Free Republic

LUCAS DO RIO VERDE, Brazil - Almost overnight, South America has driven a historic global shift in food production that is turning the largely untapped frontier heartland of the continent into the world's new breadbasket. One of the last places on earth where large tracts are still available for agriculture, the region, led by Brazil, has had an explosion of farm exports over the past decade. The growth has been fueled by a combination of market-friendly economic policies and advances in agronomy that have brought formerly unusable tropical lands into production and increased productivity levels beyond those in the United...

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Thursday announced that he has chosen Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns to be the new secretary of agriculture to oversee the nation's farm and food programs. "As a son of Iowa dairy farmers, he grew up close to the land," Bush said in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in announcing his nomination. "He will bring to this position a lifetime of involvement in agriculture and a long record as a faithful friend to America's farmers and ranchers." A Republican, Johanns, 54, also took the podium crediting his farm experience. "I'm very proud of my...

It was a grand affair. The dinner was fitting of the potentates, perfumed princes, government leaders, and the other insecure third-world riffraff who attended. Participants dined on the finest fillet steaks, expertly prepared lobster and oysters, among other rich delicacies. No expense was spared for these captains of failed governments. They were there, after all, to celebrate poverty and starvation around the world. Oh, sure, this was the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa and they say they were meeting to fight famine. Yet, just down the road from that fancy dinner live many of the poorest...