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India Blames Fat Americans For High Food Costs

nytimes.com — Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy — and go on a diet.

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  • lazybat, on 05/15/2008, -9/+41Now that the reasonable arguments have begun let me pitch in.......... let's blame the scientologists ... feeding all their body thetans..
    • faskill, on 05/15/2008, -5/+24Or we can just look at simple facts lazybat.
      According to a little organization known as the Central Intelligence Agency, India is populated by1,129,866,154 (as of july 2007) and an estimated 1,147,995,898 by July 2008 ( cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/in.html ). So the U.S. has 350 million people (estimated). According to studies, 1/3 of those is obese. So we'll say 120 million Americans are obese. Roughly 10% of what India's population encompasses is obese. So, even if that percentage of fat Americans were eating 3 times what an Indian would eat, that only eqautes to 350ish million individuals. Even if you want to take a broader estimate and state that we consume twice that, the sheer number of people in India would seem to imply that they would have to consume more than other countries with less (and better fed) citizens.
      • duniyadnd, on 05/15/2008, -16/+9So it's India's fault for not exporting food to the US to feed their own population? I'm confused here - so there's a shortage we can all agree to that, but blaming the middle class Indians was a stupid thing to do.
        • masamunecyrus, on 05/15/2008, -1/+24That's not the point he was trying to make. He was basically saying that if you can baselessly blame America for the rise in food prices because Americans are fat, then you can just as easily baselessly blame India for the rise in food prices because their population is massive.
        • cdahlkvist, on 05/15/2008, -1/+9"so there's a shortage we can all agree to that"

          No, we cannot all agree to that. There really is no shortage of food. There are countries that cannot afford to feed their people (or do not have fertile land to grow food) but to say there is a shortage of food is an outright lie.

          The U.S., Canada, much of South America, much of the U.K., etc. have an abundance of food that is sold to other countries that can afford to purchase the surplus food.

          The problem is the price of food. It is on the rise. And for India to basically sidestep the original intention of the comments from Bush (which many others have agreed with) is sad. Bush was pointing out that food prices are on the rise due to the fact that India is experiencing a financial boom and therefore the people are demanding higher quality food. This means that since demand is rising the fair market value is rising along with it.

          Besides, America was fat before India was prosperous.
        • mrsteveman1, on 05/15/2008, -3/+6Yea, you ever seen how big India is? The population density in India is over 10x what it is in the US, so i will gladly blame them for overpopulation and everything that comes with it. Not to mention the fact that they have 3x the people overall living there in the first place, fat americans aren't the problem.

          From wikipedia, population density:

          United states: 80/sq mi
          India: 852/sq mi
          • loquax, on 05/15/2008, -3/+5But you really cannot blame India for its overpopulation. Most of the population boom that is responsible for today's population size took place prior to the invention of reliable contraceptives. Once you have a large population, even having only two or three children (let alone the numbers of children they have due to economic need or lack of access to family planning) will lead to larger populations for some time to come. It is ridiculous and inhuman to insist that people completely stop having children where ever they are. China's one-child policy policy has only led to more misery and violations of human rights. India cannot and should not be yoked with a similar policy.
            The real issue is that we are living in a perfect storm of economic conditions to create a food crisis. Production costs have risen with fuel prices (and fertilizer prices). Prosperity has allowed people to enjoy (and demand) more and better foods. There has been great resistance to genetically modified foods that could potentially allow for more people to have greater quantities and qualities of food. Places such as Zimbabwe have wrecked their agricultural production in the name of "social justice," and yes, we as Americans have used up a greater quantity of food and fertilizer than what we probably should have. We need to put aside the rhetoric and just solve the problem. It is doable, but it will require everyone to tone down the yelling.
          • faskill, on 05/15/2008, -4/+4@loquax So common sense and logic didn't exist before proper contraceptives? I'd like to think I'm smart enough to realize that if I can't feed/support more than one child I won't have more than one. Perhaps they need a new pastime?
          • duniyadnd, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2@faskill - That's stupid - India's country is mostly rural, most villages that run on manual labor so customarily it is important for those families to have more children to help them at the farms/etc.

            Don't bother talking about common sense when you're comparing apples to oranges.
      • 4rp4n3t, on 05/15/2008, -13/+5You logic is fatally flawed. It assumes an equal amount of food is consumed by the 'average' Indian and 'average' American. And between obese and average there are fatties. A lot of fatties. Eating. All the time.
        • faskill, on 05/15/2008, -0/+8Let's discuss this over lunch. (And on a side note, the top ad and side ad are both for McDonald's new Chicken Biscuit sandwich).
      • marx2k, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3And also don't forget that a large percentage of Americans are not obese because of the volume of food they eat but also because of the energy content of the food they eat. I can eat a ton of spinach (in a salad) and probably do better, weight-wise, than if I ate a ton of bread.
        • MammasMilk, on 05/15/2008, -1/+9at the very least you could beat up Bluto and fight to the finish with your ridiculously huge forearms.
      • ahoyhoy, on 05/15/2008, -2/+4Everytime you eat a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a Large Fries, you aren't snatching food out of some poor Indian chikd's hand. By the same token, everytime you eat a small salad, the extra food you COULD have eaten will never find it's way into the hands of the destitute (perhaps the local homeless, but that's about it.) We haven't reached the level yet where there is some "finite" amount of food. The reason food prices in India are high is because of high population and low supply, mainly because they are still a developing country. Don't take the traditional international route and "blame fate Americans".
      • BigMrWiggly, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Everytime I eat a Double Quarter pounder with cheese and a Large fries I buy 2 more and throw the extra away while thinking about the starving people in India. Today in honor of India I will throw away 5 cheese burgers.
  • SydBarrett420, on 05/15/2008, -15/+54Thank You, Come Again!
    • toxicityj, on 05/15/2008, -16/+5dawnk yoo coom ageen*
    • RealmDown, on 05/15/2008, -2/+6Leave my sex life out of this.
    • enchantedsky, on 05/15/2008, -16/+5Dear SydBarrett420:

      As an Indian, I'm appalled at your comment. Stereotypes like Indians work only in convenience stores are what they are......stereotypes. It doesn't apply to all Indians. In fact, if you want to know something interesting, in The Simpsons, even though Apu stereotypically represents Indians, the Simpson family themselves represent typical White American family ------ I bet you didn't know that. I bet you didn't think other nationalities like the Simpsons because it represents the typical American family home. But this is, again, a stereotype, and stereotypes aren't necessarily accurate. You're not like the Simpsons, and I don't run a convenience store.....in fact, I just finished my Masters degree, and earn a ton more money than you'll ever dream of. And yes, women come to me, I don't have to hit on women.

      Anyway, please lost some weight and stop eating out the food supply and being a fatass.........in order to allow other countries, such as India, to buy food. Obesity is an epidemic among people like you who have never struggled economically in your lives, and do not know the value of food, other than to eat it down while playing multiplayer Halo 3 on your Xbox 360 while masturbating to porn, typical in your culture.

      Faithfully yours,
      Enchantedsky
      • stubear, on 05/15/2008, -2/+4So you counter one stereotype with....ummmm.....another stereotype? No, two stereotypes. I'm actually quite speechless at the irony here.

