Tag: Food Crisis

Italians Have a “Crabs” Problem

Relax!  This is not going to be some dissertation on the problems with those little parasites that like to inhabit the hairy regions of a human’s body.

But a dissertation will follow the news…

Italy is sending in eight-armed reinforcements against a crab that won’t quit. In the Adriatic, scientists have released about 130,000 lab-bred baby octopuses in a bid to curb exploding numbers of Atlantic blue crabs that are wrecking fishing gear and wiping out lucrative clam and mussel beds—damage that farm group Coldiretti pegs at more than $230 million so far, the Telegraph reports. The “Octo-Blu” project, led by Bologna University and the Emilia-Romagna regional government, is banking on a simple food-chain fix: once grown, each octopus could devour up to four crabs a day.

The plan is far from a sure thing. The tiny “paralarvae” face a mortality rate of more than 99%, though researchers have sunk artificial dens to boost their odds. Still, even a single crab eaten can matter, notes project scientist Oliviero Mordenti, who points out that one female crab can produce up to 2 million eggs. Blue crabs have already forced some aquaculture businesses to shut and have been found 100 miles up the Po River, suggesting they’re spreading to avoid overcrowding, which leads to cannibalism.

“We chose the octopus because, in the wild, it is a formidable predator of crustaceans,” says Antonio Casalini, a University of Bologna aquaculture expert. “We are not introducing a new species but working on strengthening the population of a native species already naturally present in the Adriatic,” Casalini says, per Scientific American. Italy is also pushing a culinary counterattack, stocking blue crab in shops and on menus, but diners so far haven’t been able to eat their way out of the problem.

Now for my thoughts….

First maybe if they would stop killing thousands of octopus daily to satisfy their ‘culinary delights’ they might not be have such a problem.

Second, they eat urchins, snails, offal meat and such but not crabs…..that seems crazy….ask anyone down here on the Gulf Coast and they will tell you that blue crab is some of the best crab meat around.

Third, if they cannot bring themselves to eat the crab then fishermen could make a killing catching them and sending them to the Southern states…..Southerns will gladly eat them if a smile….and it would drive the price of local crabs down….another positive side effect.  The problem here is that it could damage local crab industry and put a strain on it.

Fourth someone needs to start a new Italian tradition with the crabs….try them you’ll like them….after all monk fish was not eaten in the past and look at the popularity today.

After I wrote this draft on Monday more to this saga has been reported…..it looks like they will try #3 on my list….

Italian fishermen for two years incinerated most of the invasive Atlantic blue crabs caught in the Po River Delta south of Venice. Few Italians had an appetite for the alien predator blamed for decimating their prized Manila clams.

While experiments in containment continue, including the release of tens of thousands of octopus predators, the industry’s response has been shifting to find new markets for the crustaceans. The strategy is already salvaging the livelihood of some fishermen and, some hope, may even rehabilitate the much-maligned crab’s image in Italy.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/italians-enter-uneasy-truce-invasive-040730509.html

May I suggest exporting them to the UK they seem to be fish-centric and they might enjoy the crab meat.

That does it for me for this week…..I hope has a great weekend….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Providing Cover Again

Many Americans and especially some of the toads in Donny’s Merry Band of Thugs give as much cover as possible for the genocide and other atrocities that Israel commits almost daily.

Little Donny has once again puked up a lie to get people to stop talking about the food crisis in Gaza.

“I have a plan”

Earlier this week, President Trump said “there is real starvation in Gaza,” contradicting remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Friday, Trump told Axios that he’s planning to do more about it. “We want to help people. We want to help them live. We want to get people fed. It is something that should have happened a long time ago,” he said. The leading international authority on food crises said Tuesday that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza.

  • Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, visited a controversial aid distribution site in Gaza on Friday, the BBC reports. In a post on X, he said he visited the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site at Trump’s direction to give the president “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”
  • Sites run by the US and Israeli-backed GHF replaced United Nations sites in May, but the UN and health officials say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while heading to the sites, the AP reports. On Friday, Human Rights Watch said the GHF was the central part of a “flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”
  • Witkoff was joined by Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, who said the GHF sites were delivering more than a million meals a day in an “incredible feat.”
  • It’s not clear whether Trump’s plan will involve more backing for the GHF or a different aid delivery system. He told Axios that while he is concerned about starvation, he blames Hamas for stealing aid. In a post on Truth Social Thursday, he said, “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!”
  • Sources tell the Atlantic that Trump is starting to believe “what many in Washington have thought for months: Netanyahu is looking to prolong the conflict in Gaza, in open defiance of Trump’s wish for the war to end.” The sources say Trump and some of his aides believe Israel accomplished its military goals in Gaza some time ago and Netanyahu is seeking “to maintain his own political power.”

