The Real Crisis on the Horizon -- Famine

How many of you have been anxious about all the “impending crises” that have been in the news lately? From swine flu, to melting ice caps, to doomed economies, the public has been bombarded by incessant reports urging immediate action regardless of the facts or science involved. These knee-jerk emergencies have ranged from over-imagination to flat-out deception. Time, energy and money is being wasted to fight non-existent monsters while obvious disasters loom in clear sight. Such is the case with an impending food shortage. End Time’s prophecy even tells us that massive famines are part of the Last Days.

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. Matthew 24:7

I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:8

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:11

Scriptures are full of stories about famine. The Old Testament is replete with instances of God’s judgment against His people when they were disobedient. Famine was the most common punishment to renew the hearts of His chosen ones.

Similarly, end times prophecy is quite clear on pending famines across the earth. The verses above are perfect examples of the calamities about to strike those unfortunate souls on earth in the end times.

Apart from the Bible, famines have been experienced throughout the history of humankind. The most recent events have occurred in third world countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Ethiopia to name a few. That’s about to change drastically.

What’s unusual about the current time period we live in are the set of extraordinary events that are happening simultaneously – as if orchestrated by a Divine conductor. The purpose of this commentary is to share seven key events supporting a pending worldwide food shortage.

1. Climate Change – Cooler Temperature

Climate change is real. The bad news is that temperatures are going in the wrong direction – the earth is cooling! In terms of increasing crop yield and expanding farmable land, global warming would be a welcome event. Warming would allow northern climates to expand their variety of crops and extend the growing season. But, regardless of the politics and junk science that is rampant now, the temperatures worldwide are dropping – and have been since 1998. The result has been significant drops in yields in both the US and Canada over the past 10 years. National Review Online has a good article that lists numerous examples of cooling during 2009.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTlhOTNiOWFlMmMzNmJkOWM3ZTk5NWJkNTU...

The next link will give you an excellent overview of farming and crop yield along with supporting references to prove that 2009 was the worst year for farming on record. Ominously, the US supplies about 30-40% of the world’s food supply.

http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/12/2010-food-crisis-for-dummies.html

2. Climate Change - Drought

In addition to cooler temperatures, drought has become rampant in various places around the globe.
From http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/12/2010-food-crisis-for-dummies.html

1. The worst drought in half a century has turned Argentina's once-fertile soil to dust and pushed the country into a state of emergency. The country's wheat yield for 2009 was 8.7 million metric tons, down from 16.3 million in 2008.
2. Australia is suffering the longest running and most severe drought on the planet. November temperature records were broken all over eastern Australia, and lower wheat yields than expected were reported, leading to production estimate cuts. Profarmer Australia has cut their Australian wheat production estimate by 1 MMT to 20.9 MMT, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia reduced their estimate by 0.7 MMT to 21.6 MMT (USDA's current estimate is, of course, is an insane 23.5 MMT).
3. Northern China was hit by worst drought in 50 years. Chinese wheat production was predicted to be down 10% "In A Best Case Scenario". The sustained drought lead to water and food shortages in June for more than 1.37 million people in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Region. Chinese corn production is expected to shrink at least 10%, with shortages developing by spring-summer of 2010.
4. The Middle East and Central Asia are suffering from the worst droughts in recent history, and food grain production has dropped to some of the lowest levels in decades. Total wheat production in the wider drought-affected region is currently estimated to have declined by at least 22 percent in 2009.
5. Wind, rain, and hail ruined India’s spring wheat crop. Following failed wheat harvest, India then experienced the driest monsoon in 37 years. In terms of affected area, India’s drought was the worst since 1918. Farmers who could no longer irrigate crops now feared nothing would be left to drink. Millions of poor villagers across southern India are facing an imminent food shortage following months of intense drought and recent devastating floods.

3. Climate Change – Flooding

Surely it is a sign from Heaven that continents that are suffering from record drought are also suffering from record flooding. This is the case in every corner of the world right now. Yield losses are just as devastating from over-watering as they are from desiccation. Here are a few news headlines:

Arkansas farmers detail crop losses from flooding, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hmQbTtLjYLg57Uuklqytfu...

Fiji: Vegetable growers lose 80pc of crops,
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=55841

Federal Aid Available For Ga. Farmers,
http://www.gpb.org/news/2009/12/18/federal-aid-available-for-ga-farmers

'Last year flood grabbed our crops' How farmers from Bangladesh perceive climate change,
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7YBK94?OpenDocument

Farmers, ranchers assess damage after rains,
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/17/farmers-ranchers-assess-d...

4. Lack of Honeybees

You may or may not have noticed that is a dire shortage of honeybees. On the surface that may not seem like a big deal – until you realize that honeybees pollinate about 80% of existing crops. I noticed the reduced numbers of bee in my own garden starting about 3 years ago. In the summer of 2009, I counted only 3 honeybees during my entire growing season. This had devastating effects on my yield of corn, squash and cucumbers. This lack of pollination is worldwide with yields affected on nearly all crops.

http://vegetablegardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/thehoneybeecrisis

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/honeybee-japan.php

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2009/04/honeybee-shortage-only-in-...

The worst news is that no one really knows what caused it-- when it started -- or how to end it. This event by itself could wipe out crops regardless of climate change or government meddling.