        Oh, and it's L-O-S-E. Typically this gets confused with L-O-O-S-E but this is the first time I've see the past participle used in place of the verb. I realize the T and E are close on the keyboard but you'd have to have some REALLY fat fingers to "accidentally" hit it instead. Who's the fat ass munching on Cheetos, chugging Mountain Dew and playing Halo 3 now?

        On a completely different note, God I really hate the internet. Why must discussions always devolve into mindless crap like this? How have we fallen so far that arguments wind up being nothing more than partisan wrangling? Actually, are the politics really partisan wrangling or is it just the reporting of the "facts"? Either way it's a sad commentary on the state of our society at large (and by society I mean this on a global scale, not just here in the US).
      • CiXeL, on 05/15/2008, -1/+8what? you mean india isnt endless fields of convenience stores?
        i will digg you up though because you made me laugh.
      • curtisag, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2The problem is there are too many people in India because they ***** too much. Also they are too poor to have a population this size, same goes for China to a greater extent. Less people, more food to go around, problem solved, ***** less :).
      • Disfnord, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3Actually, I believe Apu has a masters degree, so I guess you are a lot like him.
      • starbuxadct, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1Someone with a Masters watches, AND knows the name of Simpsons characters? Not only that, but bases an entire rant around a cartoon.

        lol.
      • xenpen, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1Sounds like you need to exchange some of that ego for a sense of humor!
    • airelizabeth, on 05/15/2008, -3/+5This is ridiculous the whole article was people blaming one another like highschool, a food shortage amongst the world is something serious and if your going to sit there and make fun or take cheap shots, then your just as bad. rather than making fun why dont you do something productive, get off your computer and hiding behind anonymous posts and try and help the world we live in.
      • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3You must be the change you want to see in the world - Ghandi , so you sir are a hypocryte
        • drvcr, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2Who the ***** is Ghandi? It's Gandhi

          You look incredibly stupid when you misspell the person's name you are quoting.
        • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -2/+1Did you get the message? Did you understand?
          Yes?

          THEN SHADDDDDDUP

          I sincearly appoligize spelling police can you take your hand outa mah ass now ?
        • drvcr, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2It's not about being the spelling police and THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL.

          You probably did a search or heard someone mention that quote before and thought "hey, this sounds pretty cool, maybe I should use it here!" Your credibility goes down the drain when you make a laughable attempt to sound intelligent.

          You comment history has shown your ignorance towards others, so I suggest you get an education first before spouting out quotes of leaders whose words you probably don't understand in their full context.

          After seeing the way you responded, I feel more pity for you than anything else.

    • xero69, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2Mr Simpson would you like a microwave burrito and a blueberry squishee?
  • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -30/+129Or... Indians could try to match their food production to their population growth.. just a thought.
    • ortucis, on 05/15/2008, -9/+33Actually, they just replying to the genius comments by your Bush and Rice.. people, about shortage of food in the western world because of 'Indians eating more'.
      • xenuxenuts, on 05/15/2008, -2/+7You'd think they'd expect genius comments from Bush by now.
      • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2Oh Yeah the Liposuction Comments were REALLL intelegent pffft Give me a ***** break
    • Sasquatcho, on 05/15/2008, -24/+7... good call. India can get f*cked. Some people close to me are losing jobs/ work due to outsourcing to India. More jobs are going to third world countries, less money is staying in the U.S. They should go buy more food with the money they are getting from the work we're losing. wtf.
    • prophetpimp, on 05/15/2008, -17/+9you Americans import more food then us indians. we for the most part are self sufficient. So its you guys who need to look at their own agricultural policy.
      • Sasquatcho, on 05/15/2008, -9/+1I guess being frustrated at the countries US jobs get outsourced to really isn't helping anything... I think the "bad guys" are the US business that are not keeping jobs in the US.
      • dirtyfrog, on 05/15/2008, -1/+9If I remember correctly the midwest agriculture in the USA produces far more food per year than we can use. I also believe that the government pays small farms in the USA to produce less of certain crops so that the cost of food here doesn't crash down to nothing. If we import more food than India, it has nothing to do with us not having enough. We could easily stop importing processed foods from other countries, there would just be less of a variety.
        • marx2k, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1I thought the policy of paying farmers to produce less was stopped like 30 years ago. According to the movie "King Corn", we pay subsidize farmers by weight..
          • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2Look up CRP as it relates to farming.
      • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -2/+11Umm.. US is not only self-sufficient agriculturally, it's one of the big exporters of grain. Not only that, it is one of the largest donors of food to the third-world too in terms of humanitarian aid.. so I dunno what the heck you are talking about or where you are getting your ideas.
      • CiXeL, on 05/15/2008, -3/+6you have any idea how difficult it is to eat healthy in the US?
        i would kill to have the types and availability of foods you guys have access to in india.
        everything is so fresh - not loaded with poisons like preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.
        you can go to a street vendor and eat a delicious fresh meal. in order to eat healthy i have to prepare tons of stuff ahead of time most of which will go to waste since i'm only making it for myself.
        • ucg1, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3Try breathing the air in India. Many parts of India are horribly polluted. I wonder if that pollution makes it into the food and water.
        • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3Its not that hard to make healthy food. And most of its cheaper than the unhealthy food. I get a lot of fresh veggies and fruits from nearby grocery markets when I'm in the states, I make my own bread with a bread machine I bought years ago (although I'm about due for a new one I think), and I don't use sugar or much salt. The healthy flour and it makes a nice bread that makes my house smell great.
        • moonglaive, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4I have the same problem. With gas being so expensive, it really isn't feasible to drive to the store every day to buy fresh food, and it won't last more than a few days, nor do I have the time to make a bunch of food in advance and freeze it. Its cheaper, and more efficient to buy the middle aisle foods, but they're nothing but empty calories. Its a catch 22....
          • thugok, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1*****. Fresh fruit and veggies should easily last a week in the fridge and meats can be frozen. If you can't eat healthy in America it's because you shop for dinner at the drive-thru window.
          • CiXeL, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1in miami the produce is crap. all the good stuff that gets grown down here is sold up in new york and new england where it fetches higher prices.
            can you believe every bag of green grapes we get down here is sour?
      • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Quit your ***** whining, damn so what your country cant get food, make some and tell your women to close thier legs and stop pushing out 11 kids each. 2 kids per family thats all the world needs
    • TheBogie, on 05/15/2008, -12/+4I can't remember a more foolish comment ever being posted on this site. If you are a troll, then I say "well played".
      • curtisag, on 05/15/2008, -2/+5It seems you're the fool based on your diggs. What's wrong with not having an extremely overpopulated country? It's illogical to breed to the point of starvation when your country is already in poverty.
        • Disfnord, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1Breeding has nothing to do with logic, Spock.
    • sodade, on 05/15/2008, -2/+6You have that exactly backwards and it should apply to the whole world.
      • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1I would say lower their population, but that would probably imply some sort of genocide in the short term, or a on-child policy like the chinese in the long term which will be a very very long term. They can try to control their population, but having lived in a third world agricultural country, I know the dynamics of the current system require parents to have more children for the sole purpose of man-power. Though unemployment is rampant, it is not economically feasible for farmers to hire farm-hands, so it becomes more of a family effort. Thus population will continue to increase unless there is war/famine or some sound economic initiative by the government which removes this burden from poor farmers and alleviate some enemployment at the same time. Though outsourcing of american jobs is a lot more lucrative solution to the unemployment problem than working on a farm for pennies a day. Thus enters another factor into this over-complex issue. But I'm rambling now. Recommended read: "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. Very sound commentary on agricultural practices, problems, and possible solutions.
    • wwindvogel, on 05/15/2008, -11/+3America should try to only consume as much oil as IT can produce. Instead of killing thousands of innocent people all over the middle east for it... you're a ***** idiot
      • DoubtingThomas, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3Soooo, by your logic other countries should only consume as much food as they can produce? GG, jackass.
    • sagat, on 05/15/2008, -10/+17Stop breeding like rats India!
    • known, on 05/15/2008, -7/+31. Indian society views farming as a Low End Job where only the Low Caste People are supposed to work.
      2. Ban all futures commodities trading in India and in Rest Of The World.
      3. Provide free transport for distribution of Fruits and Food grains within India.
      • MrWhite7, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I'll get right on subsidizing irresponsible reproductive habits... moreso
      • thetinguy, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2You've never been to India, have you? The fact that you are uninformed bleeds through your writing.
    • anonymiau, on 05/15/2008, -2/+1Yeah, cause 100% of the food Americans consume is made in the US and exactly matched to American consumption....except for the overall 11% food import and as much as 50% import on several fruits and vegetables. Your comment is asinine. Rising food prices affects anyone who trades in food, which pretty much means every country in the world. It's not an isolated Indian problem, like you seem to believe and it can't merely be solved by India nationalizing its' food production.

