Wednesday 9 July 2008

Snouts in a $750 million trough

What species of persons would meet together to discuss exploding food prices, food shortages and the sacrifice of world industry to the goddess Gaia while troughing down more food than a small African country could consume in a year?

Answer: politicians. The political leaders of the world's eight wealthiest countries (known as 'the G8') have gathered together in Hokkaido, Japan to glad-hand, be photographed, and to suck up luxury in a summit costing NZ$750 million, augmented by course after course after course of rich food. Rich, in more ways than one.

In a questionable public relations move, the summit’s Japanese organisers proudly displayed to the press the menus for a sumptuous eight-course banquet laid on last night and a five-course lunch a few hours earlier.
The leaders tucked into truffle soup and crab as they discussed Zimbabwe and aid to Africa’s poorest people. The evening feast of 19 separate dishes included diced fatty flesh of tuna fish and milk-fed lamb with aromatic herbs. Tomorrow, after working up an appetite discussing soaring food prices, the leaders will enjoy a £200 dinner of giant crab, £50-a-kilogram langoustine and sweet clover ice cream...
It is all in keeping with a summit that has cost a total of 60 billion yen (NZ$750 million) - enough to have bought 100 million mosquito nets to save Africans from catching malaria...
[Meanwhile], on Sunday, Gordon Brown advised householders at home not to waste food as the world copes with a shortage.

And on Monday, these same G8 leaders emerged to announce their agreement to so strangle their countries' industry that 'emissions' will plunge by fifty percent by 2050.

Renunciation and sacrifice -- only politicians could demand of us both these evil twins with their own mouths so full of pork.

4 comments:

Elijah Lineberry said...

It does rather sound a bit..ummmm.."Middle Class", doesn't it?

If you look at these politicians they are the sort of chaps who would think "I am at the G8 Summit, and look at this banquet, I have 'made it', how splendid" ...blissfully unaware at how gauche it was.

One could not, for instance, imagine the average 'Old Etonian' offering guests such embarrassing fare.

Anonymous said...

" 'emissions' will plunge by fifty percent by 2050."

I've heard that somewhere else.

Libertyscott said...

Japanese of course do this sort of thing, enormous grand occasions. So I don't think it can be measured by Western standards. Still the cost is beyond outrageous. Kim Jong Il will be jealous he can't put together such an event.

KG said...

Sickening--I've linked to this post at Crusader Rabbit.