5. Government Interference

This brings me to my next point, which is over-reaching government control. The number of references to this “cluster-debacle” are too numerous to tally here so I’ll hit the highlights. The current congressional spectacle is senate bill S787 known as “The Clean Water Restoration Act.”

http://www.rgj.com/article/20091218/MVN08/912180349/1309/MVN

In a nutshell, this bill gives the EPA and UN absolute control over ALL bodies of water within the US -- this means all rivers, lakes, ponds, creeks, and even puddles. This will be devastating to farmers in that they will have to complete an impossible permitting process that will take years to complete and cost several hundred thousand dollars. You have seen or heard of the results of this unconstitutional taking with regard to the farmers in California this year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020473180457438473189837562...

Equally insidious is a current House Bill, HR875, known as the “Food Safety Act.” This gives the EPA and FDA absolute control over every piece of land that produces food. In other words, every farmer, gardener (and even grandma with two tomato plants in her backyard) must do the following to produce a vegetable even for personal consumption:

1. Complete an EIS – whether it is 10,000 acres or a 4 x 4 plot in your backyard.
2. Submit, and have approved by government scientists, a fertilization plan.
3. Provide frequent testing on all vegetables for pesticides, herbicides and toxins costing $1000’s annually.
4. Pay $250 annually for permitting and re-permitting you crop or garden.
5. Sharing a single vegetable with you neighbor makes you a distributor which will require you to complete a certification process, obtain a business license, and be subjected to routine inspections by the EPA and FDA.

Read it and weep here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-875

6. Seed Hybridization

A little known fact about recent farming techniques is the ever increasing use of hybrid seeds. This is causing many problems with subsequent crops and proper pollination.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Plantanswers/vegetables/seed.html

We have now arrived at the point where non-hybrid seeds are extremely difficult to find. Crops grown from hybrid seeds do not allow you to harvest seeds for next year’s crop. This means that a farmer or gardener is restricted to buying his seeds from just a handful of commercial seed producers around the world.

The fancy term for seed hybridization is “genetic engineering.” The end result of decades of this type of research has revealed several downsides. They include: cells that do not replicate identical progeny, genetic material becomes destabilized, pollen that is toxic to butterflies, exudates that allow pest to become resistant, and possible allergic reactions to new phytocompounds.

http://science.jrank.org/pages/5290/Plant-Breeding.html

7. Incurable Plant Disease

2009 may have ushered in a whole new host of virulent pathogens. New England and the Mid-Atlantic was especially hard hit by the Irish Potato Blight that ravaged Ireland in the 1800’s. The disease wiped out nearly all garden vegetables and cash crops. The disease is so virulent that it wiped out entire crops in 24 hours. None of the current fungicides could control it. Scientists are still shaking their heads and hoping that it just ran its course this summer and won’t reappear in 2010. This particular pathogen has been studied for 150 years and its behavior is still unknown and unpredictable. It caused $7 billion in losses last year.

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/09/potato_blight_pa...

It was not only potatoes that were affected but nearly all garden vegetables.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/nyregion/18tomatoes.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/027686_plant_disease_vegetable_crops.html

Conclusions

God’s word gives us sufficient warning to prepare for impending crises in the end times. We all have wisdom, knowledge and discernment for putting the end time’s puzzle together and making proper preparations until we meet Christ in the air. This is true for famine. All available data coupled with current events are pointing to a food shortage that will probably lead to a global destabilization of economies.

Seven major detrimental events are underway in the area of agriculture. Any of these individually could devastate crops and disrupt economies. However, all seven acting simultaneously within such a short period of time can lead to a disaster of biblical proportion. This scenario can easily lead anyone to conclude that it is Divinely directed and part of end time’s prophecy.

May God place His hand of protection on His chosen ones.

Update 1/13/10

There are more and more article appearing everyday about impending food crises.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/first-grit-then-gas-ndash...

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/10_Food_Water/100112.Mt.grain.html

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/10_Food_Water/100110.food.security.2010.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9541856

Update 1/22/2010

Bee decline linked to falling biodiversity http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8467746.stm

Assam farmers confronted with accelerating drought http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/60167/2010/00/13-150533-1.htm

Millions in Afghanistan at risk of drought, aid workers say http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/55867/2010/00/20-153738-1.htm

Zimbabwe Facing Another Drought http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Zimbabwe-Facing-Another-Drou...

Update 4/14/2010

Drought hurting farm production http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/3563164/Drought-hurting-farm-pro...

Local crops damaged in storm http://www.heraldandnews.com/top_story/article_edf72736-3d58-11df-9918-0...

Wheat Rises Most in Five Weeks on U.S. Plains Freeze Forecast http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aQoU9Oiymz24&pid=20601087

Hail, high winds cause widespread damage throughout Southwest Michigan http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/04/hail_high_winds_da...

No crops, no money, no food as Yunnan waits for rainfall http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04/08/content_9699523.htm

Dry March threatens crop show http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/Dry-March-t...

Locust plague threat to Qld crops http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1230056/Locust-plague-threat-to-Qld-c...

http://www.marketskeptics.com/2010/03/2010-food-crisis-taking-shape.html

I will update as often as possible.

Hoss