The Indian rice export ban, the war in Ukraine and El Niño are combining to create a "doom loop" for the world's poorest people, as staple food prices soar.

The Indian rice export ban, the war in Ukraine and El Niño are combining to create a “doom loop” for the world’s poorest people, as staple food prices soar.

    • morrowind@lemmy.ml
      154·
      1 year ago

      Can we please not have silly jokes on a serious topic like global hunger?

      This is one thing I don’t want from reddit

      • Anissem@lemmy.ml
        192·
        1 year ago

        If I don’t laugh about the world I’ll just start crying. It’s sadly the defense mechanism I’ve developed. I use humor to avoid uncomfortable moments in all aspects of my life.

        • TheSaneWriter@lemmy.thesanewriter.comEnglish
          92·
          1 year ago

          I agree, humor is a valid coping mechanism. It’s not like a serious conversation on Lemmy is going to solve world hunger, your joke was fine in my opinion.

          • Anissem@lemmy.ml
            37·
            1 year ago

            I’ve had a lot of trauma in my life and have become a very pessimistic and dark person. Everyone has their cross to bear and I wear mine with a fake smile.

        • barsoap@lemm.ee
          17·
          1 year ago

          It’s not sadly the defence mechanism you developed, but luckily.

          Because face it some defence mechanism is needed, and the vast majority of them are absolutely harmful. Fuck the ruffled feathers those are the exact kind of people who say “I’d rather ignore it”, “I’d rather deny it’s happening”, “I’d rather say that it’s bad everywhere”, “I’d rather say it’s because of the Jews”, “I’d rather sit here and unproductively wallow in pity”, or whatever. You are a human, and as such you have the birth right to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

      • SeedyOne@lemmy.ca
        95·
        1 year ago

        It may sound silly but it’s put succinctly and there’s an element of grim truth to it.

        Additionally, do we have to compare everything to Reddit? It’s the Internet, people are going to cope how they cope.

      • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
        57·
        1 year ago

        I’m sorry if this disturbs you but free humour is one of the extremely important aspects of the internet that Lemmy needs to support. When you know who you are talking to you can avoid subjects that may hurt the other person but on the public internet this is not possible. The alternative to never dare making any joke because of the risk to hurt someone is dystopian.
        Top comment isn’t even a joke, it’s a movie reference that supports the idea that this is a serious topic.

  • o_oli@lemmy.worldEnglish
    140·
    1 year ago

    More very real effects of global warming that will be ignored or blamed on other things no doubt.

    Global warming will fuck us indirectly before the weather on a Sunday afternoon is actually the problem, many seem to miss that.

    • Green_Bay_Guy@lemmy.ml
      32·
      1 year ago

      In Vietnam we’re losing crop because of saltwater backflow on the Mekong. Dams have been built in several places upstream and all the reservoirs are being filled.

  • flyingsquirrel@lemmy.ca
    104·
    1 year ago

    Mainwhile, Russia is actively engaged in the destruction of Ukraine wheat export terminals, and India remains silent.

    • Zeroxxx@lemm.ee
      13·
      1 year ago

      India, Indonesia and the rest of non alignment countries do not need to enter this war set up by the West.

      • astral_avocado@programming.dev
        33·
        1 year ago

        I agree with you that India doesn’t need to take sides, but I’m pretty sure Russian/West cooperation had been increasingly positive since the cold war ended, right until Putin decided he wanted to be an imperialist again. The West didn’t make him invade a sovereign, non-threatening country.

        • Zeroxxx@lemm.ee
          9·
          1 year ago

          Russia imperalist is akin to someone bombing Iraq, Vietnam and Afghanistan?

          LOL

              • fluxion@lemmy.worldEnglish
                15·
                1 year ago

                Iraq was a bullshit war. Cheney, Bush, and Rumsfeld should be in prison for lying to American public to involve us. The Iraqi civilian death toll was obscene. Few will disagree with this.

                Ukraine is a bullshit war. Putin should be in prison for lying to involve Russia in it. Few outside Russia disagree with this.

                It’s not a soccer match. These statements are self-consistent, not contradictory.

                • hglman@lemmy.mlEnglish
                  4·
                  1 year ago

                  I agree; the joke is that multinationalism is used as a shield. Russia is a far-right fascist state just like America has a right and a far right party, just like how Europe is sliding back to fascism, and while China dives into its thought police hell world all while all of the above exploit the rest of the world and or there own citizens to push nationalism to its upmost cancerous potential untill the whole house of cards snaps on the inferno thtis clmiate change.

          • FiskFisk33@lemmy.world
            15·
            1 year ago

            yes, your point being?

            Russia is excused because USA is also doing bad stuff? Because that is a weak fucking argument.

