2008: the year much of humanity began to go hungry

Isn’t it, truly and honestly, time that the world stopped eating meat—or, at the very least, individuals and families in the West, cut back to one meat-based meal per week? If Westerners had most meat all to themselves, like so many things, the food crisis might not have grown as rapidly as it has.

But diets are changing in countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, where economic growth has boosted meat consumption—in China, the world’s biggest nation, the rate is up 150 per cent since 1980. In India, it has risen 40 per cent in the last fifteen years. Demand for meat from across all developing countries has doubled since 1980. Now it seems the hunger for meat in preference to vegetables, rice and other staples will, in 2008 and beyond, be the death of many millions.

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

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A man who chose 'Lloyds is pants' as his telephone banking password found it changed to 'no it's not' by a Lloyds TSB member of staff. His alternative proposals of 'Lloyds is rubbish', 'Barclays is better' and 'censorship' were all refused. The man is still trying to find a password acceptable to the bank, although it has apologised. Could the bank look any more pathetic right now?

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Eighteen sailors aboard a Royal Navy warship have tested positive for cocaine. All the world is said to love a sailor, but I've personally never found large nostrils (or an interest in cocaine) attractive in any man, even if he wears a lovely uniform!

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