Is This The End Of Cheap Food?

A sharp spike in prices for wheat, corn, rice and other staples has sparked riots in Mexico and Egypt, marches by hungry children in Yemen and the spectre of starving people in Haiti turning to mud pies for sustenance. This growing unrest is forcing the global community to focus on the causes of higher food costs and what can be done. But it's also raising the troubling possibility that cheap prices for food may be gone for good, an economic relic of the the past.

That scenario would be disastrous for the progress of fighting poverty in poor countries - and it would threaten to halt a long period of rising living standards in the United States tied directly to the inexpensive cost of food.

"Don't look now, but the good times may have just stopped rolling," the economist Paul Krugman wrote in his New York Times column. The Economist was more strident: "The era of cheap food is over," it declared. World Bank President Robert Zoellick, reaching back to policies created during the Great Depression for inspiration to address food inflation, is pushing a "New Deal" for global food policy, aimed at aiding impoverished countries with income support and help in producing crops.

The gloom-and-doom outlooks are prompted by rising prices for commodities, which started increasing steadily in 2001 before suddenly soaring recently. Wheat prices have gone up by 181 percent over the past three years, according to the World Bank; food prices around the globe have risen by 83 percent during the same period. In March, rice prices hit a 19-year high. Corn prices recently rose from $2.50 a bushel three years ago to $6, for the first time. Zoellick has predicted a sustained period of higher food costs, saying he expects prices to remain elevated through next year and stay above 2004 levels for at least the next seven years.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[c3m]

You can blame our stupid politicians for promoting ethanol.
Now its a competion between basic food or fuel?

[Mike169]

If it wasn't for jerks like Hagee I wouldn't know which religion to run from.

[WIpatriot]

Easy. All.

[Mike169]

Absolutely amazing! The bread basket of the world! I can only guess that this mess was created by the stupidest president ever. Did he have a lobotomy as a kid?

[Podewumun]

"More like a bottle in front of me, heh heh, heh heh." -George W. Bush-

[julieeiluj]

Yes. This planet should be called Planet Greed. There is absolutely no reason everything has to cost so much. Greed is not good.

[RoloTomassi]

From the April 11th edition of Bill Moyer"s Journal:

"In 2005 alone, when pretax farm profits were at a near-record $72 billion, the federal government handed out more than $25 billion in aid, almost 50 percent more than the amount it pays to families receiving welfare."

Of course many of these subsidies are not, "wasteful, unnecessary, or redundant expenditures." EXPOSÉ on THE JOURNAL focuses on two aspects of THE WASHINGTON POST investigation:

"1.3 Billion to People Who Don't Farm"
The largest annual subsidy, called direct and countercyclical payments, is given to farmers regardless of what crops they grow " or whether they grow anything at all. The POST found that, since 2001, at least $1.3 billion was paid to landowners who had planted nothing since 2000. Among the beneficiaries were homeowners in new developments whose backyards used to be rice fields.

"No Drought Required For Federal Drought Aid"
A 2002 program aimed at helping those facing a serious drought gave $635 million to ranchers and dairy farmers who had moderate or no drought. Some ranchers got money because they lived in counties declared disaster areas after debris fell to earth from the space shuttle Columbia.

Link to Washington Post story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html

[NCSU76]

Continued
My neighbor has a dairy farm, he said that his last milk check was around $9000. after he paid his feed bills, vet bill and other expenses he had $500 left for his labor for a month of work. How many of you would be willing to make that little for 31 days of work. Raw milk is bringing around $19/hundred pounds at present. Several years ago it was in the $20 range and production cost were no where close to what it is now.
Cheap food is really speaking about unprocessed or value added foods. If you go to a supermarket and buy items located on the perimeter you will find items that are fresh and with very little processing. Think about the size of grocery stores back 20-30 years ago. They were small and most were family owned. We sold produce to them until they closed. We tried the big chains and were told that if you didn't have enough for the whole chain they did not want your stuff. We did sell to one chain that had a local store. They pride themselves on quality items, a few years later they required all growers to have a million dollar bond. Now we sell to people going down the highway and a few produce stands. The grocery stores have tried to become everything to everyone and it just can't be done with quality.
I think you have only seen the tip of the iceberg.

[ohnoyoudidnot!]

Agribusiness in the western world is the leading cause of famine in other parts of the world. Read "Diet for a Small Planet" - new revised edition. Sooner or later, we have to pay the piper.

[ohnoyoudidnot!]

Doesn't this correlate to the insane cost of oil? And aren't the big oil companies, in fact, responsible for this, in part?

I'm glad I'm a vegetarian!

[apoyo]

You need oil to transport foodstuffs so that everyone can have their out of season fruits and vegetables whenever the mood strikes.

That is why the latest theme is to eat locally. Not the closest restaurant or shopping at the nearest store but eating what is produced locally to cut expenses all around.

[VivaZapata]

People will be forced to belt tighten and one of the results will be eating lower on the food chain; this will drive down prices somewhat and be good for our clogged arteries. silver lining?