      The question is: what is causing prices to go up world wide? Answer is: runaway consumption in the west, particularly USA. Proof? 30 ***** percent of the population in the US is obese! But if you want to be a tard, keep pointing fingers at people who eat 1/10 of what Americans stuff their faces with.
      • jabberwolf, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1anonymiauanonymiau

        Actually YES the USA does produce a surplus of food and export it.
        There is a reason our mid west is called the bread basket of the world.

        And while (lets pretend) that the average American can eat 3 times that of the average Indian, the indians have family about 7 times larger.

        So the over consumption is DIRECTLY proportionate to population growth. That is what China had to deal with before but India has not!

        So as for being asinine, why not do the math first and not give retarded answers. Math, everyone should learn at least a little!
        • anonymiau, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Dude, US food imports exceed exports. How about you take your own advice and do some math yourself`?
  • SteelChicken, on 05/15/2008, -20/+144Every single problem in the world is caused by Americans. Once you understand this, you can sleep easy at night, knowing you have to take no responsibility for ANYTHING if you are not an American. How nice!
    • souljaboytellem, on 05/15/2008, -28/+6I sincerely hope that was sarcasm
    • RedHerringHack, on 05/15/2008, -10/+13It wasn't and I agree.
    • CA55IDY, on 05/15/2008, -10/+8Its either Americans or Religion, usually both
      • itsthebrod, on 05/15/2008, -3/+11But religion actually DOES cause a *****-load of problems.
    • markgl, on 05/15/2008, -7/+19yeah, no doubt. its easy for the rest of the world to blame us all the time. it keeps them from having todo or explain themselves.
    • Metalcard, on 05/15/2008, -12/+7We Americans don't do anything, American politicians are the ones that screw everything up. You need to keep in mind that the only Americans that can do anything substantial in this country are the ones who have several hundred million dollars and a few PHDs... or a TV show.
      • iChuckles, on 05/15/2008, -3/+7Wow! Now there is a statement born of low self esteem and not wanting to try anything, and blaming others (gov mostly) for their lot in life.
        • g30ph, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3It's not my fault I'm lazy! They're putting something in the water! They did this to me!
        • Forky, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2World blames americans, americans blame gov, gov.... enjoys their money. ?
      • Heiminator, on 05/15/2008, -3/+3but you are one of the guys who has voting rights in that country,so you screwed up too....
        • thugok, on 05/15/2008, -2/+1No matter what they told you in school, one vote is meaningless.
        • relic180, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1@thugok
          You miss the point, and also I hate you.
      • FiendishMuffin, on 05/15/2008, -4/+4He's got a point... and I vote. The general masses are sheep. They'll follow anything they see on TV, particularly something with bright colors and loud excitement. I refer you to the popularity of FOX News. This idea you all seem to have of new age revolution doesn't seem to extend much beyond the Digg comments page. For that, I refer you to Ron Paul. Bury me if you like, but it's the ***** truth.
    • tufftugg, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1 lol...kinda a littleto up on yourself there.
    • sgtpppr, on 05/15/2008, -4/+2And this is coming from the country that is known for drowning/burying alive female newborns because families can't afford to pay a dowry for her to get married later on.

      "Authorities have said that over the past few years, more than 4,500 female babies in India's southern Salem district alone have been killed -- by their own parents."
      • corbettjim, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0This story on NYTimes is a classic example of What is wrong with mainstream journalism today. I clearly understand President Bush was only making observations. Some crafty journalists in India made up a story by playing with the President's words to sound as if the Americans were blaming India. Now these journalists having supplied both the fuel (the President's comments taken out of context) and the fire (their writing) stepped back to watch the Fun !. Now once the controversy in India boiled over, the same mainstream media (NYTimes included) now decided that it was time to infuriate the Americans.

        I sincerely hope the people to people communication that the Internet promotes will defeat the machinations of the traditional mainstream media, who can only thrive by reporting 'News' that serve to separate people and play to their basal instincts.
    • anonymiau, on 05/15/2008, -3/+1Well, Americans wanted to be world police and control every corner of the planet. If they can't handle the power, perhaps they should consider just staying home for a change.
      • dontaskagain, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1The apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it, Not as though us British are above that kind of thing..In fact i'd go out on a limb an say that the majority of nations were formed by either a war or just kicking them out.
    • Marinium, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Well said Steelchicken, well said.
    • a007proxy, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1So true. Tuvalu wanted to sue the US because over global warming and rising seas.
  • ohmahgawd, on 05/15/2008, -22/+6Duh. If the USA is eating as music as India, with it's billion+ people, then it's surely not India's fault.
    • dycc07, on 05/15/2008, -1/+8i love them music, so filling....serve up some more of that sweet sweet sitar beats
    • mike17032, on 05/15/2008, -12/+7The ***** it is.

