Are we about to see a massive rice shortage in Asia?  Thailand and Vietnam, the two largest rice exporters in the world, are facing severe drought conditions that are severely threatening this year's rice crops and global rice supplies.  Rice is one of the key "staple foods" in eastern nations, so a serious disruption in the supply of rice could be a major problem.  Thankfully, many crops in the western world (such as wheat) are doing very well so far this year, so hopefully this potential rice shortage will not hurt too much, but it never hurts to put away some extra rice in your emergency food supply.  After all, you don't start preparing for a storm once it has already arrived.  You start preparing when you see the first storm clouds forming on the horizon.  (Read More.....)

Devastating droughts of historic magnitude all over the globe are setting the stage for an unthinkable worldwide famine, and even as you read this millions of people in the third world are literally starving to death and desperate for even one meal.  Whether it is in India, Africa, Australia, Texas or California, the lack of rain in key areas around the world is causing havoc on global agriculture, and the prospect of an unprecedented food emergency is now way too real to ignore.  The reality is that the world food supply was barely keeping up with global demand in the good years, and now that the weather is crippling harvests all over the world it has become clear that there is simply not going to be enough food for everyone in 2010. (Read More.....)