[RoloTomassi]

Not necessarily, as the cheapest foods available usually involve mechanical processing and refined white flour in the end products; in other words, cheap food is more likely to cause a person to gain weight, and the healthier diets are more expensive to maintain [and that is true whether you're a Carnivore or a Vegetarian]. I guess that's not so bad if you're in a developed country and need to eat to survive, but it's likely to be as harmful as a steady diet of McDonald's in the long term.

[apoyo]

L.A. Confidential?

[nomoredead]

Thank you Viva, have you ever looked at what is in some american families shopping carts ? Half of it could be put back. Eat smaller portions and cut your food bill in half. Walk to the closest store, you won't want to carry back much. I garden.

[jubo]

Is it beginning?

[NCSU76]

Continued
Prior to the 90's how many storage warehouses did you see? Some where it became fashionable to buy more and more till our homes could not hold it all so we have to resort to renting space to hold it, but our stock portfolio's looked great.
I still raise beef cows and they have always paid their way until last year. Here in the south we had a severe drought and hay was scarce so the hay that was normally $25/bale shot up to $50-60/bale. I fed hay from July 1st until the first week of April. The "Goverment" is going to help us out since we had a disaster last year. They are being so generous that we are set to receive $10.66/cow. I fed an extra $3500 worth of feed.The fertilzer that we spread has increased about $200/ton since last year and fuel has increased about $2/gal. We are looking at hay costing about $40-50/bale this spring. The prices we receive for cattle has gone down some. A lot of farmers that I have talked to have already sold part of their herd and if it continues to cost more they will be selling out. The feedlots are having trouble making money because of grain being so hig, so they are sending lighter calves to the packing plants. Somewhere down the road I believe beef will eventually be in short supply(several years).
To be continued

[NCSU76]

Okay folks, I had a prof. at State explain this very thing back in the mid '70's. He said if we continue to have cheap food (unprocessed) 10% of gross pay, energy 15% of gross, taxes and housing taking about 20-25% each out of our gross pay that our economy would go straight through the roof. At the same time other nations were having to pay 25% each for food, energy, taxes, and housing. He went on to say that as long as people had food they were happy but let them get hungry and they would be willing to fight. He asked us how many TV's we had at home. and all of us held up 1 finger, he then said with the rising economy, cheap food, and energy we would have 2 or more TV's at home in the coming years.
"If prices stay high for a long time, the poor will be hit the hardest, since they spend the largest percentage of their incomes on food. Otto Doering, a professor of agri economics at Purdue said asking taxpayers to pay more for them won't exactly be politically popular, since food prices could also take a greater bite out of middle-class budgets. And paying more for food will mean having less to spend on things like big-screen television sets and iPods, putting a dent in the kind of consumer spending that has kept the economy growing for the past two decades".
To be continued

[OverCoffee]

I haven't read a thing about this anywhere else. *shakes head*
Thank you for sharing your two above posts;

[loki]

We have already reach 1984, I guess the next logical step for Neo Cons and Corporate elite is Soylent green.

[loki]

I can see it now. Soon there will be push from Corporations and Washington that people need to learn how to feed themselves, but stay dependent on corporations for all their needs. Just like with health care, social security and everything else Neo Cons want abolished, they want to make sure the consumer stays dependent on corporations and spending money we dont have so they can profit, while making us think we are taking care of ourselves.

[jackpinesavage]

Grow your own. Not cereal staples, of course, but you can manage just about everything else in a standard suburban lot with 8 hours + of direct sun. Buy a little greenhouse with that stimulus check (build an attached greenhouse on the south side of your house and you can use it to heat your home on sunny, winter days).

The era of cheap food is not over, the era of cheap calories is over. Feed yourself and freedom will, necessarily, follow.

[chinacatsunflower]

very good advice to follow, people. if you don't have much room, plant close together, it'll be fine. if you have room for a big garden, plant a lot and then freeze and can everything when it comes harvest time. $300-600 might not get you that greenhouse, but it will probably pay for a deepfreeze and canning supplies. its easy to do.

[aristippe]

got any links, sounds like fun

[LiberalBuzz]

WOW, I wonder where the millions, let me repeat, MILLIONS of people who live in Apartments will grow their food??

Any thoughts?

[loki]

A couple reasons cheap food is gone for good. Fuel cost. Farm equipment and the trucks to transport food do not get very good fuel mileage. Another reason is because large companies like ADM and ConAgra will take advantage of current situations to increase their prices, whether they can justify it or not. One other reason is that the consumer will not say one word about how prices are raising, at the same time content is lowering. A couple weeks ago on CNBC General Mills bragged how they have been packaging products like Cereal in smaller quantities, and raised the prices to boot, and that the consumer has not complained and profits were up. Check to see what that 12 (now 8)or 16( now 12) oz box of brand name cereal is costing these days. I have seen them lower to as much as 8 oz from 12, and 10 from 16, but the prices just go up. We seem to be as dumb in our consumer lives as we are in our voting political lives. There has to be something you can do, because our wonderful American capitalistic system is not driven by the consumer as the capitalistic supporters like to tell us. It is controlled and driven by the capitalist. They set the price, the quantity, the quality, and the access to it. You only get to choose between what they allow us to choose from. Just like in elections.