Ambassador Huckabee goes to Gaza and reports back that everything is A-ok…..

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with the U.S.-backed aid organization that’s been setting death traps for starving Palestinians.

Huckabee said Friday morning that he and special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Gaza to “learn the truth” about the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, whose aid sites have become the locus of mass casualty events on a near-daily basis

The United Nations reported Thursday that at least 859 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to receive aid at GHF sites between May 27 and July 31, mostly by the Israeli military.

Huckabee seemed pleased after receiving a briefing from the Israeli military and meeting with GHF workers on the ground. “GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!” Huckabee wrote in a post on X.

But GHF has now been implicated in hundreds of Palestinians deaths, as the widespread famine in Gaza worsens.

https://newrepublic.com/post/198711/mike-huckabee-goes-gaza-ghf-israel

Why would anyone listen to this fake Christian asshole?

Anyone nay everyone can see that everything is NOT okay in Gaza….people are starving….this douche bag gives Christians a bad name.

For instance the lack of food distribution by an US and Israeli backed group, GHF…..the one the Huckabutt says if doing a good job…

Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar, a retired US Army Green Beret who worked in Gaza at aid distribution sites run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has blown the whistle on the operation and is speaking out about war crimes he witnessed the IDF commit.

Today, Tucker Carlson published an interview with Aguilar and he also appeared on Breaking Points with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti.

For coming forward, Aguilar is being smeared by the GHF as a liar, and he addresses those claims in the Breaking Points interview. Carlson said he would have the former Green Beret back on his show next week for an in depth response to the allegations.

Both interviews can be found here:

https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2025/07/31/ghf-whistleblower-who-witnessed-war-crimes-in-gaza-interviewed-by-tucker-carlson/

Huckabutt is a goddamn disgrace to his religion and to all of humanity…..someone help this ‘person’ (and I use the term lightly) retire and soon.

There is more about the criminals in GHF….the use of American mercenaries….

Americans working for a little known U.S.-based private military contractor have begun to come forward to media and members of Congress with charges that their work has involved using live ammunition for crowd control and other abusive measures against unarmed civilians seeking food at controversial food distribution sites run by the Global Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in Gaza.

UG Solutions was hired by the GHF to secure and deliver food into Gaza. The GHF, with the help of the PMCs claims to have provided nearly 100 million meals to Gaza. Israel put GHF in control of what used to be the UN-led aid mission.

The UN, however, has called the new model an “abomination” which “provides nothing but starvation and gunfire to the people of Gaza,” referring to the 1000 Gazans who have been killed near or at the GHF centers since May. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been accused of shooting and shelling unarmed civilians. The American contractors say they have witnessed it and have been told to use live ammunition in their own crowd control efforts.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-contractors-gaza-food-2673791401/

US actions around the world and especially in Gaza illustrates that the US is NO longer a beacon of hope….it has become a cancer on the planet.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Factory Farms And The Next Pandemic

WE all have suffered through the bird flu…..eggs prices shot up and have remained up although they have come down a bit since the beginning of the crisis….there has been some concern with beef cattle, swine, etc….but what is causing this ‘scare’?

Throughout human history, zoonotic diseases, illnesses that jump from animals to humans, have shaped civilizations, triggered pandemics, and rewritten the course of economies. The Black Death, which ravaged Europe in the 14th century, originated from bacteria transmitted by fleas that lived on rats. Ebola, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2, which caused COVID-19, all had animal origins. As humanity’s relationship with animals has become increasingly industrialized through factory farming, the risk of zoonotic spillover has escalated.

Some diseases are transmitted through direct contact with animals, such as rabies from a bite or tuberculosis from infected cattle. Others spread through the consumption of poorly cooked meat, contaminated dairy products, or wet markets that sell live animals. Vector-borne diseases, where insects like mosquitoes and ticks act as intermediaries, transfer pathogens from animals to humans.

