The Global Food Crisis is Now - Millions Face Severe Hunger - Make the Difference!
HUNGER IS NOT INEVITABLE - THE SOLUTION IS WITHIN REACH!
FOR DECADES, WE'VE FOUGHT THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS WITH OLD TOOLS. NOW, THE FUTURE OF FOOD IS HERE
Global Visionary Ventures (GVV) Mission and National Imperative
GVV’s core mission is to safeguard the national sovereignty, stabilize the economy, and secure the future of Trinidad and Tobago by immediately activating thousands of acres of dormant land through globally-backed Regenerative Farming Methods.
We are dedicated to ensuring worldwide access to affordable, nutritious food through the development of customized, sustainable agricultural solutions.
The Crisis and The Imperative: A Call to Action
Trinidad and Tobago currently faces an unprecedented convergence of existential threats: collapsing oil and gas revenues, profound geopolitical instability stemming from the recently announced war with Venezuela, and an impending domestic recession directly fueled by a crippling $1.07 billion annual food import deficit.
This profound vulnerability is rooted in the 2003 closure of Caroni (1975) Limited, an event that "came like a thief in the night" and dismantled the nation's agricultural foundation.
This historical political decision, described as the "politics of the kitchen table," resulted in the tragic loss of vital national treasures (the Buffalypso herd and the once-robust citrus industry) and forced T&T to become a net importer of basic commodities, purchasing concentrates from Belize and the United States, and forcing companies like Angostura to farm molasses cane in Barbados.
GVV's Mandate: A Vehicle of Prosperity and Global Impact
Global Visionary Ventures is committed to a transformative partnership with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to convert the thousands of acres of abandoned, fertile Caroni land into a vehicle of prosperity.
We have the global technological capacity, and operational expertise necessary to execute this turnaround on a global scale.
By pioneering large-scale Regenerative Farming Methods—focused on restoring soil health, maximizing biodiversity, and sequestering carbon—our mandate is to transform this national liability into a robust, diversified economic and social engine, guided by a holistic approach:
Establishing the Operational Alliance: Global Visionary Ventures & Global Food Warrior
Global Visionary Ventures (GVV), a pioneering impact organization, is proud to formalize an operational alliance with Global Food Warrior (GFW).
This partnership is built upon the foundational, decades-long work of David Blume at Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center, leveraging his unparalleled expertise in regenerative, closed-loop systems to drive both substantial financial returns and measurable positive global change.
Shared Mission and Strategic Vision
GVV is dedicated to tackling critical global challenges—climate change, food insecurity, energy dependence, poverty, and lack of access to education—by investing strategically in innovative, scalable enterprises that embody David Blume’s principles.
We attract mission-aligned investors who recognize the deep interconnection between financial success and profound social and environmental good.
Operational Cornerstone: The E.A.T. Program
Our comprehensive strategy and the core of this alliance are executed through the E.A.T. (Empowering Agriculture through Technology) Program.
This program, which has received full endorsement from the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly and is under active review by the Minister of Agriculture of Trinidad and Tobago, directly addresses three critical regional issues:
Alliance Implementation
The GVV-GFW alliance will strategically deploy its expertise to launch and scale enterprises within the E.A.T. Program framework.
This operational alliance signifies a powerful commitment to building resilient local economies through regenerative systems, transforming regional challenges into scalable investment opportunities.
Global Capacity and Scalable Solutions GVV’s innovative model leverages technological advancements and sustainable methodologies, showcasing clear scalability:
National Restoration and Security Objectives
Our ultimate goal is the national restoration of T&T, ensuring long-term prosperity and security in a volatile global landscape.
KEY FACTS
The Numbers are Staggering, But They only Tell Half the Story. The Rest is About the Potential We Lose When We Fail to Feed Our Communities.
The influx of sargassum seaweed has emerged as a critical and increasingly expensive challenge for the Caribbean tourism industry, particularly impacting beachfront hotels and resorts.
While comprehensive, region-wide data remains elusive due to costs being absorbed by private businesses and the absence of dedicated government budgets, several reports offer compelling insights into the financial burden and scale of this pressing issue.
