Milling Journal - Q2 2008 - (Page 4) First Break Staff Editor Frank Zaworski World is a Hungry Place International cereal prices have continued to rise sharply over the past four months, reflecting steady demand and depleted world reserves. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), prices of rice increased the most following the imposition of new export restrictions by major exporting countries. By the end of March, prices of wheat and rice were about double their levels of a year earlier, while those of corn were more than one-third higher, according to a FAO report. Rising food costs are always felt most deeply in developing countries, where food expenses represent the largest part of the family budget. And while hunger, and the fear of hunger, grip parts of the undeveloped and developing world, opposition to genetically modified crops, particularly wheat, might be weakening. Consumers in developed countries are generally well fed, and many have the luxury of worrying where our food comes from. People in the developing world don’t share this luxury. They are just hungry. Only when we have too much to eat do we begin to care if our grain has ever been in the vacinity of a pesticide or our chickens allowed to gambol in the free-range of a rearing shed. The answer to food shortages is increased production. Wheat producers around the world will do their best to meet the need. In the United States, wheat acres in 2008 are up significantly and are projected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to hit a record in 2008-09. Australia, after suffering through a brutal drought, has planted a good crop that, come harvest, should ease some of the pressure on world stocks. The answer to increased wheat production, however, lies in more places than just increased acres. Improved cultural practices and more effective agrichemicals will help, but the true secret of increased production resides in the seed. Researchers have already done much to unlock wheat’s genetic secrets, and they will uncover more as science advances. The wheat production industry is ready to unleash genetically-modified seed that will do much, for the time being, to alleviate food shortages. But the industry is constrained by reluctant markets. Markets in both developing and developed countries, for their own reasons, have been reluctant to accept genetic modifications and enhancements that will help meet their specific nutritional needs. They will, eventually, when they are hungry enough. Contributing Editor Ed Zdrojewski Sales Manager Deb Coontz Sales Representative Jeff Miller Publisher/Sales Mark Avery Graphic Designer Rod Horve Production Manager Jody Sexton Bookkeeper Sy McElvain Circulation Teresa Walden 3065 Pershing Ct. • Decatur, IL 62526 800-728-7511 • 217-877-9660 Fax: 217-877-6647 www.grainnet.com • josh@grainnet.com Note: Editor Josh Flint has left Milling Journal for other pursuits. We wish him all the best. I’ve been with Country Journal Publishing Co., the parent of Milling Journal, since March 2007 and I’m looking forward to meeting all the millers and getting your thoughts and suggestions for the magazine. Correction: In our First Quarter issue, Dr. Subramanyam Bhadriraju, in his Pest Management column on page 45, referred to Suspend SC insecticide as a useful tool to protect grain. That product is not labeled as a grain protectant. MILLING JOURNAL is published quarterly and is a division of GRAIN JOURNAL. MILLING JOURNAL is mailed to all active International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) members in the U.S., Canada, and the world. It is mailed to wheat flour/corn mills and corn/oilseed processors in U.S. and Canada. Frank Zaworski, Editor frank@grainnet.com 800-728-7511 4 Second Quarter 2008 MILLING JOURNAL http://www.grainnet.com
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