The intensification of industrial agriculture has amplified these risks. The crowded, high-density conditions of factory farms create a breeding ground for disease. Animals raised in confined spaces experience high levels of stress, which weakens their immune systems and increases their susceptibility to infections. When a pathogen emerges in this environment, it can mutate rapidly and spread with alarming efficiency.

This is particularly concerning with influenza viruses, which frequently originate in birds and pigs before adapting to humans. Bird flu has been detected in sheep, raising concerns about the virus’s ability to cross species boundaries. Such a discovery underscores the unpredictability of zoonotic diseases, particularly in terms of cross-species transmission and the potential for rapid evolution of health threats.

Philip Lymbery, author and global CEO of Compassion in World Farming, thinks the danger is serious: “Factory farms are a ticking time bomb for future pandemics,” he says. “Hundreds of coronaviruses are in circulation, most of them among animals including pigs, camels, bats, and cats. Sometimes those viruses jump to humans.”

Antibiotics, widely used in industrial farming to promote growth and prevent disease, exacerbate the issue. Overuse has led to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can jump to humans through direct exposure, contaminated food, or environmental runoff from farms. The World Health Organization has repeatedly warned that antibiotic resistance could become one of the greatest threats to human health, rendering common infections untreatable. COVID-19 was a wake-up call, but it was not the first time a zoonotic virus wreaked havoc on global health. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, which originated from nonhuman primates, has killed over 40 million people since it emerged in the 20th century.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/13/factory-farms-and-the-next-pandemic/

What are the chances of a new pandemic waiting for a time to strike?

I say they are pretty good because there is an administration that seems to care little for prevention or safety and that lack of concern could exacerbate the rise of another major impact on the food supply.

Any thoughts on this possibility?

On a side note–there is a farmer in Wisconsin suing the Trump administration….

A Wisconsin dairy farmer alleged in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that the Trump administration is illegally denying financial assistance to white farmers by continuing programs that favor minorities.

The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture in federal court in Wisconsin on behalf of a white dairy farmer, Adam Faust.

Faust was among several farmers who successfully sued the Biden administration in 2021 for race discrimination in the USDA’s Farmer Loan Forgiveness Plan.

The new lawsuit alleges the government has continued to implement diversity, equity and inclusion programs that were instituted under former President Joe Biden. The Wisconsin Institute wrote to the USDA in April warning of legal action, and six Republican Wisconsin congressmen called on the USDA to investigate and end the programs.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-republican-usda-dei-lawsuit-5a524fedc611cb201a43c1967e3f12bf

Seriously an administration that hates brown people and women would choose them over some white dude?

I am hoping that anyone in Wisconsin can shed some light (Hopefully Grouchy Farmer will enlighten us)

Any thoughts on this possibility?

And life goes on in the wacky world of Trump and MAGA.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Farming Ain’t Easy

Americans farmers are looking at dismal time….tariffs and loss of business is straining their very existence….and the government is really not stepping up to help protect our struggling farmers.

Times are tough for many Americans and even worse for the farmers that we depend on for our food supply.

A quick look at recent ‘deals’…..

“I thought it would be easier by now.” So says Jacob Thomas of the 10 years he and wife Jennifer have spent farming land in northeast Kansas. Their 70-year-old family farm—spanning 15 acres of vegetables and over 500 acres for hay and livestock—relies in part on farmers markets and federal programs to stay afloat. This year, the couple absorbed an $8,000 loss—a 10% hit to them—after the Trump administration cut $1 billion from a pair of federal programs that routed locally grown and raised produce and meat to schools and food banks. A separate $750,000 federal agriculture grant they planned to use to build a warehouse that would allow them to expand their business was paused.

Though the grant was later reinstated, construction costs have since gone up and the building timeline has changed, putting the project “in limbo,” writes Annie Gowen for the Washington Post. Gowen touches on the underlying political tension: Many in this Republican-leaning area voted for Trump and are feeling frustrated by the administration’s moves and, in the case of Thomas, let down by their own local congressmen.

“Historically, if you got a government contract, we’re golden, because the government always pays,” Jacob said. “For the first time in my life, I don’t trust the government is going to follow through on their word.” The family’s woes are spilling out of the financial realm: Gowen notes Jacob started treatment for depression and anxiety last fall; “financial insecurity makes my depression worse,” he says. Jennifer now avoids discussing finances in front of their two young daughters.

