Opinion: PALM oil in the center of the first economic war between Africa and Europe
By Jean-Paul Pougala – In 10 years Africa will become the third largest economy after China and the U.S. thanks to the huge capital inflows since China opened theroad and the rapid development of cities in Africa, two elements that the continent will at the same level of consumption in China, but alsoaggressive marketing such as China. We will see the economic war between Africa and its major neighbor, Europe and in several areas. Theeconomic and political decline of Europe withholding a widely used instrument that had them 30 years to nip in the bud any competition for African products in the European market, in conceding that financing in sectors which allowed no economic takeoff of the African economy.With the possibility that African countries have now to form new alliances, they are finally beginning to produce which corresponds to their interests rather than those of Europe. Palm oil is an example of these products will be at the heart of the new trade war between Africa and Europe, because it is in direct competition in African agriculture and European agriculture.
A- WHY PALM OIL?
Palm oil has three advantages that make competing products such as sunflower, rapeseed have no chance to beat her in a game not faked:
1 – Solid Oil: Palm oil is the only lipid that is naturally solid, not liquid. Palm oil is naturally as a batter is called coagulated oil, which is a boon to the food, because it is easier to measure, to work, and integrate into various recipes of various products as : chocolate bars, biscuit, cereal, margarine, bread, processed ice cream.
2 – Oil Vitamin: The Palm Oil is naturally rich in vitamin A, which makes it particularly suitable for feeding children for their growth, especially in winter when there is no sun.
3 – Very low price: absolute, palm oil is the one with higher productivity per hectare and therefore, the lowest price for production.
B-EUROPEAN REACTIONS
European geostrategy has never allowed any activity on the African continent for products to enter Europe only if they were not replaceable by European productions. And bananas, cocoa, coffee and all the plants known as Colonial are welcome. But nothing is said about the ravages of chemical fertilizers on villagers working in the fields of bananas, including the sterility of men and women because of products such as DDT, long banned in the West, nothing is said on malformed newborns people working in the many plantations of colonial products. For palm oil, Europe has responded in several ways:
1 – Ecology: Years ago I said that the battle of the European far left is incompatible with the struggle of Africans out of subalternity because the interests are divergent. Very often these very radicalized populations involved in playing their role assigned by the system to develop theories to block if possible the evolution of the African people and condemn him if possible to live as in antiquity as a slogan just as empty and misleading referred to as “sustainable development”.
2 – Normative: The European Union, in the cares of block palm oil from Southeast Asia to Africa and now first preferred poison its own people by allowing the consumption of rapeseed oil. This oil was banned almost everywhere, even in Europe in the 60s for human consumption due to high content of two poisons: erucic acid and glucosinolates. A variety called “canola” for Canadian Oil Low Acid has been developed in Canada, less dangerous, thanks to the GMO. And then the choice lies between two environmentalists for our poisons, one natural and one GM. At least back to palm oil. Instead, we just found a miraculous product in rapeseed oil and is the Omega 3. Lucky you! And who said that Africans were the most naive of the planet?
When a product can be a threat to European products same farm, the propaganda machine starts up. Thus we hear that we should avoid eating beans from Kenya because it comes from too far, do eat the fruit of the season for supposedly saving the planet, but we do not understand why these environmentalists can eat the bread all year round without worrying about the fact that wheat does not grow all year. How can they be so inconsistent with their creed and continue to eat pasta, potatoes all year round? It is obvious that this is at bottom an attempt to curb any possibility of economic development of African countries.
Since palm oil has entered the world’s food, in effect creating millions of jobs in the villages of Indonesia, Brazil or Cameroon, the new ideological war against these countries is left. It cites research that show that nickname palm oil would be hazardous to health and the need to track down on packaging at the supermarket. There are even labels that have emerged “Without Palm Oil” What our settlers ecologists do not want to say is that palm oil is currently the food richest in vitamin A and it has been for centuries the miracle product that allowed for people in Africa, Asia, South East and South America to be strong enough to resist against a background of poverty and lack of doctors, to many tropical diseases. If oil palm cultivation was in Europe, its oil would be sold in pharmacies as a remedy against old age, substitute tons of milk, cheese, butter all together, and exported throughout the world as the miracle product … etc.
C- THERE ARE HEROES WHO WANT TO SAVE THE EUROPEAN FARMERS
Mr. Matthew Flaps, CEO of the French branch of one of the largest European food, Findus France said in a statement, echoed by the French newspaper La Tribune in its issue dated 23/07/2010: “Since 2008, we removed palm oil in all our fish fingers. Same thing in 2009 for ourpotatoes, and by the end of the year, it will have disappeared from the dishes. ”
With what Mr. Lambeaux he replaced palm oil in their dishes? with rapeseed oil of course, ten times more toxic. Shut! do not talk too much, provided it is “made in Europe”. This action is part of measures that leaders déraisonnées Europeans are taking. Should be a magician to provide that Findus France very soon we will announce a plan to put unemployed social good thousands of employees of its French factories? Since it is himself who tells us that his heroism to renounce palm oil cost him 2 million euros per year. And for a company thathas billed 170 million Euro in 2009, it must be a genius of the caliber of Mr. Flaps to afford such luxury in times of acute economic crisis.
