Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 10022 II. The Global Harvest & What It Means to Investors • Food safety laws and regulations that too often destroy otherwise economic small farm- ing income and employment; • Efforts to outlaw seed banking by farmers and communities and to force adoption of more expensive terminator seeds; • Covert operations against small farms and businesses; • Tort reform that allows large corporations to shirk their responsibilities; • Illegal surveillance and dirty tricks to grow market share. Add to this list the laws, regulations, and addi- tional targets and guidelines published through the United Nations and adopted by national gov- ernments (such as Agenda 21) which have been organized to shift populations from rural to urban areas. Government Subsidies, Insurance & Invento- ries: Government financial support for the agri- culture sector is a complex topic. However, the end of the debt growth model will apply pressure on governments to make agriculture as economic as possible, while bolstering national food security – two goals which may be contradictory. Global Spraying: One of the challenges to pro- ducing fresh, nutritious food is that our atmo- sphere is polluted by a global spraying program which includes heavy metals such as aluminum. One question is whether the spread of GMO seeds is occurring through intentional spraying, as well. Global spraying also raises profound ques- tions about climate change and weather control programs, including the control of weather to force farmers off of their land to allow corpora- tions and private investors to accumulate land at low cost. There is also the issue of financial institutions trading the commodities and futures markets using inside information. Health Expense: The politics of health care in the United States are finally forcing an integra- tion of the economics of food with the economics of health. Cheaper food may, in reality, not be cheaper. Francois Vecchio pointed out in his in- terview on the Solari Food Series that Europeans pay twice as much for food as Americans but half as much for health care. Each of us needs to ask if we would rather pay for fresh food or suffer the resulting health and financial consequences. The aggressive tactics used to build the agricul- tural-industrial complex have been successful in terms of creating food power and industrial efficiencies. They have also nurtured the seeds of their own destruction and significantly reduced global resiliency when it may most be needed. The consumer backlash and loss of confidence in the current model is having a market impact and could grow stronger in coming years. You need to consider the force and the lack of integrity reflected in these tactics as you contem- plate strategies for navigating scenarios in the future. V. The Big Risk Issues When I look at the numerous risks affecting the global food supply over the next 10-20 years, several strike me as particularly important: Geophysical Risks: I do not know the truth about climate change or the environmental risks we now face. But I do know that our leadership is nervous for a reason, and it may include these risks. Recent elections in the UK and the US in- dicate that the leadership wants to “batten down the hatches.” Whether they are inspired by the end of the debt growth model and the risk of a financial crisis, or geophysical risks, or both, this tells me to pay attention. The Black Budget & Breakaway Civilization: Whatever the truth of who “the breakaways” are and what their power base consists of, the likelihood is that they can command first rights to food and water regardless of national or local laws. This is a sobering thought. It is one of the reasons why I try to steer clear of areas with large, reported underground bases. Automation: For several years, we have received feedback from Davos and other groups working on strategic consensus that the elites are increas- ingly concerned about the impact of automation “Europeans pay twice as much for food as Americans but half as much for health care. ”