[freemann]

Shortest of food supplies is simply a strategic move by the Neo-cons, the move that is taken right out of the brutal communist's cookbook. Look, to control people in an ultimate and power way is to control their food supplies. When people are hungry, they would do any thing for the one that feeds them.

The American people have yet to realize the evil of the Bush's government - a government that is not for the people and by the people, but it's a government that would make Hitler looks like a saint.

We have those stupid, deluded, brain-washed, selfish, self-indulgent, greedy scumbag religious fanatic and shallow Republicans (and Democrats who voted for Bush) to thank to when our children go hungry and destitute kicks in.

There is no punishment that would be harsh enough for Bush and his entire Neo-con/corporate controlled administration.

May God have NO mercy on them!

[vandegrasse]

France 1789!

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

President Bush will save us with more tax cuts for $billionaires!!!

[loki]

Yes, Tax cuts so the elite can buy food without worry of spending their own money. That is the way to salvation!

[freemann]

Bush IS NOT the president. The title is most unfit for a scumbag like Bush.

[iheardthisbefore]

THIS IS THE TO "CHEAP" ANYTHING!!!
The high cost of energy is just BEGINNING to work its way through the economy.
There is NOTHING that will be spared the added expense.

MYOPIC AMERICA is finally going to get it's wake up
SLAP IN THE FACE.

Can YOU deal with it?

Years of the lack of a truly coherent national energy policy are coming home to roost.

[loki]

You got that right. Corporatoins and elitist have just bitch slapped us hard in the face. And are laughing all the time while they eat high on the hog in their multi million dollar mansions, talking about their multi million, and even billion dollar bonuses they get for screwing the public

[cruisepuppy7452a]

When you see this, its evident not only are we in the throws of a serious recession, but headed for a depression. My parents both lived through the depression. To hear them talk, this is the precursor. So much so, they are taking funds from banks and putting them into safer options. Folks, nothing is safe now. If you think you are safe, you are living in lala land. Its like a tornado, or earthquake, its not a matter of if, its a matter of when. When is coming close and carrying a big, mean stick. Bush is going to leave office with the US in financial turmoil, leave us in a war nobody can win, and not so much even get a scratch. If I was a gambler, my bets would be on a depression before the election.

[peaceandfreedom]

A word about ethanol. Unless you do the research yourself--and I don't mean sit and read the Oil Industry press releases--because since when did we here on HuffPo believe anything Those guys had to say--you can't have an intelligent discussion. I'll agree that corn's the wrong source, but your argument there is with the corn lobby. Sugar cane and, especially sugar beets, are preferred, with the return blowing anything else out. Ford intended his cars to run on alcohol and farmers to co-op the production to support their prices while becoming little filling stations. What you probably didn't know is that Rudolf Diesel built his engines to run on bio-fuels exclusively! These guys were ahead of their time. In fact, Ford foresaw the day when gasoline would become a national security problem with too much dependency on foreign supply--and this when it was still cheap and plentiful!

I'm still learning about it, but check out this site--

http://www.iowacorn.org/ethanol/documents/TopTenMythsCornEthanol_000.pdf

Remember, less than 12% of the nation's corn goes to human consumption, and that ethanol uses only the starch, leaving behind over 16 pounds of food grade waste and corn oil for each bushel, and that the intensive farming practices utilize the latest in non-till (a great Univ of Nebraska breakthrough) that preserves soil and nutrients. Check it out! Don't buy into the anti-ethanol rant the way so many believe this food shortage lie.

[loki]

I agree with you that sugar is the best source for ethanol. But just like ADM worked and lobbied long and hard to make sure Sugar was more costly than corn syrup, I am sure they will lobby against sugar as the primary source for Ethanol. My biggest problem with ethanol, and its been proven time and time again by universities and outside sources not related to the corn industry, like Iowa is,
But it takes more ethanol to produce the same efficiency as gas. Your fuel mileage lowers exponentially depending on the percentage of ethanol added. [Look it up, Im not going to supply all the links right now] Its also well published that even if we would farm every inch of open ground in the US, that includes yards, parking lots, everything without a building on it, we still could not produce enough to offset oil by more than 40%.
Considering the lower mileage and higher food prices, and pump prices ( as those wont fall due to ethanol) the worse fuel economy , vs, not being as dependent on oil producers, and less pollution and harm to the environment. I am not sure what is the advantage at this time to ethanol.
Food shortages , higher prices, lower mileage = more consumption = more production= even more food shortages. I think ethanol, if done properly, could help. But energy for cars at the cost of energy for lives???? I dont see the advantages.

[raskolnikov72]

this is not important to anyone ... let's have more Reverend Wright, more Bitter, more He's too black to win ...

[BushBites]

Check this out.

Sam's Club is rationing rice.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/23/usa2

(i think Bush has turned us into the old Soviet Union)

[BushBites]

Food would be cheaper and more plentiful if Americans moved away from a meat-based diet.

You can feed a lot of families on the corn or grain you give to one cow or hog.

(Not to mention the fact that factory farms are notorious polluters and produce more CO2 than the transportation industry.)