
  Because I'm fat, I'm fat, sha mone
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it you know
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  And my shadow weighs forty-two pounds
  Lemme tell you once again who's fat
  
  If you see me comin' your way
  Better give me plenty space
  If I tell you that I'm hungry
  Then won't you feed my face
  
  Because I'm fat, I'm fat, sha mone
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it, you know
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  Woo woo woo, when I sit around the house
  I really sit around the house
  
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, come on
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it, you know it
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know, you know, you know, come on
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  And you know all by myself I'm a crowd
  Lemme tell you once again
  
  You know I'm huge, I'm fat, you know it
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, you know, hoo
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  You know I'm fat, I'm fat, you know it, you know
  (Fat, fat, really really fat)
  And the whole world knows I'm fat and I'm proud
  Just tell me once again who's fat
  
  [Thanks to Patricia for correcting these lyrics]
  
  [ www.azlyrics.com ]
Protonz, on 06/15/2008, -4/+8Why do they keep having kids they can't afford to feed?
- SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -4/+2Why does the west keep exploiting Africa?
- fr3ddie, on 06/15/2008, -0/+2because ***** is not only for making kids... its for pleasure... cmon... you have the internet... you should know this.
SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -2/+4The ugly face of capitalism
- GT35R, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2It is capitalism that is keeping the rest of the world from turning into that. You tell me how that is the result of capitalism.
  - SuperMoses, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1If it's what's keeping the rest of the world from turning into that.. then how come Africa, which practices capitalism, IS THAT? Because capitalism needs people to exploit in order for another group of people to benefit. Africa and South America are the two main continents exploited by the west. This is where they can find cheap labour, cheap land, and easily bribed politicians. So they bribe the politicians, buy their land, and profit off of the hard work of the African labourers. Read Stiglitz's harsh criticism of the IMF and World Bank's policies which they imposed on Africa. He's a nobel prize winner in economics and was a World Bank insider who defected after he saw what was happening.
- goon5000, on 06/15/2008, -1/+0without capitalism we would be starving too.
- Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1The ugly face of indifferent or ignorant barbarism. No mortal being would bring a child into the world to suffer like they do.
grantmoore3d, on 06/15/2008, -4/+17Here's a quick solution.... stop having children already!! Seriously, if you KNOW you can't possibly support a child in your given environment, don't have one!
- tolgafiratoglu, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2there're more reasons than that.
  - deathberry, on 06/15/2008, -0/+0Such as...? Are any of them non-selfish?
- grantmoore3d, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1I agree, but until they can find a good solution, they should at least reduce the amount of starvation and suffering.
AZRoboto, on 06/15/2008, -9/+4Darwinism at work.
- SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -3/+2Don't bastardize Darwins theory. A lot of morons love to do that.
liberta, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2Im sure the leaders are sitting in really nice palaces and shopping in paris.

All these countries asking for Aid is why africa has such a bad image.

-----------
xenbet.com
SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -4/+5For all of the ignorant comments being made on here as to how "it's always like this in Africa", or "stop having children", or "their land is a desert that can't grow food" .. read this:
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3 ...

It's astonishing that many diggers on here think the Africans are to blame when they are in fact the victims of strict neo-liberal reforms forced on them by the IMF and World Bank.
- Hillsfar, on 06/15/2008, -2/+3And who controls the IMF and the World Bank and makes these countries undergo market reforms for capitalism and globalization? The U.S. and Europe. And who got to appoint Wolfowitz? Bush.
  - SuperMoses, on 06/15/2008, -2/+2Right, Bush.. but these problems existed well before Bush... they intensified with Reagan and Thatcher. Bush just furthers these policies.. just as the Democrats did under Clinton.
- Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -1/+2"For instance, between 1960 and 1980, Sub-Saharan Africa's GDP grew by 36 per cent: not as much as developed nations, but not bad" Yeah, and during that same time period yearly population growth rates averaged 2.8%, so the population grew 74%, meaning per capita GDP declined by 28%. Regardless of what the IMF and World Bank did things were going to end up bad because population was outstripping production.
username484767, on 06/15/2008, -3/+7figure it out for yourselves assholes
devfox, on 06/15/2008, -4/+4People are no different than any other animal when it comes to over population. When there are too many people than there are resources to support them then death is eminent. It's not up to the US or any other governmental body to solve these problems for them. They have to come to that decision themselves and change their habits and produce a more stable means of resource distribution.
hazard99, on 06/15/2008, -7/+2I cannot believe how cold some of you are being.

If I had the power, I'd send you over there to suffer, you insensitive assholes.
- DeusGear, on 06/15/2008, -0/+7But you don't and you never will. Truth is cold but it's better then the unreal "humanity will change and it will get better" mindset *****. Honestly humanity needs a reset as a whole.
  - hazard99, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1So saying nothing good can happen, and never trying to bring good is an excellent way to go...
    
    With that mindset, of course nothing good will happen.
    
    The truth is we are too lazy and selfish to give a ***** for these people because it would cost us our luxury cars, iPods, and Xboxs. I'm also to blame for this.
    
