Forget oil, the new global crisis is food

Forget oil, the new global crisis is food: "But Mr. Coxe warned U.S. corn exports were in danger of seizing up in about three years if the country continues to subsidize ethanol production. Biofuels are expected to eat up about a third of America's grain harvest in 2007.

The amount of U.S. grain currently stored for following seasons was the lowest on record, relative to consumption, he said.

'You should be there for it fully-hedged by having access to those stocks that benefit from rising food prices.'

He said there are about two dozen stocks in the world that are going to redefine the world's food supplies, and 'those stocks will have a precious value as we move forward.'

Mr. Coxe said crop yields around the world need to increase to something close to what is achieved in the state of Illinois, which produces over 200 corn bushes an acre compared with an average 30 bushes an acre in the rest of the world.

'That will be done with more fertilizer, with genetically modified seeds, and with advanced machinery and technology,' he said."

Forget oil, the new global crisis is food

Forget oil, the new global crisis is food: "A new crisis is emerging, a global food catastrophe that will reach further and be more crippling than anything the world has ever seen. The credit crunch and the reverberations of soaring oil prices around the world will pale in comparison to what is about to transpire, Donald Coxe, global portfolio strategist at BMO Financial Group said at the Empire Club's 14th annual investment outlook in Toronto on Thursday.

'It's not a matter of if, but when,' he warned investors. 'It's going to hit this year hard.'"