average lifespan of the elite roman class?

[antisocialmunky]

It is worth mentioning that they are for different reason. They had weather problems, we have economic problems are failures of government.

[Ludens]

It is worth mentioning that they are for different reason. They had weather problems, we have economic problems are failures of government.

Although I agree that today's food shortages could be solved by better distribution (and a considerable number of westerners tightening their belts), weather still plays a role. In the West we don't notice it because we can simply get our food from somewhere else. And governmental and economic failures played a role in historical famines as well. Didn't Julian the Apostate try to solve a food-shortage in Antioch by fixing the grain-price? The grain-merchants responded by keeping the grain of the market. Julian was not the first (and presumably not the last) ruler to make that mistake.

[antisocialmunky]

Well, actually modern agriculture produces too much food that overeating is the number one dietary problem today as you might have heard. I mean when agriculture produces SO much food that food prices have to be kept artificially high by subsidies and there are government bought stores of extra food just rotting somewhere, its not an issue of food supply. I know people in the EU are all too aware of this.

And while quick relief is sometimes needed when local food supply is a problem, the food supply is available and transportation is available. Its just whether the government of the victims is willing to let the aid read the people. Remember what happened in Burma(Myamar) when that typhoon hit?

It was like during colonialism when Ireland was producing potatoes for EXPORT during the Great Potato Famine. Asia was EXPORTING grain during the great famines of the early 20th century. The colonial governments had the power to release food to the people but were making profit instead.

Compare this today to a government official that seizes food at the docks and sells it on the black market or a government so inefficient that it lets the aid rot at the docks during the crisis.

[Parallel Pain]

Yep.

According to my prof. The average time length between famine is 17 years.

[moonburn]

It was like during colonialism when Ireland was producing potatoes for EXPORT during the Great Potato Famine. Asia was EXPORTING grain during the great famines of the early 20th century. The colonial governments had the power to release food to the people but were making profit instead.

i heard from a few historians and economists that during the great famine in ireland (due to a disease that also attacks vineyards ) their cereal production was one of the highestest in a 50 years span and had the farmers changed the production from potatoes to wheat or something during the 1st year of the disease then famine could have been averted but several english land owners proihibited and even a few english who told their farmers to change their production faced judicial law suits for breaking some wierd rulles

note: (1st year of the disease was not yet the 1st year of great famine i believe ) a florestal engineer explayned to me that it´s just like fighting fires if you inter change crops then you stop disease spread beteween plants in the same way as you can control fires by controlling the fuel they have