I recall back in the day when Donny pledged to help the American farmer…..so fare I have not seen any help on the horizon…..

Donald Trump may have won the votes of the US’s most farming-dependent counties by an average of 78% in the 2024 election. But the moves made by his administration in the past few months – imposing steep tariffs, immigration policies that target the migrant labor farmers rely on, and canceling a wide range of USDA programs – have left many farmers reeling.

“The policies of the Trump administration are wreaking havoc on family farmers. It’s been terrible,” said John Bartman, a row crop farmer in Illinois. Bartman is owed thousands of dollars for sustainable practices he implemented on his row crop operation as part of the USDA’s Climate-Smart program.

And he’s not the only one. Other farmers across the country are reporting that the Trump administration’s policies have destroyed their markets by ending programs that help farmers sell their produce to local schools and food banks; implementing draconian immigration policies that destabilize the farm labor pool; and generally creating volatility that makes it hard for farmers to plan ahead.

(check it out…..)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/23/trump-farmers-policy

Tariffs and loss of agriculture is just what some greedy Fat Cats are counting on….

Do we turn our backs on American farmers?

The administration has.

How can any farmer still support this lying scumbag?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Life Will Have No Meaning!

It is another dismal Saturday….rain and cold…so time to kick back and have a cup of coffee and enjoy writing…..

Life on this planet is limited…the dinosaurs had their meteor…the Cold War had its constant threat of a nuke attack wiping life off this planet…..then there are those naysayers (I am one) that fears technology and what it could do to society if it goes wild.

But I read an article the other day that points to all human life is doomed and soon….

Savor that cup of coffee while you can. New research shows 60% of coffee species found in the wild could soon go extinct.Researchers at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK warn that climate change, deforestation, droughts and plant diseases are putting the future of coffee at risk.

“The important thing to remember is that coffee requires a forest habitat for its survival,” senior researcher Aaron P. Davis told CNN. “With so much deforestation going on around the world, wild coffee species are being impacted at an alarming rate.”

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/health/coffee-species-extinction-climate-study-trnd/index.html
Life has NO meaning without coffee!
 
Makes me a bit happy that I am an old fart…..I probably will not see the planet get worse because of the stupid of some…..and besides without coffee why go on?

Shivering now! 

Even MoMo has gone inside and found a warm comfy spot…usually my side of the bed….I will return tomorrow with more stuff.

Be Well, Be Safe

The Great Cashew Riot

My Sunday and cooler weather it is enjoyable……maybe enjoy some fruit and nuts in the garden….speaking of nuts…….

Did you know there was a great cashew riot?  We have seen all kinds of riots…race riots, Zoot Suit riots, even some milder form of food riots…..but a nut riot?  A Cashew Riot?

In 2013 the shortage of cashew nuts led to about 20 farms being burned down…….well it is happening again….the problem is so severe that the army has been put on call…..

Traders have been given a Monday deadline to buy crops from farmers at an approved price, and not below.

If this does not happen, Mr Magufuli said he will send dozens of military trucks to collect the entire crop.

Cashew nut exports are a major foreign-currency earner for Tanzania.

Farmers have for weeks been refusing to sell their harvests, arguing that the private traders’ offers are too low.

On Saturday, Mr Magufuli accused traders of attempting to rip off thousands of farmers and ordered them to increase their price offers to around $1.3 (£1; €1.15) per kilogram (2.2 pounds).

The president says he is working to ensure thousands of farmers get a fair price for their cashew nuts and also so that the country does not miss out on vital export earnings.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46166985

That is right…..cashew riots are possible…..I love my cashews but I do not think I could riot over the lack of them….but then I do not depend on a harvest now do I?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend…..we will pick up where we left off Friday come Monday morning…..

Be well, be safe!

Sunday–09Sep18

MAYO!

The condiment not the Spanish month of May.

It is one of my favorite condiments.  Hell I even like it on french fries and nothing is better in Summer than a tomato sandwich with lots of mayo.

Okay that stroll down memory lane is over.

I bring the subject of Mayo up on this fine Sunday because I read an article that intrigued me…..it seems that the generation we call “Millennials” is killing Mayo…..