      • YⓄ乙 @aussie.zone
        11·
        1 year ago

        From what I read India and Russia are really old friends, that’s why India isn’t saying anything and they do lot of business.

        • sfgifz@lemmy.world
          9·
          1 year ago

          Historical and political reasons too. USA keeps arming Pakistan with modern weapons, and they have a single target to use them on. It would be stupid of India to put all it’s weight behind US if that’s a one-sided affair. In an ideal world everyone would side with what is moral, unfortunately we don’t live in that world.

        • nestEggParrot@lemmy.sdf.org
          4·
          1 year ago

          More than old friends. India is heavily reliant on russian arms. Replacing them would be a slow, expensive process. Considering it is surrounded on two sides by aggressors with regular conflicts, jeopardizing relations with Russia is not an option.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    79·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The cost of rice — a staple food for nearly half the world’s population — and other essentials, like wheat, corn and vegetable oils, are rising as geopolitical forces, extreme weather and a dawning El Niño disrupt global trade.

    In its most recent rice outlook, the USDA said India was expected to ship a record 23.0 million tonnes in 2024, exceeding the combined shipments of the next two largest exporters — Thailand and Vietnam.

    The Indian government runs the world’s largest food distribution program, catering to about 800 million people, according to McDonald Pelz business manager Sumit Gupta.

    The Indian government has a policy of maintaining reserves of key commodities, and as it assessed the risk of El Niño, and the rapid pace of rice exports this year, it brought the trade to a close on July 20.

    “This sharp increase in exports can be ascribed to high international prices due to [the] geo-political scenario, El Niño sentiments and extreme climatic conditions in other rice-producing countries,” the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in its statement declaring the ban.

    At a conference in St Petersburg recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged 25,000-50,000 tons of free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea in the coming months.

    I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • Nijuu@lemmy.world
    25·
    1 year ago

    Is 70% correct?. I thought Thailand and Vietnam were just as big of producers? (we get more rice from thailand/vietnam/cambodia/+ grow our own locally here in australia). I never buy basmati…

    • woooferine@lemmy.world
      34·
      1 year ago

      Hong Kong here. We have rice almost everyday and apparently, we don’t import them from India. Yet the “Rice Association” said that due to the India ban, the price of rice in Hong Kong will likely to rise by 10% in October.

      The nations used to import from India are buying from everyone else, and that drives up the prices.

      Edit: typo

    • Parsnip8904@beehaw.org
      17·
      1 year ago

      Because they’re really different. People who don’t eat rice as a staple aren’t aware how much varieties there are and how different they taste. There are three specific varieties used just in my own house for lunch, breakfast dishes and dinner respectively.

      Japanese or Thai rice are totally different in taste, consistency and texture.

      It would be like trying to bake using whole wheat flour instead of refined flour.

    • YⓄ乙 @aussie.zone
      9·
      1 year ago

      I think its the quality and people only want to consume high quality rice… I tried Thai jasmine and Indian basmati. Can confirm Indian Basmati is really good when compared to jasmine rice.

      • coleandfries@discuss.tchncs.de
        23·
        1 year ago

        Asian guy here. I use jasmine for Asian dishes, Basmati for Indian and middle eastern dishes, and generic American long grain for Mexican and Cajun dishes. Pairing the right variety of rice with the right cuisine is a simple choice that can really improve the dish.

      • FiskFisk33@lemmy.world
        17·
        1 year ago

        hmm, I generally prefer thai jasmine over basmati

        they are very different styles, saying one is higher quality than the other is just plain wrong.

        • Zeroxxx@lemm.ee
          1·
          1 year ago

          At the end of the day, it is about preferenxe. I am Chinese diaspora and have been eating Jasmine more than Basmati since it is not my preference.

          Heck even local rice is better.

      • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
        11·
        1 year ago

        It’s just whatever you’re used to. Thai jasmine rice is amazing, and I wouldn’t eat Thai food with anything else. If you’re used to eating Indian food with basmati, jasmine won’t be a good substitute.

        • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.netEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          I’m used to Minute rice since that’s what my parents used growing up. Not sure what kind of rice that is, but the first time I made something that called for Basmati rice, I didn’t like the rice. It was sweet when I expected earthy. The rest of the recipe was good, and I just use jasmine rice with it instead every time thereafter, since that’s what I buy now over the boxed crap.

      • ijeff@lemdro.id
        11·
        1 year ago

        Must be preference because I greatly prefer Thai Jasmine rice over Indian Basmati. But they’re different.

    • EnderWi99in@kbin.social
      34·
      1 year ago

      Log off social media for a bit there. Things aren’t great out there, but I’m being absolutely sincere that this environment is a negative feedback loop that makes it out to be even worse. We all need to step away from time to time. Come back in a week we will all still be here.

