666head wrote:
Resident_Hazard wrote:
666head wrote:
Well, I'm damn sure that we've all noticed the rising food prices in the last couple of years, and not because of demand. I'm talking about basic food products, fruits, vegetables, etc. Not only that, but I've seen politicians go on and on about how we should take care of our food, and shit like that. That, and the undeniable fact of global warming, I mean,being hot all year long, and have cold periods in June and July! And many retail stores have put limits on how much of a certain food product costumers can buy.
All of that leads me to believe we are headed for some really rough times in the future, and a possible World War III (lets face it, if World Wars I and II were fought for oil, a valuable resource even today, then what would keep the world from doing the same with an even more important resource, food). Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying humanity is doomed or that WW3 is garanteed, but it just scares the living shit out of me the fact that this is becoming a reality.
What do you guys think?
I don't think this thread will last long since you're wrong on so many points. For one, I've never once heard a single thing about WWI and WWII being fought for oil. And I've probably spent more time glued to the History Channel (Fuhrer Vision) than anyone else on here. Hitler was a conquerer. WWI and WWII were wars of politics, racial superiority, and imperialism.
For another thing, food prices going up are results of two main things: Rising fuel costs and regular old inflation.
It also depends on what "undeniable facts" there are about Global Warming that have you concerned. For one, from what I've recently learned, not only is it
not a man-made phenomenon, but it's also a natural process so strong (relating to the very orbit of the Earth) that believing we can control it in any way is pure folly.
A scenario for bringing about WWIII is highly unlikely. The UN are incredible pacifists (especially where their interests are concerned, i.e. having their corruption exposed in the oil for food debacle due to the Iraq invasion) and much like the League of Nations so long ago, are dead-set on
not warring as much as possible.
It's entirely possible that we are headed for some really rough times in the coming years (after all December 21, 2012 is fast approaching!), but a war for food? I doubt it.
What do you mean that WWI and WWII weren't fought for oil, my Goddess, its basic history, pretty much every single war that happened during the XX Century was for oil, petroleum has been the basis of the world economy for a long, long while. Read a history book from other places and time periods, and it will all start making sense.
As for the global warming thing, maybe you are right and I am wrong. But it is undeniable that climate has been changing, at least a little. Reading past, handwritten documents, climate seems to be highly erratic. Maybe said documents are wrong, but it just makes you think.
As for the food prices, sorry buddy, but inflation ain't the only reason. Sure, China and the EU are rising, but the US ain't out of the picture just yet.
And dude, seriously, when has the UN been completely pacifist. They do whatever the G8 tell them to do. If the G8 wants war, will get war.
And dude, there have been many wars in the past for food. Land=food.
I'm not saying you're 100% wrong and I'm 100% right. Both of us really make good points, but there are just somethings that seem...odd, when you examine them.
You obviously know very little about either WWI or WWII. WWI was fought by, essentially, European Empires who wanted more land, money, power, control, expansivism. It was the first real mechanized war, so it's not like global oil, coal, or other reserves were in short supply. Politics was the main motivator. Oil has pretty much
never been a primary motivator in war. About the only major ordeal you can say had "oil on the brain" was the original Gulf War when Saddam claimed Kuwait as his for little more than to gain it's rich oil fields.
WWII was largely fought on politics as well, and these were often based on strong, often radical, racial ideals. Hitler wanted absolute power for the Aryan race. The Japanese and Soviets, and Americans to an extent, also received indoctrination on "the superiority" of their respective races, heritages, and political systems.
Vietnam and Korea were very much political battlegrounds under the Cold War Capitalism vs. Communism battles. In fact, throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, that was what most conflicts became based upon. If the current Iraq war was fought for oil, food and fuel prices wouldn't be so high in the US. No, the focus there was
terrorism in it's myriad of forms.
Even if you travel back through time, food is hardly the motivator for war. Food shortages are typically a motivator for civil unrest and in-born political strife. I can't think of a single full-scale war that was fought for with food as a primary motive. Did ancient American Indians fight for food? I would suspect that was never the case (with the tiny lone exception of Easter Island), since the Americas are
abundant with natural resources of every kind. They'd fight for the same basic reasons as other people--essentially, religious or more primitive "political" bases. In fact, up until a few hundred years ago, it seems that most wars were fought for religion and power than anything else. Having more land conquered out of the hands of other people can benefit in a lot more areas than just food.
Or hey, look at ancient Rome. They conquered other lands and made them part of the Roman Empire because, essentially, that's what Rome
did. It was for wealth and money as much as for power and glory. Any kind of natural resource, any amount of land. Riches, gold, land, and slaves.
The UN does have a military force and they do have troops in all sorts of places, but the UN as a whole tends to want to do whatever it can to avoid all-out war. Hell, once again, there's Iraq to consider. Saddam violated the hell out of several UN resolutions, violated treaties, and even kicked out UN weapons inspectors. The UN did
nothing to punish Saddam or remedy the situation. They were, essentially, making many similar mistakes that the League of Nations did when Hitler started moving troops into Austria and started spreading his power. They looked the other way, even though Hitler was violating many resolutions instilled on Germany after WWI.
When the young US moved west and conquered Indian lands, it wasn't for food. It was for every kind of control over every natural resource you can imagine. Note: I'm not saying that the kind of conquering that was done was really the right thing to do, just that it happened. Hell, our own Civil War wasn't fought for food or oil, but
ideals when you boil it right down to it's core. There were a lot of factors leading into it, but the foremost, of course, was the issue of slavery and national unity.
I listed two primary reasons about the cost of food going up: Inflation and rising fuel costs. There are no real major shortages. Maybe right now tomatoes may cost a bit more because a bunch of them are contaminated with salmonella, but in general, there are regular old, fairly mundane, reasons for food prices going up.
Essentially, saying food or oil alone are primary movitators for war either over-simplifies complex situations or misses the point entirely.
Also,
dude, I am not your "goddess."