Are millennials killing mayonnaise? And, if so, should the generation be celebrated or demonized?

An article in Philadelphia magazine sparked these questions — and more — when it went viral over the weekend. The headline: “How Millennials Killed Mayonnaise.”

As in many cases in which millennials are charged with murder via headline, the piece inspired outcry on social media.

https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-killing-mayonnaise-data-report-2018-8

Oh No!

I use to write a food blog, The Food Nazi, so to help save the memory of mayo I would like to show you how to make your own from scratch….

  1. 1 large egg yolk, room temperature.
  2. 1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste.
  3. 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste.
  4. 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
  5. 3/4 cup olive oil.

Place the egg yolk and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the lemon juice and mustard; blend well. With the motor running, add the oil, drop by drop. This will take a few minutes. Don’t rush it or the mayonnaise may “break,” meaning the oil will separate from the egg.

Cover and refrigerate.

Homemade is by far a better mayo……now grab a tomato, some wheat bread and make a sandwich ….you will not be disappointed.

I do hope that everyone has a ducky day and enjoy the Summer Sunday….I shall return with more stuff.

Why The Uproar Over Climate Change?

We hear daily from all sorts of pundits and politicos about the subject of climate change, the politically correct way of saying global warming…….we hear from the right about what junk science it is….we hear from the left about the consequences of doing nothing……you choose your side….but before you do please investigate both sides both making some bonehead statements……

Me?  I am on the side that we humans are gonna f*cked this planet until there is nothing left to save…..but that is my opinion….and I do what I can to help….I realize it may be too little but at least I am trying to make change….how about you?

But now back to the original question……why the uproar?

Maybe this will help to explain why………

UN scientists see bad things happening to the world’s food supply in the next several decades even as demand increases, reports the New York Times. A draft report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007) predicts that climate change will cut agricultural production by 2% per decade through the end of the century. That reduction comes as demand rises 14% per decade thanks to the ever-growing world population. The panel’s previous report in 2007 was more optimistic, notes the Times. That one said that while some areas of the world would see less production, those losses would be offset by gains in colder climes. Now, the UN scientists predict a net loss, reflecting new research that shows crops are more sensitive than thought to hot temperatures. Another tangible sign of the times: President Obama yesterday ordered federal agencies to help state and local governments better prepare for rising sea levels, storms, and droughts, reports the Washington Post.

Okay, believe it or not….that is up to you….but if you are a gardener you have experienced some changes in growing habits of the veggies…….and if this is true……expect massive price increases to the point that some foods will be price prohibitive for some people……

If the food source suffers…how long will it be before the aquifers begin to show problems?

Finally, when the food runs out….in which direction will the fingers point?

Now here is where I would like everyone’s thoughts on this situation…..

A-Pork-alypse!

First, thanx to Steven Colbert for the title…..got love it!

A news report from the UK……

Britain’s National Pig Association, “the voice of the British pig industry,” warned recently that a global shortage of bacon and pork “is now unavoidable” because of shrinking herds.

The trade group reported Thursday that annual pig production for Europe’s main pig producers fell across the board between 2011 and 2012, a trend that “is being mirrored around the world.” The group tied the decline to increased feed costs, an effect of poor harvests for corn and soybeans.

Even though the pig association issued its dire prediction as part of a campaign to get British supermarkets to pay pig farmers more for their products, the possibility of a pork shortage received plenty of coverage in American news outlets.

But the projected decline isn’t news to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In its monthly outlook report (PDF) from August, the department linked a reduction next year in the United States to this year’s drought in the Midwest. The government expects corn and soybean meal prices to go up and hog producers to cut production in an attempt to control losses in their operating costs.

Considering those factors, the USDA forecasted next year’s pork production at 23 billion pounds, a decrease of about 1.3 percent from this year’s estimated total. That breaks down to Americans consuming slightly more than 45 pounds of pork per capita in 2013, a reduction of more than 1 percent from this year’s estimates.

The decline in production could be worse in Europe. On Wednesday, British Pig Executive Mick Sloyan told European retailers that pork losses could be as high 10 percent in the latter half of 2013, which could double pork prices, according to the U.K. pig association.

My GOD!  All is lost!  How can this be?  The elimination of a whole food group?