            • barsoap@lemm.ee
              9·
              1 year ago

              I feel like you didn’t read the Stoics. Start here:

              Work, therefore to be able to say to every harsh appearance, “You are but an appearance, and not absolutely the thing you appear to be.” And then examine it by those rules which you have, and first, and chiefly, by this: whether it concerns the things which are in our own control, or those which are not; and, if it concerns anything not in our control, be prepared to say that it is nothing to you.

              Worrying about shit outside of your control is not just unproductive, it’s counterproductive as it’s distracting you from stuff that actually is in your control.

              • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
                3·
                1 year ago

                Rationalizing fears, justifying inaction. It’s too late, there’s nothing we can do. If your reaction to climate and collapse is to do nothing, you are part of the problem. Learn about overshoot and aerosol demasking. Read Limits to Growth and get back to me.

              • PlushySD@lemmy.world
                1·
                1 year ago

                Well, being right doesn’t mean people have to like you tho… And most of the time people don’t like being told that they’re wrong too. So, that’s I guess where the downvotes came from.

                • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  1 year ago

                  I don’t care about downvotes, or if anyone likes me. As long as I can get them to take climate change seriously and inform them that collapse will happen in their lifetime.

          • pinkdrunkenelephants@lemm.ee
            0·
            1 year ago

            Assuming it’s about control or that you can’t control it is the worst. There’s always something we can do about our problems. To think otherwise is to allow yourself to be consumed by them.

  • TheBestUsername@lemmy.world
    15·
    1 year ago

    The Indian rice export ban, the war in Ukraine and El Niño are combining…

    There’s a war in El Niño? What does that even mean? I thought El Niño was a weather thing, not a location.

  • PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml
    11·
    1 year ago

    I’ve always wanted all countries to ban staple food and water exports. If you can’t grow your own food and have your own water, you don’t need to have people living there.

    • Doxatek@mander.xyz
      7·
      1 year ago

      A bit valid. Just rough for the people already living there that may not have chosen it

      • PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml
        8·
        1 year ago

        Could do a phased approach over a decade or so, rather then all at once. But the other thing is that places (like saudi arabia) that shouldn’t have near the population they do, are able to pay much more for food then somalia and so food growers in somalia would rather produce food to sell rather then feed their own people. So you basically shift the starvation to the food producers rather than the food buyers.

    • OhShitSon@lemm.ee
      28·
      1 year ago

      I mean, Russia man did illegally invade another country and ordered several warcrimes, so yeah, Russia man bad.

        • CreativeTensors@beehaw.org
          15·
          1 year ago

          I think we can all agree unprompted expansionist wars of aggression are bad, are you allowed to say that with me or are you within defenestration distance of a window?

          If you are blink twice.

                • CreativeTensors@beehaw.org
                  5·
                  1 year ago

                  I’m ok with the non-answer

                  If they are human it could be dangerous for them to continue the conversation. I don’t know what they believe or if they are under duress. Or they aren’t and have simply had a moments reflection. Maybe not, maybe they just want to be done with this since neither of us are going to change our minds.

                  I’m kind of done with this too.

        • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
          3·
          1 year ago

          Buddy, if it were up to me, W, Cheney, and Putin would spend the rest of their lives in a cell together. They’re all war criminals.

    • MrPewp
      6·
      1 year ago

      Take your normal pills lil bro, you’re schizo posting again

    • distractionfactory@beehaw.org
      3·
      1 year ago

      “Warmonger bad” FTFY

      Blame those who start and continue wars. It’s not entirely the fault of any one country, but there’s only one leader who could put a stop to this latest one.

      Conditions? yeah like that’s not just going to inject needed capitol for an extended conflict so they can keep it going at this point. I don’t like how tangled up the world is getting in to this mess and I definitely don’t like how much it’s impacting civilians, but sanctions is clearly not the ONE thing keeping this war going, it was a response to it. It certainly didn’t start it and it’s clear that some leaders value pride over logic. Money isn’t solving that issue (more or less) now that it’s started even if it started as a distraction from economic problems. Whatever that leader is telling the people, he’s the only one who can end this. We need to end this mess. I’d encourage you to be open minded about what factors are keeping this war going, but I understand that’s hazardous in some parts of the world.

        • distractionfactory@beehaw.org
          2·
          1 year ago

          Without being directly involved, the media / news / social media is the only information anyone has access to if you don’t know someone with first hand knowledge and even that is probably anecdotal. So that is unfortunately impossible to avoid.

          There’s certainly justification for comparing self serving military actions of the US. It doesn’t make it right whoever is doing it. It’s hard to see this as directly comparable, but I am sure I don’t fully understand the situation so I am hesitant to argue details. But from an uninformed perspective it seems difficult to deny who is the aggressor who could just stop at any time.