Op-Ed

To the Editor:

Concerning "Priced Out of the Market" (editorial, March 3, 2008), I agree with you that the world's poor are holding the 'brunt' of the world food price problem.

Few people manage to grasp the extent of the human hardship that has been caused by the steep spike in world food prices. With the price of corn, wheat, and cereals still on the rise, staple foods like corn-flour and bread are being rapped away from the poor.

For well-off Americans, rising food prices implies paying a few more cents for the breakfast Fruit Loops. But for day laborers in third world countries, this augment represents the difference between going to bed on an empty stomach or not.

The scramble for sustainable energy in industrialized nations is understandable, considering the increasing demand and decreasing supply of crude oil.

However, politicians in privileged nations must become aware of the lasting consequences that ethanol and subsidies are having on the citizens of developing countries. One nation's small gain could mean major setbacks for its neighbor.

The key to resolving this issue is research. Definitive studies must be completed regarding the benefits of ethanol and other food-derived alternative energy sources.

Widespread experimentation with dubious methods of creating alternative sources of energy has already had permanent effects on the lives of millions.

Ami Spiwak

Bogotá, Colombia, March 6, 2008

Editorials, opinions, and newspaper articles are, by nature, functionalist. It is not important how an article is put together, but it is essential to know what it is trying to say. This is the basic definition of a functionalist analysis of linguistics. Although I am not analyzing my opinion piece linguistically, on a more general scale, the approach is still valid.