Food Prices Rising Fast
Food prices have been rising quickly as of late, the fastest rise in prices in 17 years. There are a variety of reasons why: increase in biofuel use, greater demand from developing countries, weather issues that have hurt crop yields, high energy prices, the weak dollar, speculators and hedge funds buying into the futures markets, and so forth. Whatever the reasons, the increases in food and energy costs are squeezing a lot of Americans financially, but worse, causing people to starve in developing countries, where folks have less disposable income. People are starting to even hoard food. I think we are finally starting to realize that we can’t have our cakes and eat them too. If a lot of people all over the world want a lot of something (food, energy, etc), then the price is going to rise. It is basic economics!
I have wondered what we can do about this. One thing I can personally do is cut back on the food I eat, and buy food items that haven’t risen recently (for example, potatoes). We can also make sure we increase our giving to groups providing aid to the poor. Does anybody have any ideas?
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
Chad Toney
Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
carmelbennett
nicenehobbit
Jason S
jaybird68
papaz
April 27, 2008 at 1:46 pm
David,
Thanks for the reminder that if those of us who have a bit more are struggling, how much more difficult is it for the poor? I pray that we will open our hearts and reach out to others in Christ’s love.
April 27, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Where I live there are a lot more donation drives for the food shelves and the grocery stores have pre-packed bags of goods to purchase and drop into the food shelf bin. The boy scouts were out with plastic bags they wanted people to fill while they waited and a church near where I live gives free food to the needy once a month and they line up for several blocks to get it.
The needy drive bigger, newer, nicer cars than my 7-year-old compact and my guess is that a lot of the people lining up for the free food have over-extended and experienced job loss, mortgage rate readjustment or credit card rate readjustment.
David, trying to eat less is commendable, but like being told there are children starving in Africa, does it really help the next person get a meal?
April 27, 2008 at 7:16 pm
David, trying to eat less is commendable, but like being told there are children starving in Africa, does it really help the next person get a meal?
Nan,
I was more referring to how I was going to blunt the rising food costs in my house. I guess I should have made that clear. I tend to do this at the grocery store anyway. When certain food items get too high, I look for alternatives. Nonetheless, if everyone cut back a little, theoretically demand would go down, creating more supply, thus lowering prices.
April 27, 2008 at 11:01 pm
David,
So you’re talking the “food prices rising diet.” I’m paying a bit more attention to sales and coupons, but so far have adjusted by buying less at a time and shopping more frequently to lessen the chance of wasting food. My preferred brand of yogurt is on sale, 20 for $10, but I only bought a few because I don’t eat yogurt every day and the containers sometimes run to the back of the fridge and hide.
Conventional wisdom is that it’s time to stockpile food, which I’m not doing. The only time I have ever experienced food shortages, I was in Yugoslavia and didn’t know what to expect the stores to have, so didn’t know what was missing. I do remember that fruit was typically limited to apples, oranges and grapefruit; bananas occasionally showed up at $1/each. Spoiled American that I am, I bought them anyway; I don’t like oranges or grapefruit so was otherwise left with apples.
April 28, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I think Americans have been ’stockpiling’ food for quite some time now, including me-in my hips and thighs, mostly. Wake me up when stomach-stapling surgeons go out of business. Americans have too much food, in general-but of course not always.
If you want to help the real hungry, volunteer at a soup kitchen. Or, contact your local grocery store or Panera. They often donate their leftover baked goods daily. They need volunteers to come in (Panera requires that you represent an organization, like your parish, or Third Order Franciscans) and bag up food (at closing time for Panera or the next morning at some grocery stores) to donate to nonprofit organizations. Our local Panera only has groups coming in several days a week, so the leftovers are thrown away sometimes. (It’s sometimes difficult to get shelters to take the miche loaves, but I’m glad that our local poor are able to be a little picky.) It helps work off my ’stockpile’, too, lugging around large bags filled with bagels.
I’m not specifically promoting Panera; it’s just that this is the one I’m involved with.
April 28, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I’m going to be blunt. Food prices have risen and continue to rise largely because so many farmers around the world are cultivating for the biofuel market. A UN leader said yesterday that the biofuel industry is a crime against humanity…and, frankly, I agree. I also think we are the victims of a BIG SCAM. Part of the global warming hysteria which, I am convinced, is mostly Leftist inspired and driven. The earth is warming because we are coming out of a small ice age (past 500 years). Now, let’s just accept that Nature is doing its thing and get back to producing food.
May 3, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Global warming has hit KC with a 51 degree May 4th.
The government subsidies bio-fuel which is technically a losing proposition at this point if it were in a true free market. Instead we allow government to help fund a losing propositiion because they want to win votes from farmers who are less than 2% of the population while the whole process raises our food prices and those of the world. Simple economics commented above is right but we seem to fail ourselves by ignoring our God given gift of common sense.