    But I'm studying to be a nurse mainly so I can help people like this. I'm not forcing us to be perfect, but your mindset (in my opinion) is the cause of a disgusting apathy that prevents us from ever wanting to try and help people.
    - Risingashes, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4Is it better to make the problem worse by doing things that will hurt them in the long run but make us feel better in the short term?
      
      Obviously not. Yet that is what you suggest.
elliotys, on 06/15/2008, -0/+5This is only going to get worse. . .
fuzzybeard, on 06/15/2008, -0/+4And in a mind-bending twist of irony, I give you this:

Ethiopia Invites Saudis To Invest in Agriculture
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article= ...

I wish I could make stuff up that was this surreal; I'd have a secure future as a writer for "Lost!"
AsylumAleikum, on 06/15/2008, -4/+7Africans begging for food, whitey to blame.
RHA0, on 06/15/2008, -4/+4How many Ethiopians can you fit in a phone booth?

All of them!
- Wakkyweed, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1I was wondering if it was too soon to start in with the Ethiopian jokes.
  
  What's the fastest animal in the world? The Ethiopian chicken.
queefer, on 06/15/2008, -5/+6survival of the fittest just let them starve, its obvious they are too inferior to help themselves, so why waste money to provide them with temporary relief.
- tolgafiratoglu, on 06/15/2008, -4/+1WTF are you talking about?
- goon5000, on 06/15/2008, -1/+0I have no problem with wasting your money
identifiedlogo, on 06/15/2008, -1/+5Some of you diggers have no idea what is going on over there.These people are starving in the most fertile region of the country; if you actually look around its green as far as the eye can see. They are farmers relying heavily on the timely arrival of the rainy season, and nature keeps screwing up every time. Its not about the number of childrens they have. Even married couple without children are starving. They are not educated and they haven't learned methods to irrigate their farms. It was the RAIN, and it didnt come on time.

You can blame the backward thinking gov. Its surprising that the PM of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi is the favorite of Bush and Blair. As long as the gov owns the land their will be no innovation; teh farmers are stuck with backward method of farming. If the farmers owned the land they could have done something better with it. And the Gov has the balls to come out and say the report of starvation is exaggerated by the western media. The cover up is insane. Its just sad this had to happen when their is a food crisis on the globe at large.
HotDogBun, on 06/15/2008, -5/+10We need to sterilize these people before we start sending them food again.

You can't even afford a teaspoon full of rice, FOR *****'S SAKE STOP MAKING BABIES!
- metric7, on 06/15/2008, -5/+1You should sterilize yourself first so
  you won't pass on your mental illness
  to future generations
  - HotDogBun, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Is that supposed to be a haiku?
HumanRecall, on 06/15/2008, -5/+5Thank YOu @HotDogBun i'm glad someone had the balls to say it ....they aren't to sick to fight and kill each other !! They aren't to sick to ***** and make babies like rabbits in heat !!

Where is all the money and numerous organizations that contribute - NEWS FLASH my family Sponsers 5 kids and i had to cut 3 off cause i need to feed my own kids !! My wife got injured and i'm the only bread winner with bills pilling up !!

Yet those groups are still trying to dip into my bank account , even though i requested that 5 yrs of sponsoring i couldn't do it anymore !! Now i get harnessing letters and phone calls !! And every other month have to straighten ***** out with my Bank cause someone keeps trying to extract funds !!

Far as i'm concerned let these organizations pick up the slack ! Some of you diggers crack me up !! With your WE NEED TO HELP !! ***** off what are you lobbying for ? Digg ups? Give me a break when you come out of your parents basement and have your own family to feed you will realize -your kids mouths come first !!!!

Soon all of North America is going to be needing hand outs !! Who's gonna be there for us ?
- HumanRecall, on 06/15/2008, -1/+3Digg me down all you want ***** ..i seriously hope they all ***** ROT !! I have my own kids to care for!!
  
  Being a NEW Young husband and New father working in todays world ! I gotta fend for myself an look after my own ..............................***** ANYONE and EVERYONE ELSE !!!!!..All i gotta do is make sure my kids and family aren't starving by any means necessary!!!!!!!!!
cantaclaro, on 06/15/2008, -3/+7Maybe some of the ones who came to America, bought parking lots and now charge me an arm and a leg to leave my car for 15 minutes while I go to the bank should take some of that ***** money and buy their people some food.
- DentThat, on 06/16/2008, -1/+1amen brother amen
tolgafiratoglu, on 06/15/2008, -5/+1we all cause this, developed and developing countries. Untill the day we all accept our responsibility on this event this won't be solved.
- goon5000, on 06/15/2008, -1/+0How am I responsible?
  - Barackalypse, on 06/15/2008, -1/+1Have you impregnated any Ethopian women lately? Have you encouraged any Ethopian couples to have kids? If not, I'd proclaim you innocent of the whole thing.
tolgafiratoglu, on 06/15/2008, -4/+3Africa has several important problems other than population:
1. wars Second Congo War, which is also called African World War, has just ended with more than 5 million deaths. And there's still a fear of an upcoming war.
2. aids, malaria, ... many illness mostly because of lack of water.

Can you believe that Africa has gold, uranium, diamond, petrol, natural gas in the same time but still hungary.

The solution is simple: African Union.
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Gallery: A new food crisis in Ethiopia

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