Starvation: The Role of Agri-business

Higher food prices are having an impact in many people’s lives all around the world, but probably more so to those in developing countries. The prices of food just seem to be getting higher and higher. At the beginning of the summer while visiting my parents in Puerto Rico I read about food riots in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I just came back from a short trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and that gave me a first hand look at the problem.

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As the well-publicized conflicts in Africa continue to recieve support, a mostly unheard of crisis grows. The name of this crisis is Zimbabwe or more specifically Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe since 1980 and recently his term was extended until 2010. Mugabe has mis-managed economic policy and thrown out human rights. Hyperinflation and negative growth are a few of the problems which he attributes to Western sanctions and the legacy of white minoritiey rule. Reported in the news Zimbabwe is facing a massive food crisis. The government has refused aid agencies' support and again Mugabe combats calls of mis-management with the idea of an international plot to remove him from power.

Mother, father please explain to me

How a man who rocks his child to sleep

Pulls the trigger on his brother's heart

He digs a hole right to the middle of this storm of hatred

Africa is a land of mystery and wonder; a land of the ancient kingdoms and beginnings of civilization; of untamed, giant beasts; of fascinating peoples and cultures; a beautiful sunset in a picture; a special on the national geographic channel; of exotic and wild scenes, a battlefield of innocents; tyrants, and neo-colonizers; a vast expanse of poverty, disease, and hunger. Africa is a continent of grand beauty and awe, but also a continent of excruciating pain and strife; a land of needless death and equally of vibrant life.