Monday, January 14, 2008

Is Food Demand Sustainable?

I looked at this stock last week and it is already up 20 points since then. It seems Jim Cramer agrees with me as well.
To conclude, Cramer reaffirmed his belief in energy and agriculture plays,
saying that Canadian Natural Resources (
CNQ - Cramer's Take
-
Stockpickr - Rating) was "so right." He added that Mosaic (MOS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), John Deere (DE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr
-
Rating), Agrium (AGU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) and Monsanto (MON - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) are still solid stocks.

Too bad these stocks are all trading in the 100s or I would own more then one right now. I'm still wary about the demand growth in India and China hitting a wall when people start to take to the streets to protest high food prices. Perhaps the Chinese government would step in to quell riots by creating artificial price controls. That would be a good way for us to recapture our Trade Surplus again. I like how the Guardian goes to the "Class War Well" again and again:
1 Rising consumption: The appetite of fast-growing nations, such as
China, is rising as economic booms cause a surge in demand for meat and dairy
products
2 Competition from biofuels: The cars of the rich are now rivalling
the bellies of the poor for corn, cane and edible oils
3 Climate change:
Global warming is putting pressure on water needed to irrigate crops.

Hey I think number 2 is in there to combat number 3. I guess the Guardian would either not have anyone drive cars or use more Fossil Fuels instead of Ethanol even though that causes global warming. It comes down to a choice between starving people and global warming.

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