      The US grows its own damn food, and then some. India can start doing the same or learn what a ***** god damn rubber is. Time for these 2nd and 3rd world ***** holes to learn there is a price to pay for breeding like rabbits.
      • faskill, on 05/15/2008, -2/+9Hey Mike, we don't grow all our own food. We do import food from other countries. We also export food as well. Arguably we could be self sufficient when it comes to food, but with a government that still pays farmers NOT to plant crops, that's gonna be a challenge.
        • sacherjj, on 05/15/2008, -1/+8Add to that the brilliance of using enough corn to feed a person for a year to generate a gallon of ethanol, while using nearly a gallon of gas to do so, and we have something ever dumber than paying farmers NOT to grow something.
          • mrsteveman1, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2well, they had to try, i mean dumb ideas don't just think of themselves! who do you expect to come up with all these dumb ideas? dumb people? pshhh yea right

            its a group effort!
        • dirtyfrog, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4We pay farmers to not produce crops because we produce so much that it would kill the agricultural market if all farms were at full production. The midwest produces more food than the USA needs. Small farms around the country would not be able to compete with the output of the large farms and would have to stop producing their crop all together. We import food because we can afford to and their is a demand for variety not because we don't have enough food.
          • mrsteveman1, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1If we are paying them anyway, perhaps they should be growing the food anyway....and DO SOMETHING WITH IT...ANYTHING, I DON'T CARE.
      • prophetpimp, on 05/15/2008, -5/+8learn to economics dumbass. india is a agriculturally self sufficient country you guys are not. Also per couple Indians make less babies then you yanks so its you guys who should know how to use some rubbers (Lol @ your abstinence program). The only reason bush got his panties in knot because India stopped exports of rice and that jacked up the rice price. So tell me again how it is India's fault that you guys are facing a food crisis. We aint taking food from your plates, we just eating what we grow.
        • justinx0r, on 05/15/2008, -2/+5You're an idiot. America is the bread basket of the world - we are more than just agriculturally self sufficient.
        • TheBogie, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3Noe, u lern to economics!! LOL

          Just because you say something doesn't make it so. India is not agriculturally self sufficient, and the US exports MUCH more food than it imports. Indian couples make FAR more babies than US couples. mike1702 hit the nail on the head. I'm sorry that it upset you so much.
        • mrsteveman1, on 05/15/2008, -0/+5"Also per couple Indians make less babies then you yanks"

          So that must be why indias population is 3x that of the US and growing at a faster rate...i get it now!

          US birth rate: 14.16 per 1,000 (30% below the world average)
          Indian birth rate: 22.01 per 1,000 (9% above the world average)
    • jd72277, on 05/15/2008, -1/+4those beats are much too fat to maintain a healthy diet.
  • justinx0r, on 05/15/2008, -21/+49Ha. I don't know, maybe they should grow their own food and not import it from us if it makes them feel better? The US is the bread basket of the world - if we didn't export the amount we do prices would be way higher.
    • RedHerringHack, on 05/15/2008, -6/+18Let's just stop food exports. Saudis are stopping oil exports, and food is more powerful than oil.
      • sacherjj, on 05/15/2008, -1/+4One problem is that our current food chains REQUIRE oil. Without it there would be short term wide spread famine. This would continue until smaller family farms could ramp back up production using real animal fertilizer, natural pesticides. Natural Gas is used to produce current fertilizers and oil is used for the pesticides. Without either, the agro-business farming would fail, and we starve.
        • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4Our local oil production is great enough to keep the farms going no sweat, transportation and power production would be where we'd take the biggest hits from.
    • ohmahgawd, on 05/15/2008, -1/+6That stupid economic policy was enforced on a lot of countries through trade organizations and agricultural policies, not openly accepted by them. Some African countries that are perfectly fertile have been pushed to take USA grown food, due to a mixture of price wars, and free trade. The truth is there isn't a severe world food shortage right now, it's just the old system where it all revolved around the USA is collapsing, and the prices are exploding due to this.
    • mike17032, on 05/15/2008, -2/+8US Government subsidized exports I will point out, making it cheaper for everyone.

      Not that I have a problem with this, keeping farms as farms is worth the price we pay to do it and then some. One day, we will need that food. And its damn near impossible to turn houses back into fields.

      I know many people on digg get all riled up at the thought of subsidies, but this one does more to protect our national security than just about anything else we have.
      • Daedalus81, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2Check out how New Zealand kicked subsidies.
    • jd72277, on 05/15/2008, -5/+5true, but India's bread is F'ing delicious!
    • kotatsu, on 05/15/2008, -10/+11Not sure which reality you've been living in, but here in Europe very little food is imported from the US. It's mostly grown in the EU or in the case of exotic fruits imported from pretty much anywhere in the world. (although never from the US)
    • gnomead, on 05/15/2008, -1/+11India does grow its own food.
      • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -2/+4then why are they blaming us?
        • gnomead, on 05/15/2008, -1/+4Because President Bush and Condi Rice blamed India first. As the journalist said this is the equivalent of “so’s your old man.” And digg seems to be replying with its own "so's your old man." Deeply depressing.
    • shaba1, on 05/15/2008, -0/+7India exports more food than the US
  • gelato822, on 05/15/2008, -7/+63Rising food prices? Isn't everything on the dollar menu still a dollar?
    • sacherjj, on 05/15/2008, -1/+19It still costs a dollar, it just isn't "food" anymore.
    • spoonchucks, on 05/15/2008, -0/+6It's not always the price that goes up -- sometimes the portion size decreases (which kinda sucks if you're not aware youre paying the same for less product).

      http://consumerist.com/381776/three+pound-tubs-of- ...
      • PhillyMJS, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4That's true... the first time I ever noticed it was nearly 20 years ago, when a "pound" of coffee quietly became 13 ounces.

        Hershey's did it, too... the size of their individually-sold "nickel bar" got smaller and smaller over the years, until they discontinued it in (IIRC) 1969 when it became the size of a current miniature. (History Channel documentaries FTW)
    • AlexanderZero, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Techinacally that would mean food prices are dropping.
    • saisumimen, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Prices stay the same, the container and food portion inside get smaller.
  • normalkid0615, on 05/15/2008, -7/+17lets blame television and the internet and an ever increasing sedentary lifestyle. Why do we ever need to get off our over-fed food-wasting american fat asses? Ill tell you why, to refill on ice cream or get the door, its dominos.
    • glock22ownr, on 05/15/2008, -2/+11Americans being fat is not to be blamed on lifestyle, for the most part I think it's quite the same as 50 years ago. The use of high fructose corn syrup and everything else corn can be correlated to the start of obesity in America. True story, look it up. Now the reason that food costs so damn much in the US is Ethanol fuel usage spiking. Since we eat bread, drink pop/soda, cake, whatever all sweetened and filled with HFCS and we're now burning more of it as fuel for vehicles the price is going up. Not surprising. Cattle, chickens, turkeys whatever all get corn feed... again price of meat is going up.

      Now some may say thats a bad thing, but I think all the crap we have done with corn that is completely un-natural and un-healthy will go away and hopefully we'll find a sweetner or whatever that doesn't add empty calories and make everyone bulge out to enourmous proportions. I eat tons of food, people are amazed, but I cook it all myself. I am not overweight, I work out, and have a generally healthy lifestyle ( although I did have Wendys last night ). The overuse of corn is what has gotten us into trouble not India, not China and so on. But far be it for Bush to think before he speaks and pisses the world off yet again.
      • FuzzyDustBall, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1There are many factors to the increase in food prices and Ethanol consumption really is the least of them. ahead of it are : the falling dollar, the effects of farmers selling off their land in the housing boom, Major crop failures (see Australia's rice crop failure), gas prices to ship food.
  • jeebus, on 05/15/2008, -8/+30Hack journalism. This is all about ETHANOL.
    • RedHerringHack, on 05/15/2008, -2/+7Yes it is, but the root cause is oil.
      • saigumi, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2Wait.. someone else who understands that the cost of oil increased the costs of pesticides, fertilizer, growing, harvesting, shipping and processing?