1. Current and Historical Costs of Removal
The financial toll of sargassum removal is substantial and has been escalating over the past decade. This burden is shared among individual hotels, hotel associations, and, in some instances, local governments.
Individual Hotel Costs:
Regional and National Costs:
These costs extend beyond labor, encompassing the purchase and maintenance of specialized equipment such as tractors, nets, and containment barriers. A single property may invest tens of thousands of dollars in such equipment.
2. The Amount of Sargassum Collected (in Tons)
Quantifying the volume of sargassum collected presents challenges due to the uncoordinated nature of efforts by private entities and local governments. However, several data points illustrate the magnitude of the problem:
Regional Scale:
The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, a massive floating mat of seaweed, has been tracked using satellite imagery. In June 2022, the University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Lab reported a record 24 million tons of sargassum blanketing the Atlantic, with a significant portion eventually impacting the Caribbean.
Local Collection Efforts:
3. Why Costs are Increasing and the Problem Persists
Despite massive expenditures, the sargassum problem remains unresolved, and costs continue to escalate. Several factors contribute to this ongoing challenge:
Conclusion
The economic impact of sargassum on the Caribbean tourism industry is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars annually, with some single-year estimates reaching as high as $120 million or more.
The amount of sargassum collected reaches thousands of tons per year for some destinations, yet this represents only a fraction of the total biomass in the Atlantic.
The current reliance on costly and often environmentally damaging cleanup methods highlights the urgent need for a more sustainable and economically viable approach to managing this crisis.
The scale of the problem has prompted governmental action, with several Caribbean nations receiving international aid to combat the issue.
For instance, a project funded by the Government of Japan has invested $12.3 million in the region to bolster sargassum management capabilities for five countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, from 2022 to 2025.
This investment underscores the recognition of sargassum as a significant threat to the region's tourism industry and the need for collaborative, innovative solutions to address this growing environmental and economic challenge.
The Impact of Food and Fertilizer Price Spikes and Volatility on Central America and the Caribbean
Over the past two decades, global food markets have experienced recurring spikes and high volatility in food and fertilizer prices. Major shocks include the global food price crises of 2007-2008 and 2010-2011, market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Following Russia's February 2022 invasion, real global food prices reached their highest levels in over six decades, while key global fertilizer prices more than doubled compared to the previous year.
These price fluctuations pose significant threats to food security and overall well-being among vulnerable populations, particularly in developing countries.
Food price inflation directly impacts poor households' ability to meet their nutritional needs, as they allocate a substantial portion of their income to food. In 2022, an estimated 75 million people were pushed into extreme poverty, while approximately 29% of the global population faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023.
Small-scale farmers, who rely heavily on food sales for income and have limited capacity to time their sales, are also adversely affected by these price fluctuations. Moreover, price volatility can distort input allocation, inhibit agricultural investment, and reduce agricultural productivity growth, especially in the absence of efficient risk-sharing mechanisms.
The Transmission of International Food Price Spikes and Volatility
A critical question arises: To what extent are international food price spikes and volatility transmitted at the national level?
This question has significant policy implications. If transmission is high, efforts should focus on stabilizing and reducing international prices through concerted multilateral actions at global and regional levels.
Conversely, if transmission is low and local price spikes and volatility depend mostly on domestic factors, local price stabilization policies and investments would be more effective in protecting vulnerable populations.
A recent study by IFPRI and the World Bank examines the degree of price and volatility transmission from international to domestic food and fertilizer markets in seven countries in Central America and the Caribbean: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.
The study analyzes monthly international and domestic price data for 26 key food staples, cash crops, and fertilizers across these countries, employing a multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) approach to evaluate domestic responses to international market shocks.
Key Findings
The study reveals an overall low to moderate degree of price transmission, but a stronger degree of price volatility transmission, with variations depending on the country and commodity.
The study also explores the co-movement between international and domestic prices over time, noting increases linked to the 2007-2008 food price crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though results vary by country and commodity.
