GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: How the U.S. Government Guaranteed the Coming Global Food Crisis

Sunday, November 28, 2010

How the U.S. Government Guaranteed the Coming Global Food Crisis

Steve Sjuggerud
Market Oracle

Porter Stansberry with Braden Copeland write: Over the last several years, I've written constantly on the growing likelihood of a global currency collapse.

The governments of Europe and the United States have accumulated debts so large they can't ever hope to repay them, except with currencies whose value will be inflated away by money-printing.

That's led me to recommend inflation hedges like railroads, gold, silver, and various forms of energy. Owning these "real assets" is the single best way to protect yourself from the inflationary crisis. But make sure you don't forget the most important inflation hedge of all: food.

If you've been reading the financial press for the past few months, you know the prices of vital food commodities are soaring. The price of corn is up 47% since this summer. Soybeans are up 30%. Wheat is up 43%.

I expect this trend of higher food prices to continue for years as the U.S government intentionally debases the dollar while lying to you the whole time about wanting a "strong currency." (Make sure to read our essay hereabout this great lie.) There's also a good supply/demand case to be made for owning agricultural assets. Let's start with the largest crop in the United States, corn...

In 2009, U.S. farmers grew 39% of the world's corn – 307.4 million metric tons. The crop was worth $48 billion. Our corn exports totaled $8.7 billion.

Most harvested corn in the U.S. is used to feed livestock – 43% of 2009 production. Almost as much (41%) was used for food, consumer, and industrial products (toothpaste, adhesives, cosmetics, starches, sweeteners, oils, beverages, industrial alcohol, fuel ethanol, etc.). The remainder was exported. The U.S. sent most of its corn to Japan, Mexico, and South Korea.

The second-largest corn grower, China, produced 165.9 million metric tons, or half the U.S. production. The European Union was a distant third, harvesting 62.7 million metric tons. Brazil checked in fourth, at 51 million metric tons.

In 2009, a severe drought in China killed millions of bushels of corn. Stockpiles dwindled to alarming levels as the government sold corn to keep the price from rocketing higher. Into 2010, the situation hasn't improved. The Chinese have become net importers of corn for the first time in 16 years. Experts predict China will require 6 million to 8 million metric tons of corn this year.

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