        Holy crap!
        • saisumimen, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2let's not suck each other's dicks just yet.
    • anillop, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3If you think this is just as simple as the bogeyman ethanol then you really don't understand the issue. There is no one thing that is causing the spike in prices.
  • Bostocks, on 05/15/2008, -3/+11It is a great plan if you have no idea how capitalism works, I'm not sure that this guy knows it's not the governments fault when people eat too much and then get liposuction. That or he's being sarcastic.
    • RedHerringHack, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2He just wants someone to hate.
  • Hrodrik, on 05/15/2008, -8/+13There really are some huge ass americans and on average they probably eat more than in any other country in the world but the US isn't the only country to be blamed here. Most other "civilized countries" have a big part of the population eating much more than they need to be healthy.
    • djchester, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2Sure: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/05/13/busin ...
      • saigumi, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1I really wished they posted more data on it. As, I'm wondering if they included only American citizens or if they factored in the other 50% of our population which is migrant workers, illegal immagrants, H1Bs, etc.

        Did they just say "X amount of corn used / # of citizens" or "X amount of corn used / (# of citizens + # of other people in the US'?
    • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1Civilized countries also produce the most food.
  • orlyfactor, on 05/15/2008, -34/+29Well, I blame Indians for stinking up my f'ing office, drinking from the sink in the bathroom, and ***** on the toilet seat (yeah, that's happened, and I work for a Fortune 100 Company in their corporate office). So, the pot is calling the kettle brown now, bitches!
    • chicofaraby, on 05/15/2008, -8/+15I blame racists for being assholes.
      • itsthebrod, on 05/15/2008, -5/+4How is it racist assuming what he said is all factually true?
        • gwolf001, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1It is if you decide to paint everyone of a race or a country with one broad brush based on one anecdote.
    • 4rp4n3t, on 05/15/2008, -4/+12Right. And you hang out in the toilet, watching people take *****, because *that's* the kind of guy you are.
    • gwolf001, on 05/15/2008, -3/+6You claim to be working in an office, so I presume you aren't 12 years old. Here, read up on something called "Anecdotal Fallacy".
      http://www.fallacyfiles.org/volvofal.html
  • havokdu, on 05/15/2008, -23/+18If food it's a problem maybe indians should start eating their "sacred" cows!
    • digjam, on 05/15/2008, -3/+10now how racist is that?
    • jojoanderson, on 05/15/2008, -3/+9it's not racist as much as it is ignorant...and a prime example of why people dislike the US...we don't respect anyone...
    • ucg1, on 05/15/2008, -2/+4They do eat beef in India. Not everyone there is a Hindu, there's Christians and Muslims there too. And even the ones who are Hindu don't necessarily abstain from beef.
    • sonnybobiche, on 05/15/2008, -3/+3To be fair, cows do completely overrun large parts of india. If only they ate them, the food problem would be solved. I know they have their beliefs and everything, but sometimes you have to burn the Bible to not freeze to death.
    • jabberwolf, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1The cows are getting skinny too.

      So it's a moooooot point!
      (sorry had to! )
  • topace3000, on 05/15/2008, -4/+9US farmers should grow more and profit off of the higher prices while satisfying the demand.
    • sacherjj, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3Here is the problem. There is a shortage of Corn. However, an average farmer can't afford the extra water required and fertilizer required to grow corn in many places. The farmers aren't seeing increased profits from the increased food prices. The food prices are increasing because the farmers are getting squeezed by increasing costs of materials required and diesel fuel.
      • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3True, corn does require a lot of water. But given the higher prices I think we'll see farmers begin to produce a lot more of it in the coming couple of years.
        I'm far more concerned with the speculators manipulating commodity prices than I am farm production. THATS what's really going on.
        • sacherjj, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2I think to some part, that is also what is driving oil prices.
  • jonthefisherman, on 05/15/2008, -30/+35try eating cows instead of worshiping them they are very yummy!
    • maus56, on 05/15/2008, -3/+4Give A1 sauce a home.
    • digjam, on 05/15/2008, -15/+9there is something call religion...which you a$$holes dont have... Indians have a culture..which unfortunately you dont know that you are missing...
      • jonthefisherman, on 05/15/2008, -2/+7its joke you douche bag
      • bpm2000, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0oh my no religion! whatever will we do???
      • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0And look where that's leading you... untouchables, burn women alive with their deceased husbands, dismal hygeine, rotting dead bodies in rivers, poverty, and starvation. Great culture and 'religion'.. it's turtles all the way down.
    • chronoton, on 05/15/2008, -4/+2there's plenty of soylent green available. save the cows.
    • ucg1, on 05/15/2008, -0/+5They do eat beef in India. Not everyone there is a Hindu, there's Christians and Muslims there too. And even the ones who are Hindu don't necessarily abstain from beef.
      • iampriteshdesai, on 05/15/2008, -1/+0Hindus don't eat beef stupid!!!
    • duranxoxo, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0i like to eat your mom, how about that
  • Jogga, on 05/15/2008, -21/+8I blame Ganesh, that fat elephant ***** must eat enough to feed half that country.
    • ortucis, on 05/15/2008, -8/+2Quick, Digg him up. Anti-India brigade assemble. Cmon, he needs more positive diggs just like other comments here.
    • DesiGUY, on 05/15/2008, -4/+7what about your fake ***** god?
    • Jogga, on 05/15/2008, -2/+4...I was joking.
      Oh, wait, I forgot. Digg users don't have a sense of humor.
      • digjam, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3Humor???? Are you f'king kidding me? If you dont believe in something then STFU...its individual beliefs ... I can keep on ranting about your fake gods too.. but thats not taught in my culture and religion
        • Jogga, on 05/15/2008, -3/+2You're assuming I believe in ANY gods.
          I was making a joke along the lines of "X makes baseless assumption about Y, so Y makes a baseless assumption about X."
          I respect your religion, but I respect comedy above all.
      • BN2L, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3We have a sense of humour it just really wasn't funny.
  • lazerus9, on 05/15/2008, -17/+4I think we should start eating Indians. I love curry!
  • Mier, on 05/15/2008, -8/+29Perhaps we should stop outsourcing. That might help their food price problem.
    • quraid, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4its too late now. Indian corporations have lessened their US market anyway. something about dollar being too low.
      • Pitstopper, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3Imagine if US banks and companies had to pay thrice the amount of money on IT. Things would have been worse now.
  • coffee200am, on 05/15/2008, -17/+4Indian men should not produce so much man gravy and feeding it to the Indian women..
    • marx2k, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2I don't think eating it is how babies are born. Your parents might need to offer a refresher course.
  • robtrevino, on 05/15/2008, -18/+10Eat cows and stop having kids.
  • tekano, on 05/15/2008, -16/+6woah, get over it you fat bigots
  • amightywind, on 05/15/2008, -23/+21Hey India, stop screwing like bunnies! There'd be fewer mouths for your to feed. Here in America we are large and in charge!
    • Shrooms27, on 05/15/2008, -9/+1EXACTLY as in we're large, as in too large to get any, much unlike the "suave" indian folk
      If we was skinny shaped like our fellow indians we would also have GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE...and sexual encounters 'n junk
    • DesiGUY, on 05/15/2008, -3/+5Dude, cant help... we love screwing/***** around :)

      Actually, we are not FAT, thats why we screw like bunnies.
      • Shrooms27, on 05/15/2008, -2/+0umm I am making fun of AM-er-iCAns not indians
    • BN2L, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2You're just large.
  • drakefantastic, on 05/15/2008, -11/+27Ummm...Hey India; you have the 7th largest land area, the 2nd largest work force, and a similarly uneven distribution of wealth. Look in a mirror for your day will come...We should also look in a mirror--have you seen how fat we are?