Welfare Implications and Future Research
Simulations based on the 2022 peak inflation reveal small yet non-negligible effects on local consumer and producer welfare.
For instance, an increase in international rice prices is estimated to improve overall household welfare in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, while an increase in international maize prices is estimated to negatively impact households in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The findings suggest that imperfect price transmission may be attributed to factors such as domestic dependence on imports and exports, specific domestic policies and regulations, and market concentration across global and local supply chains. Further research is needed to examine these factors in detail as more granular data become available.
In conclusion, the recurring food crises underscore the importance of closely monitoring global food prices and fluctuations, particularly for commodities like rice, coffee, and fertilizers that exhibit higher degrees of price volatility transmission.
The Impact of Food and Fertilizer Price Spikes and Volatility on Central America and the Caribbean: A Comprehensive Analysis
The economies of Central America and the Caribbean (LAC) are particularly vulnerable to price spikes and volatility in global food and fertilizer markets. These external shocks have a profound impact on food security, agricultural production, and the overall economic well-being of the region's population.
This report examines the multifaceted effects of these market fluctuations on the LAC region.
1. The Direct Impact on Food and Fertilizer Prices
A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Bank found a low to moderate degree of price transmission from international to domestic markets in Central America and the Caribbean, but a stronger degree of price volatility transmission.
This means that while local prices for staple foods may not always mirror a global spike perfectly, the unpredictability and rapid fluctuations in global prices are strongly felt in the region.
2. Impacts on Agricultural Production and Costs
High fertilizer prices directly threaten the profitability and output of the region's agricultural sector, leading to several consequences:
3. Impact on Food Security and the Population
The combination of higher food and fertilizer prices has had a devastating effect on food security, particularly for the most vulnerable populations:
4. The Economic and Social Consequences
The effects of price volatility extend beyond food security, impacting the economic stability of the region:
In conclusion, the statistics paint a clear picture of a region under immense strain from global market volatility. The spikes in fertilizer and food prices have directly translated into higher production costs, lower yields, and a worsening food insecurity crisis, especially in the Caribbean.
The economic and social fallout highlights the urgent need for local, sustainable solutions that reduce the region's reliance on external markets and build more resilient food systems.
As Global Visionary Ventures, we recognize the critical importance of addressing these challenges. Our mission to empower underserved communities aligns perfectly with the need for innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of food and fertilizer price volatility in Central America and the Caribbean. By focusing on equity, transparency, and sustainable development, we aim to contribute to the creation of more resilient food systems and improve food security in the region.
David Blume as a lifelong educator, has discovered that his approach transcends traditional classroom instruction. His role has always been to co-create knowledge in real-time with communities—whether in a conference hall, a greenhouse, or beneath a tree in a village clearing. His aim isn't merely to inform; it's to ignite curiosity and passion. By posing thought-provoking questions and gathering diverse perspectives, I watch as sparks of inquiry transform into wildfires of innovation and change.
A Farmer's College, when properly envisioned, becomes a catalyst for this transformative energy. It's a structure designed not just to teach farming techniques, but to empower individuals to regenerate land, economies, and cultures. This holistic approach is particularly crucial in nations like Trinidad and Tobago, where the economic landscape is shifting.
In oil-producing countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, fossil fuel wealth has traditionally funded national budgets. However, as this resource stream becomes increasingly volatile and unsustainable, the urgent need isn't just for economic alternatives—it's for living systems that replenish rather than extract. This is where a regenerative Farmer's College becomes invaluable, offering a paradigm shift in how we approach agriculture, ecology, and community development.
I often tell people, "You're so lucky," when they present what they perceive as a disaster. Why? Because every ecological or agricultural 'problem' is, in fact, a missed opportunity in disguise. Take, for instance, the sargassum algae crisis plaguing the beaches of Trinidad and Tobago. Currently viewed as a public nuisance and a detriment to tourism, this 'problem' holds immense potential for innovative solutions.
Consider the following possibilities:
The implications of these innovations are far-reaching. Cruise ships visiting Trinidad and Tobago could serve locally grown organic produce, commanding premium prices.
