The Rice Problem

 Last week the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, announced that it is restricting sales of rice – the latest sign of a global food shortage. Shoppers at Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart’s cash-and-carry division discount wholesale clubs are limited to four bags of rice per customer. It’s not as bad as it sounds; the bags are still 500 lbs each.

The limit applies to jasmine, basmati and long grain white rice.

Traditionally dependent upon rice as their main staple food, Asian nations such as India, China, Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines and Thailand were the first to “feel the pinch” of rising prices.

In the first quarter of this year alone, the international price of rice has risen by 68%. Rice-producing countries like Vietnam and India have curbed exports to keep domestic prices under control. There are fears that Thailand – the world’s largest rice exporter – could follow suit.  Rice shortages have sparked protests in several countries including the Philippines, Haiti and Egypt.

Deadly riots over the rising price of food erupted in Haiti on April 4, 2008, due primarily to a jump in the price of rice, “the main ingredient of the Haitian diet”. Six people were killed in the unrest, including a U.N. peacekeeping soldier on April 12, and the unrest only subsided on when the nation’s Prime Minister resigned and the government lowered the price for a bushel of rice.

Last week I heard in the news that the food shortage has even hit Israel with some supermarkets there rationing rice. In fact, some Israeli analysts said that rice prices will increase by 70% along with the costs of other major food items as the prices of oil increase.  

It seems that Israel has more than one” rice problem”!  It is called Condoleezza Rice, who works for the Bush Administration, and is trying to force Israel to give up its land for a terrorist democracy next to Israel, in the form of a Palestinian state. Condoleezza Rice has been the Bush Administration’s spearhead in pressuring Israel to make nice with the terrorists from within–who are supported by nearly every Arab and Islamic nation on earth.

The escalating advance of Islam throughout Europe and the United States is the real issue at the epicenter of the entire war on terror. Believing that the only way to peace in the Middle East is to allow the Palestinians a state of their own next to Israel has given the entire area a “Rice” problem.

Islam intends to conquer the world. Arab oil producers have embraced a policy of keeping the market constantly on edge… Jerusalem is the centerpiece of Islam’s strategy and America will be brought to her knees if she doesn’t recognize Islam’s war strategy and moves to defeat it.

Israel could use much more rice in its supermarkets and a lot less Rice in its national strategy. However you look at it, rice is today’s problem.