D- HEALTH OF EUROPEANS IS SO IMPORTANT?
On another level, you do not notice the same vigor of our ecologists to warn the public against health risks of products from Europeanagriculture farmers. The most obvious example is the pork such as ham. Several studies show that the ham is a poison, especially for children, but all reports are deliberately ignored even by the European Union not to interfere with a part of the economy. For example,according to research by the World Cancer Research Fund and published in 2010 by Britain’s Daily Mail, ham (cooked and raw) increases the risk of bowel cancer especially in children. This highly respected UK charity criticizes the false traditions of Europeans to preparechildren tasted with bread and ham and recommends that reducing the ham only 70 grams per week would be avoided in Great Britain only3,700 cases of cancer of the intestine in children each year. This critical information was missed European lawmakers in Strasbourg and very generous in our eco-friendly tips for the survival of the African forest. Desertification in Africa she is their greatest concern that the death of their own children in Europe? The truth is bitter and it is once again the money. They much prefer the death of hundreds of thousands of children Europeans rather than endanger an entire sector of the economy. Worse, these so-called ecological organizations are mostly funded by the food industry lobbies as in the case of Ham. Concordant studies demonstrate that this product is like poison for the faetus, including toxoplasmosis.
E- CONSUMING EUROPEAN CAN REALLY SAVE EUROPEAN ENTERPRISES OF BANKRUPTCY?
The naivety of such propaganda is that it is completely dated. In the 19th century it had a certain sense, since the industrial revolution wasstill in its infancy and all the low blows were tolerated because it was part of the playing of a new company that was inventing itself afterthousands of years spent living hunting and fishing. Today in the 21st century, even the European donors lesson still have not understood the rules of the game have completely changed and all the advantages they had for centuries can be easily turned into disadvantages. Worse, by closing both eyes on products poisons in hoping to save farmers and industrialists proved far more dangerous today because a local productor a national product no longer exists. Each product is a set of strength and energy of the solid and from various parts of the world. A Bretonfarmer brings to market a product from Breton, let’s say this same ham. But to feed his pig, he used the Soy from China or corn from the United States, products with GMO and hated it all transported in a Korean tractor using Nigerian diesel. At the end, what sense does itencourage people to eat local if on one kilogram of pig meat, 80% of its cost will be paid abroad?
Even worse, very often the product of the soil is believed to come directly from abroad. Thus, all the propaganda on the consumption of so-called national or local is a monumental stupidity. The association of agricultural producers of the COLDIRETTI Italy has made an amazing discovery in 2009: the Italian market, there is no one box of tomatoes from China, which is reassuring for local producers, but the COLDIRETTI discovered that the balance of trade between Italy and China, the product most imported from China by the Italians are not toys, televisions or computers, it is the tomato. This information’s thus result from the Italian customs that 82 million pounds of triple tomato concentrate were imported from China and all boxes were pompously and rigorously labelized “Made in Italy”. This is perfectly legal according to a directive of the European Union. Who do we want to deceive?
F- CONCLUSION
What is difficult to sustain in the West, this is a situation that the world has experienced since the industrial revolution, that is to say helplessly in its own decadence and impoverishment due to products of other more innovative and more competitive market that flood your products from their factories and welcomed. For two centuries, marketing the performance of Western firms that exported throughout the world was the norm. But none cared that the capitalist system in force is zero sum, what one side was happy to have exported and to be still richer, also resulted in a deficit balance of payment, in pain, poverty still major. Today it is an exaggeration to suggest that Europe show the same patience of others during the previous two centuries in order to better prepare his revenge? This is what others have done: ruminate their humiliation in silence to better prepare for revenge industrial and economic. Africa is just beginning to master the rules created by the West and Quench. Today is palm oil which dethrones the sunflower oil in European plants; Tomorrow it is cars “Made in Cameroon”, “Made in Benin” and “Made in Ghana” which will replace Renault, Volvo, Rover, Seat on European roads. The trade war between Africa and Europe is just beginning. Africa has in turn raw materials and intelligence of his youth. Will Europe does make weight with an aging population and leaders of private and ideal blinded by personal enrichment?
on 14/12/2011
Jean Paul Pougala (www.pougala.org)
Director of The Institute of Geostrategic Studies of Geneva – Rue Jean-Antoine Gautier, CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
African Branch: PO Box: 12629 Douala Cameroon
Translated by:
Nkeng Valles.
May 1st, 2012