The country could move towards greater food security, improved nutrition, increased income for farmers, reduced pollution, and enhanced energy independence—all from a resource currently viewed as waste.
This sargassum example is just one of many potential systems a Farmer's College would explore. Our curriculum would teach students how to build and integrate numerous such systems—encompassing water management, waste utilization, food production, energy generation, and cultural preservation.
This isn't mere vocational training for tilling soil; it's a comprehensive education in ecosystem literacy, local economic sovereignty, and climate resilience.
In a world grappling with ecological collapse, food insecurity, and energy instability, a regenerative Farmer's College becomes more than an educational institution—it evolves into a national infrastructure of hope. It's a place where generations can learn to transmute scarcity into abundance, not through extraction, but through regeneration.
This approach doesn't just solve immediate problems; it cultivates a mindset of innovation and sustainability that can adapt to future challenges.
Global Visionary Ventures' International Farmer's College for Regenerative Practices is poised to be at the forefront of this educational revolution. By empowering underserved communities with knowledge, skills, and a regenerative mindset, we're not just teaching farming—we're cultivating a sustainable future for generations to come.
The world produces enough food for everyone. Yet, millions go hungry. The missing piece isn't more food, but a new system entirely. A revolution is coming that will rethink our global food systems from the ground up.
David Blume: The World's Top Regenerative Agriculture Expert With Over 40 Years of Experience
Even today, he uses his early knowledge in Biosystematics to develop unique combinations of various crops in the same area, taking advantage of characteristics that create synergy among them. Frequently, he will seed three different plant types that he’s collected from three different continents because they ecologically form a guild, each having characteristics that benefit their fellows.
In 1978, Dave was employed by NASA to work on an experimental solar self-sufficient energy, sewage treatment, and desalinization plant in the Virgin Islands. After solving many previously persistent problems in this system, he went to work for the Mother Earth News Eco Village in North Carolina, where he worked in a team using alternative building techniques. There he constructed a number of unique structures, such as a cordwood half dome that was used as the back half of a greenhouse. He also worked extensively with Mother Earth alternative energy projects.
When the energy crisis of 1978-9 struck, Dave started the American Homegrown Fuel Co.. This was an educational organization teaching farmers and others how to produce and use low-cost alcohol fuel at home or on the farm. Alcohol, a renewable and virtually pollution-free fuel, can be very effectively used in place of gasoline in automobile engines. AHGF became a small corporation with 15 employees. Dave taught 180 workshops to 7,000 people over a two-year period, while appearing over 1000 times in print, radio and television.
PBS asked Dave to put his workshop on television, and he spent two years working with them to make the 10-part series, Alcohol as Fuel, which aired in 1983. To accompany the series, he wrote a comprehensive manual on the subject, Alcohol Can Be A Gas! The book and series were so powerful that shortly after the series began to air in San Francisco, oil companies threatened to pull out their funding if the series was released to the rest of the PBS network!! PBS caved in and halted the distribution of the series and book.
Dave founded Planetary Movers in 1984. This commercial venture was a financial success and a major social experiment. Within five years, Planetary Movers went from one truck and no capital to a 2-million-dollar-per-year corporation employing 45 people.
Planetary Movers won many awards as a progressive employer and pioneered practices in the 80s which 10 years later would be called “green marketing.” It was the first corporation in California to advertise its donation of 10 percent of its profits to peace and environmental causes. It pioneered customer service practices and employee management practices at least 10 years ahead of its time. For instance, all employees received monthly financial statements on all aspects of the corporation, and employees were taught how to read the statements. Sometimes this required teaching the employees how to read! Employees were routinely organized into self-managing and self-supervising units which shared financially in all innovations they created. When Planetary closed in 1990 due to the deregulation of the moving industry, all employees were placed with other companies and all vendors were paid off — a demonstration of business integrity not duplicated by any other company during the industry meltdown.
