When a young child, I saw TV pictures of the people who were starving in Biafra; the childrens' tummies swollen grotesquely, arms and legs the size of sticks, eyes encrusted with flies, clinging onto their poor mother's, who were dying too; they hauntingly stared into the camera with blank, reproaching, beseeching eyes.

Then I recall the famine in Ethiopia. Dreadful. Completely ghastly. Unbelievable scenes. Humans suffering so hugely. Such immense, intense pain! The long lines of graves in the dust. The parents having to carry their dead children for miles, and then bury their treasured little boney bodies.

Sights never to be repeated the world's populations hoped.

"Feed The World" came, full of promise; Bob Geldoff speaking out and standing up for the hungry and needy. But to little effect.

And now, here we go again! Mass starvation looms, as news reports verify - the number of people that could be affected is something yet to be quantified as food and oil prices rocket.

I don't know about you ~ how you feel about this, but I for one, suspect foul-play behind the scenes, for it is as if to maximise profits and ensure the rich get more, a powerful group of men have plotted to raise the price for each barrel of oil knowing many people will die as a consequence thereby reducing the burden.

What a corrupt, horrible system we now rely on. For centuries mankind endured the cold, the wet, the frosts, the diseases that went hand-in-hand with existing without modern-day comforts. It is incredible to think we have only had toilets inside our houses for less than 100 years; that not so long ago, the majority of people did not bathe regularly- hot water was produced by boiling it on a stove. We now have technology but our world of hot showers in the morning, a dash to work in the car and fast-food is a very fragile life-style that is here for us today but that could be gone tomorrow, depending on what a few secret bankers decide.

What will it take for man to learn? How many more people have to die before we wake-up and stop the same old, old power struggles?

It is so easy to say life does not have to be that way. But almost impossible to convince anyone to make significant changes/s.

Ask any gardener and they will tell you it is perfectly possible to grow enough food to feed the world's populations 10 times over, given seeds, a rich growing medium, light and water.

So why are people starving? Because, unfortunately, the few super-rich, who do not grow food, control the food via agreements such as Gatt, to ensure they always have a plentiful supply - and they do that by limiting what farmers can grow and sell. Keeping the supply down, to make vast profits for themselves, not the growers.

How can people change the system, ensure food for themselves and their families - guarantee their survival without having to adopt "each man for himself"?

Well, I could suggest we each grow spinach in our backyards. That would help, for sure.

A better way will come, for all of us lucky enough to have the time to plan ahead, if we keep our heads and wits, and we unite rather than fight each other, all for a great cause.

I'm not particularly religious but I do believe we should endeavour to achieve God's wish for us to make Heaven, here on Earth. Heaven would be one huge garden. Instead of streets filled with motor-cars and concrete, we could have beautiful trees laden with edible fruits, and fragrant flowers growing everywhere. Our transport system could be something entirely new, safe and non-polluting. And our economies strong and stable thanks to a new alternative crop (hemp) which could easily provide a wide variety of eco-friendly goods to replace those currently derived from fossil-fuel derivatives.

I know most people cannot see the need for a new way of living i.e. for change/s - for they believe totally in the images churned out by the advertising industry, and they believe everything's fine and dandy when politicians smile- evading questions re: key issues. They are the simple-headed. Those who have deeper understanding of the problems we are facing, who also have a vision of this new, wonderful world that is beckoning, should not be ridiculed, for ideas are good seeds that need to be widely scattered and germinated.

So think about what is happening and remember when you hear or see something about the unfortunates in Africa who pray the UN delivers food aid, that, instead of living-off scraps, we could make Africa once again into a proud nation. (Africa = lots of sunshine! So invest in solar! And) follow the afore-mentioned advice. Please!

Further FREE info. Visit the website: http://www.the-alternative.org.uk