News: Bush on Global Food Crisis: "Indians eat too much"
George W. Bush, in a press conference in Missouri on May 2, touched the subject of the soaring global food prices (taken from the official transcript):
 "Worldwide there is increasing demand. There turns out to be prosperity in developing world, which is good. It's going to be good for you because you'll be selling products into countries - big countries perhaps - and it's hard to sell products into countries that aren't prosperous. In other words, the more prosperous the world is, the more opportunity there is.It also, however, increases demand. So, for example, just as an interesting thought for you, there are 350 million people in India who are classified as middle class. That's bigger than America. Their middle class is larger than our entire population. And when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food. And so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up. (Full) |
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Peter. Flemish, European, aid worker, expeditioner, sailor, traveller, husband, father, friend, nutcase. Not necessarily in that order.
2 comments:
You realize that despite his stupidity, he is correct. Sure there are other factors like bio-fuels, but increased demand for food will absolutely raise prices.
David,
His remark about India, in combination with the first remark gives me a very awkward feeling...
First the food crisis has a wide variety of causes. Of which the eating habit changes of developing countries is only one. A rather minor one.
Second, it was in all aspects incorrect to single out ONE country's increased prosperity as an explanation of the food crisis.
His comments are typical American ultra-right redneck, which seem similar to what far-right politicians say in Europe. Difference is in many countries, those politicians are sidelined...
P.
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