    Our problem is that Americans under the poverty level are fat, meaning that they buy too much cheap, processed foods. Instead of blaming fat Americans for rising food prices, blame Pringles and dietary ignorance for fat Americans
    • jiquester, on 05/15/2008, -9/+3Exactly...the irony being that many of the below poverty obese are buying their food from Indian-owned convenience stores.
    • CrispyOne, on 05/15/2008, -1/+8Whoa, whoa - let's not bring Pringles into this.
    • sgtpppr, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2India also seems to have no problem accepting all the US call center jobs though. US dollars are pouring into that country daily and they're bitching because they are short on rice? The amount of money in India has skyrocketed in the last 20 years. The problem is their overpopulation problem makes most of the rest of the world's look really tame. They're still pissed off that the US is supporting Pakistan who has nuclear weapons pointed at India (and vice versa). Kashmir is a wasteland now and they've been fighting over that land for who knows how long now.
    • liuite, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1a lot of poor americans are overweight because of High Fructose Corn Syrup...ban HFCS and grain prices may fall
  • Frappman, on 05/15/2008, -8/+2Despite that the Indian population outnumbers America's a hundred-bazillion to one, I have to admit that I don't eat THAT much...!
  • madcat87, on 05/15/2008, -15/+4yeah,***** the fat Yankees.
  • acespades, on 05/15/2008, -19/+58Let me think about this for a moment:

    US produces food to feed its own population - Americans can eat the food they produce in whatever way they want. Am I wrong?

    Now, India can't produce its own food and start pointing fingers at US because they can't feed its own overpopulated country and tell US what they should do with their own food production..!
    Either they need a reality check or farming revolution in there - if they have space for it of course...
    • zolthar, on 05/15/2008, -1/+5Thailand attempts to start a Rice cartel with several other Asia-Pacific nations, including India.
      • secrity, on 05/15/2008, -1/+4The US is a rice exporter, can US farmers join the cartel? If India has enough rice to join a cartel, why can't they feed their own people?
    • digjam, on 05/15/2008, -0/+8Wait a min...if America produces and consumes its own food then the prices here shouldn't rise..its not called GLOBAL food shortage for nothing.
      • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1Thats not the way it works. If I have two boxes of rice, and you'll pay me 5 dollars but a fella in India will pay me 10 dollars and ship them himself, I'm not gunna sell you the rice just because you live nearby.
    • pagalchu, on 05/15/2008, -11/+6You idiot. American people are so lazy and fat. Don't you see that? Look at yourself. America imports most of everything including tissue paper. It was so stupid of Bush to blame India for food shortage. What if India blames you Americans for destroying environment by ***** more everyday as you eat more food? get it straight.
      • dmark77, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3What does america have to do with India's environment?

        If you want to look somewhere environmentally - check out China, Mexico, and Malaysia bub.
      • amightywind, on 05/15/2008, -2/+5We have things here called 'toilets' and 'sewer systems'. They prevent the environmental degradation and disease that spread because you take your dump in the streets.
      • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -2/+6You know what if America has the money for it too ***** bad, India is just bitching cause its not fair, stand on your feet or fall. Its not the U.S. problem, they push out so many kids and they cant support them well stop ***** doing that I guess eh? BTW I am Canadian and I support the U.S. in this position, how dare another nation bitch about anothers propseprity, India sounds like a jealous little girl and Im sorry but I need to say this every Indian Person I know is like this. Digg me down if you want but its the truth in my eyes.
      • Donwangugi, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3The united states produces nearly as much as India. In fact it probably produces more per a capita than any other economy, let alone country, in the world. We also donate more food than any other country.
        Additionally, Bush, for once, is partially right. It is only natural that as the rest of the world nears economic standards of the West, they will eat more food. This in addition with rising fuel costs pushes up the price of food. Also, what does not help is countries banning exports on food to protect prices in their own country. We produce enough food so that people can get fat, and eat disproportionate amounts of food. That is our problem.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_ ...
  • nirav72, on 05/15/2008, -5/+62Just to add a little perspective here - This was in retaliation to the comment that Bush made last week about how the growing Indian middle class is the cause behind the global food shortages and price increase.

    No need to get racist over it.

    • Grimdotdotdot, on 05/15/2008, -2/+14Indeed.
      Looking at the comments that are being dugg up and the comments that are being dugg down makes me depressed.
      • artfiend77, on 05/15/2008, -0/+5This is Digg...don't get depressed over stupid comments by uneducated 16 yr olds.
        • Grimdotdotdot, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4But soon they'll be stupid, uneducated and able to vote =[
    • regularsteven, on 05/15/2008, -1/+11people are ***** idiots - there should me some digg reading/comprehension/ test to weigh peoples answers. This article was submitted with a wrong title - second para states that 'the response, basically, of a growing number of politicians, economists and academics in this country'.
      People jump at the chance to slag off others, and that's the real issue. Are this amount of people this 'tough' / 'stupid' in real life?
      • drvcr, on 05/15/2008, -0/+5Who do you think put Bush in office in the first place?
        • RoshanK, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2...and once again for his second term as well.
    • drvcr, on 05/15/2008, -0/+10Exactly. This may be obvious, but a good number of diggers looked at the mislabeled article title and used it as an excuse to spew their racist/frustrated remarks without actually reading the article.

      The article simply states that India believes President Bush wrongly attributed to the world's food shortage crisis to it's burgeoning middle class. Nothing more. It's simply a childish argument between two nations.

      Many of these comments could have been averted if people just took the time to rta and establish a rational discourse. People fear what they cannot comprehend and unfortunately that's what we are seeing in this thread.

      Instead of discussing the economic ramifications of both nation's agricultural policies, both sides have resorted to the name-calling that their leaders have engaged in. I enjoy Digg quite a bit, but some of these comments have reminded me of the old adage that ignorance is bliss.
  • UNC81, on 05/15/2008, -15/+4No kidding, maybe if they ate cows their food demands would ease on other staples.
  • yaosio, on 05/15/2008, -3/+24It's good to know none of the other 6.3 billion people have anything to do with this.
  • HubbertWins, on 05/15/2008, -21/+15Grow your own damned food, India. That and try a little family planning why don't ya?
    • EarlOfLade, on 05/15/2008, -3/+3Family planning?
      Like when American religious leaders claim that family planning and contraceptives are the devils work and that your American christian god tells you it is wrong?

