Grain profits soar as food crisis worsens

In the following the emphasis is mine alone because the sources would never emphasize such shit.

At a time when parts of the world are facing food riots, Big Agriculture is dealing with a different sort of challenge: huge profits.

On Tuesday, grain-processing giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. said its fiscal third-quarter profits jumped 42 percent, including a sevenfold increase in net income in its unit that stores, transports and trades grains such as wheat, corn and soybeans.

Monsanto Co., maker of seeds and herbicides, Deere & Co., which builds tractors, combines and sprayers, and fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. all reported similar windfalls in their latest quarters.

The robust profits are emerging against the backdrop of a food crisis some experts say is the worst in three decades. The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on Tuesday called for the creation of a high-level global task force to deal with the cascading impact of high grain prices and oil prices. He said that countries must do more to avert "social unrest on an unprecedented scale" and should contribute money to make up for the $755 million shortfall in funding for the World Food Program, which feeds the world's hungry.

President Bush told reporters Tuesday that he's "deeply concerned about people who don't have food abroad," and all three presidential contenders have recently cited high food and energy prices as causes for concern. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate, has said he favors scrapping the 51-cent per gallon ethanol tax credit and a 54-cent per gallon tariff imposed on most imported ethanol, ideas abhorred by farmers and many politicians.

The crisis stems from a combination of heightened demand for food from fast-growing developing countries like China and India, low grain stockpiles caused by bad weather, rising fuel prices and the increasing amount of land used to grow crops for ethanol and other biofuels rather than food.

Food companies say they're not to blame for the soaring prices and are committed to working toward a solution. They say bigger profits can be used to develop new technologies that will ultimately help farmers improve productivity. Monsanto says it's designing improved genetically modified seeds that can squeeze even more yield from each acre of planted grain*, while ADM says it's investing in tools that can mitigate supply disruptions. "Maybe the question should be not, "Are you making money?' but, 'What are you doing with the money that you make?'" says Victoria Podesta, vice president for corporate communications at ADM.

I especially like the fucking "Are you making money?' but, 'What are you doing with the money that you make?' That bit is so damn kewl.

They are pocketing the goddamn money, idiot. Case closed.

Are these altruists who want to really help anyone who doesn't hold stock in their companies? Silly rabbit.

The best you can do is invest in a supply of Wicked® Slick™ because they are fucking you any way they can.

BTW, I take no credit for the strange quotation marks. They were part of the original.

* Oh yeah? Liars.

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