Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion, has written one of the most linked comments [hyperlink] in recent blogospheric history. Posted at Martin Wolf's quasi-blog, it's on the food crunch: * Chinese are eating cows which are eating grain which would otherwise have been eaten by Africa's poor. * Americans are turning grain into ethanol which would otherwise have been eaten by Africa's poor. * Europeans are banning genetically modified crops, which are Africa's main hope of growing enough grain to feed its own poor. * Policymakers romanticise small farmers, when what the world really needs is Brazil-style high-tech Big Agriculture. What's interesting is that the policy responses suggested by this analysis generally involve market liberalisation