      You just seem to be another super fat, super stupid, super arrogant lard mountain of an American.
  • secondwheel2, on 05/15/2008, -13/+32wow im surprised on all the racist comments i have been hearing
    • Sasquatcho, on 05/15/2008, -11/+4yes, the racism is unnecessary, but I just get sick of having a world that hates Americans because of the clowns running our government. I'm sick of being held responsible for actions taken by a government I can't control.
    • mogobufflo, on 05/15/2008, -3/+3I agree, I am new to Digg, and expected better than the usual ilk that infest other websites. Oh well. I think the statements made by Mehta were clearly reactionary and juvenile, but that doesn't account for all Indians. Besides that, the issue of food prices has more to do with the falling value of the dollar, and low production levels due to outdated US agricultural subsidies. The article also points out the increased strain on food supply due to ethanol production.
    • palatka, on 05/15/2008, -5/+5India is not a race.
    • BN2L, on 05/15/2008, -0/+6People not clever enough to form effective counter arguments resorting to racism, it happens far too much on digg.
  • BuzzFriendly, on 05/15/2008, -2/+16Well I can't disagree that many Americans eat too much and are overweight I am not convinced this is causing a food problem for India. For instance are Hostess HO-HO's Entemans Ultimate Chocolate Donuts (awesome with cold milk) or the crap ingredients used to make them part of the India's diet? Is there a reason why India cannot produce its own food or eat its own beef cattle?
    • KhanneaNL, on 05/15/2008, -9/+7one point two billion. Indians screwed themselves in a corner like roaches and now they are whining they cant feed themselves. Some careful family-planning half a century could have avoided this but noooo fertility is a vishna-given right, daddy is horny tonight, let's have a seventh baby.
      • porninstructor, on 05/15/2008, -0/+4Yeah just look at the "success" of China's "One Child, One family" policy.....
      • drvcr, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3Did you even rtfa to comprehend its basic points?

        Indian leaders and economists were reacting to President Bush's comments that the world food shortage is based on India's middle class. Simply put, a stupid argument between two nations.

        I guess stupidity and ignorance are mechanisms you use to compensate for things you don't understand. I rarely say this, but if you aren't going to contribute something meaningful don't say anything at all.
    • itsthebrod, on 05/15/2008, -5/+6"Is there a reason why India cannot produce its own food or eat its own beef cattle?"

      And once again, religion is to blame (for the second part of that question). Cows are sacred, duh!
    • nynety, on 05/15/2008, -1/+6This isn't causing a food problem for the Indians. This is just a knee-jerk reaction to Bush's statement that India is responsible for the world's food shortage because of its huge population and increasingly affluent middle-class. RTFA, people!
      • BuzzFriendly, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Knee jerk reaction perhaps, but enough to get the attention of a lot of people around the world. Not to mention your own comments to other comments.
  • rex84, on 05/15/2008, -10/+26Americans blame marble-mouthed Indians for bad Dell customer service.
    • Krovvy, on 05/15/2008, -4/+5But it's so true!
    • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Dont forget Microsoft
    • lattethunder, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1Marble-mouthed Indians? How's your Hindi? Your Urdu? How about your Tamil? Fact is, Indians are taught an even purer English than John Bull.
  • coolkatz321, on 05/15/2008, -10/+14We'll all go on diets when the Indians stop having so many babies. Oh wait...
    • Obelia, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3Why does that comment make me think of Swift?

      A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in India from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick
  • ShyGuy91284, on 05/15/2008, -9/+9Give it time. Once the new world order is in place, the US will be one giant farm, Europe will be the center of it all, and India will be a breeding ground for all our doctors and engineers....
    • Shrooms27, on 05/15/2008, -5/+2What about Africa???????
      • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2Strip mined for resources.
        Pretty much like now.
    • nickert0n, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1Ok Emporer Palpatine /end sarcasim
  • LokitheComplex, on 05/15/2008, -1/+6This is a pathetic argument. Why aren't we arguing over which technology will solved the energy crisis, not "Who Ate All the Pies?"
  • Haroshia, on 05/15/2008, -20/+15Hey India...PROTIP: Quit squirting out kids you can't feed in the hopes that one of them gets an American job to support his entire family.
    • iampriteshdesai, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2Cant the Americans produce squirt or do they outsource even that????
      • ortucis, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Well, the average American mom do ***** around a lot. You never know.
  • crazystar, on 05/15/2008, -15/+16Not only Americans are fat but also the most racist people in the world
    • ShyGuy91284, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3It's probably extremely apparent (and even generally accepted as a perceved truth) in more homogeneous countries such as China, Japan, maybe India.... The big thing here is we doin't bite our tongues and are often involved in a lot of international issues. Although I suppose TV-driven stereotypes don't help....
    • joshhan, on 05/15/2008, -0/+5Wow, you've spoken to EVERY single person in the entire world? Who are you, Santa Claus?
    • Shrooms27, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2I love our racism...minus the violence and stuff
    • thepeacemaker, on 05/15/2008, -3/+6>>Not only Americans are fat but also the most racist people in the world
      You haven't been to India have you?
      • crazystar, on 05/15/2008, -4/+2I am from India and I don't think people are as racist as Americans
        • flashingcurser, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2So can a Sikh put up a church in your neighborhood? How about muslims? You might tolerate a buddhist such as me but what about a poor white american christian? While not a race exactly, but what about untouchables? Talk about racism, they aren't even counted in your census!
        • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0boom!! Headshot!!
    • jiquester, on 05/15/2008, -3/+10Wow you are an ignarant ***** - calling all Americans fat and racist? See you put all Americans in one group and classified them, which is exactly what racism is you waste of human life.
      • crazystar, on 05/15/2008, -6/+1oh...the pooor little white boy is angry...boo ***** hoo..
      • Grimdotdotdot, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2"American" isn't a race.
      • OMGWTFROFLMAOx2, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1That's not what racism is at all.
        What you described is stereotyping/prejudging (prejudice).
      • milkmage, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1you're so ignOrant you can't even spell ignarant.
    • rushiku, on 05/15/2008, -1/+5I know, right? They blow themselves up all the time to protest the existence of cultures that are not in line with their chosen book of fairytales...er...oh, you were talking about Americans, yeah, they say mean things.
    • Metalcard, on 05/15/2008, -1/+4Well *****, when everyone in the world blames us for everything wrong in the world what do expect? Do you think we are going to get slapped in the face then say "Its cool, do it again" hell no. We're angry. Other countries need to fix there own damn problems. Need food? Grow it! Don't like high import costs? Build it yourself! We are just tired of you damn complaining.
      • Grimdotdotdot, on 05/15/2008, -0/+5Got oil? We're invading!