Planetary Movers was best known, however, for its work with Nicaragua. It became the transportation infrastructure for the Peace and Environmental Movement during the 80s in the battle against Ronald Reagan’s illegal war against the democratically elected government of Nicaragua. Planetary used its leverage in the trucking world to coordinate virtually all the shipping for Peace and Solidarity Groups west of the Mississippi. It collected humanitarian aid from over 100 organizations and arranged shipping to Nicaragua and distribution to over 50 governmental and NGOs. In three years, Planetary shipped over 2,200,000 pounds of aid to Nicaragua, conservatively worth $22,000,000. This was one million more dollars than Reagan gave to the Contra terrorists.
In addition to its major work on Nicaragua, Planetary also provided support for many groups nationally. The Names Project, sometimes known as the Aids Quilt, in its third year of operation found they could not get any trucking company to ship the quilt to Washington, DC, from the West Coast. No moving company wanted to risk the possible public backlash against them due to the hysterical fear of AIDS and homophobia of those early days of the epidemic. Planetary not only got the quilt moved to Washington but did it on a non-profit basis.
Due to its strong community support, superior marketing and progressive management, Planetary Movers became the 23rd largest mover in the state of California out of a total of 750 companies. All 22 companies above Planetary were three generations or greater, established companies with military contracts (which Planetary refused to accept).
Dave entered the non-profit world by serving on the board of Ecosites International. Not content with a simple supporting role, he led survey teams to sensitive ecological sites, and there designed student study centers for these sites.
In 1990, Dave joined the board of Vivamos Mejor as the director of Agroecology Projects. A year of this time was spent working in Mexico. In this position, he developed and implemented an integrated ecological project in Central Mexico with a cooperative of the Nauhautl people. Agricultural waste (coffee pulp) was used as a base material to grow oyster mushrooms, a highly nutritious food. Coffee pulp is dumped into rivers around the planet and is one of the most serious water pollutants worldwide. For each pound of coffee produced, 30,000 gallons of water have been terribly polluted.
The process of growing the mushrooms keeps the pulp out of the rivers and converts the pulp to a good-quality animal feed. Feeding cattle raw coffee pulp makes the cattle nervous and they lose weight! Dave taught the Coop how to compost the mushroom by-product as well, which the cooperative uses to grow their vanilla. To make this project work Dave had to bring the Coop, the Mexican Government Agricultural Extension Service, Mexican scientists, and the US non-profit to consensus. The Cooperative production was over 200 kilos a day of mushrooms and spawned satellite farms in five more communities, as was envisioned in the original project design.
Upon returning from Mexico in 1992, Dave was recruited by the Committee for Sustainable Agriculture (now known as the Ecological Farming Association) for its board. For 22 years, the EFA has put on the planet’s best-attended and most diverse sustainable agriculture conference, at Asilomar, each year. I remember one year almost 1500 people attended this event. In addition, a dozen one-day workshops are held around the state each year. These workshops, which typically have 150 attendees, are directed at conventional farmers to show them how they can profitably go organic. The workshops are focused on one crop or a related group of crops, such as nuts, stone fruit, or mixed vegetables. Dave served on the EFA board for three years.
During this time, Dave’s “day job” was as executive director of the 1600-acre Hidden Villa Farm and Wilderness Preserve. Using his entrepreneurial and ecological skills in systems design, he turned this organization around in one year, from losing $250,000 per year on a $750,000 budget, to a million-dollar balanced budget. Dave attributes this success to using ecological principles and applying them to business. He instituted the organization’s CSA farm, which converted that unit’s $60,000-per-year loss to a surplus-revenue-generating profit center that also provided a high-profile community outreach opportunity.
David Blume’s Alcohol Can Be a Gas! is the most comprehensive and understandable book/video on renewable fuels ever compiled. Over a quarter century in the making, the book/video explains the history, technology, and even the sociology of renewable fuels in a fashion that can be appreciated by the most accomplished in the ethanol and biodiesel fields, as well as the novice and young students of the issues.
You will laugh out loud at his sharp wit and the dozens of cartoons. When you finish reading/watching Dave’s book/video, you will have a much better understanding of how our nation’s energy policy evolved, why it is what it is today, and what needs to be done for the future.
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