        Sorry, sorry - "spreading democracy".
        • SsbFalcon, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2But we don't want oil... We want cold fusion...
    • flashingcurser, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1The US is the MOST diverse culture in the world. We have more people of different nationalities than anywhere. Because of this diversity likelihood of racial tensions is much higher here, but as a whole we are also the least racist nation in the world. Find one country that has more diverse culture. You can go to LA and find hispanic neighborhoods next to asian next to black next to Indian next to jewish next to Arab next to eastern european and so on. You cannot find that anywhere else. As for the "white" people, even they are a diverse mix of irish, german, french and so forth.
  • ryazwinski, on 05/15/2008, -1/+7Food prices are high, because oil prices are high. Oil: required for nitrogen based fertilizer production and moving food around. Not to mention that the planet is trying to sustain about 6Billion more people than it's capable of.
    • s2ao, on 05/15/2008, -1/+1so it is America's fault after all...
      Oil prices are so high because of the war in Iraq, Americans refusing to give up their SUVs and pumping oil into the strategic reserve.
    • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0"the planet is trying to sustain about 6Billion more people than it's capable of"
      So the planet is not capable of sustaining more than a few hundred million humans?!
      Well, Earth has been doing an outstanding job for the past 50 million years. Go Earth!!!
  • coolkatz321, on 05/15/2008, -0/+16You know, they're not the ONLY ones affected by this food shortage! Why, just yesterday at Costco, I was informed I couldn't buy more than FOUR 50lb bags of rice. That's right, no more than FOUR! How the hell am I supposed to make my plastic swimming pool-sized tub of paella now?!
    • RealmDown, on 05/15/2008, -5/+3Way to work on curbing the stereotypical trend there buddy.
      • porninstructor, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1You are new to sarcasm aren't you?
        • RealmDown, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Not in the least. Please reread my comment with that in mind.
    • leodavinci, on 05/15/2008, -0/+7You make light of that, but for restaurants who buy their rice from Costco, that could be a pretty big deal.
      • justjoehere, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3So, they make 2 trips to the car. Problem solved.
        • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0Gas aint cheap man.
        • justjoehere, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Walk to the car, put the rice in the car, walk back into Costco, get 4 more. Pay, take them to the car.
      • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1I would think most restaurants work with the rice distributors rather than buying from Costco.
        But seriously, who buys more than 4 bags of rice? Hell, who even EATS rice? This is America! Eat pizza damn it!
        • justjoehere, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1LOL, I would pose the same question, but there are lots of American's that love Chinese food.
    • amightywind, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2I saw two Chinamen fighting over the last bag of rice at Costco on Saturday, as I calmly grabbed a 40 lb sack of potatoes from the giant stack right next to it. They are picky.
    • lattethunder, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1Well played, coolkatz -- LMAO.
  • unclebuck, on 05/15/2008, -9/+23It's nice to see Americans coming together to agree that Indians suck.
  • markgl, on 05/15/2008, -7/+3You know if we all decided to wear only one shoe we can take the other one and match it with another one and then we can supply the rest of the world with shoes for everyone!
    • markgl, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1i see no one read the article and understands the point im trying to make...
    • Tssst, on 05/15/2008, -0/+0This guy has a point.. *shoes* are the solution to the problem of world hunger!!! Eureka!
      • markgl, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1and i say, the point totally missed.

        you can't do the well of they ate less the others would have more food for others. if I didn't trim my beard, i'd have less of a carbon footprint, and so on and so on and so on....
  • daxsymbiont, on 05/15/2008, -10/+3truth hurts doesn't it.
    • prleet, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3dugg you up, people do not want to hear truth!
      • justjoehere, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2And what exactly is your version of the truth? I say they should grow their own food and shut up.
  • zolthar, on 05/15/2008, -3/+31They want Rice? Give them Condi
  • mojo31979, on 05/15/2008, -12/+12Oh geez, god forbid some country in the eastern hemisphere do something to help them out. We humbly apologize for the millions of jobs and hundreds of companies that have out-soucred to India to help their economy. They could, like a vast majority of them already do, move to America and become fat with us. I don't hear any of them complaining as soon as they set foot on American soil.
    • milkmage, on 05/15/2008, -2/+9yeah, American companies outsource purely out of sympathy for the "poor", underdeveloped countries.. yeah, has nothing to do with cutting operating costs or anything because it's purely out of generosity - the fact that it's cheaper is a nice bonus though.
      /sarcasm
      • mojo31979, on 05/23/2008, -0/+0Sorry, I apologize. The way I worded my comment did make it sound like that was the reason for outsourcing. But that's not what I meant.
  • manjai, on 05/15/2008, -4/+26The debate began after Bush blamed India for rising prices. That statement itself was funny. Let us end this useless debate.
    • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3Blaming isn't the same as pointing out a *reason*. India and China have rapidly increasing middle classes, and middle classes make the largest demands on world Oil and food supplies. If you haven't noticed, prices in both those markets are climbing. Blaming Americans for eating too much is just being stupid.
    • warrior007, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3yes first Bush blamed India , thats why they had commented like that .

      This statement came just bcoz of Bush Statement
    • curtisag, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3The rise of China is being partially blamed for the rise in oil demand and prices. Why shouldn't the same be true for food? Two extremely large countries, China and India, are starting to modernize their economies, it stands to reason their demand for things will increase.
  • zolthar, on 05/15/2008, -2/+6The famous super fat stereotypes actually eat 10% food and 90% crap, even if they are not aware of it.
  • djchester, on 05/15/2008, -7/+16How can you eat this much corn U.S? Check the Comparison Consuming image next to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/05/13/busin ...
    • CrispyOne, on 05/15/2008, -0/+8HFCS?
      • korvan504521, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3and that ***** is half the reason we're fat.
      • secrity, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1high fructose corn syrup -- the ***** that is in Coke and Pepsi and many other processed "foods" instead of sugar.
    • Metalcard, on 05/15/2008, -0/+3We don't eat vegetables like corn, our wonderful cows do. (Also ethanol production from corn.)
    • jhourcle, on 05/15/2008, -1/+4We don't eat it. Look at the note at the bottom:
      All data include consumption as food, seed, industrial uses, feed, and waste.
      I'm guessing a significant amount of that is animal feed (which means it's double counted, as beef/chicken ... but not pork?) but we have no idea what of it is industrial by that chart -- not just ethanol but we also people making biodegradable plastics from corn as well as other things.
    • milkmage, on 05/15/2008, -0/+7i'll bet 75% of that corn isn't consumed as fresh corn. it's turned into High Fructose Corn Syrup (spot on Crispy) which is in EVERYTHING.
    • secrity, on 05/15/2008, -0/+7Much of it has to do with the US government encouraging corn production and not allowing sugar imports. Some of the reasons: The US population eats more corn than many other nations' populations eat rice and other starches. Many American food manufacturers use HFCS rather than sugar. The US uses quite a bit of corn in animal feed. The US uses corn to produce methanol and other bio-fuels. Corn oil is commonly used as an edible oil. There are several other reasons.
    • pagalchu, on 05/15/2008, -2/+1US has fat circles than any other country.
      • dmark77, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2In English:

        US has more fat people than any other country.
        • pagalchu, on 05/15/2008, -1/+0Now you sounds like you are my secretary. Correct everything I write.
        • dmark77, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Naw... I just owned you today :)
  • Piontek, on 05/15/2008, -9/+4assholes
  • londubh, on 05/15/2008, -13/+8So how many Indian families would one fat American feed?
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