Things To Read

Friday, April 18, 2014

The High Cost of Food

There have been a few things in the news lately debating whether or not we are having inflation here in our country. Since they have removed the cost of food, among other things, from the formula, the debate has become somewhat irrelevant. Not only has the cost of food gone up, if you really look, you also find that the food supply is being impacted as well. 

Unbeknownst to most people there are illnesses and environmental affects that are impacting the mortality rate or productivity of a variety of food products. Pork is being devastated in many areas by the  porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus that kill piglets at a very high rate. Shrimp prices have risen 61% since last year, because of early mortality syndrome which is a
bacterial disease. Zero Hedge has charts showing the rising costs of beef, pork and shrimp. This visual gives an even clearer picture of the nonexistent inflation for just these three food products.


The drought conditions that have existed for several years now in Texas and California, just to name a few large food producing states, are having an incremental impact not only on the cost of food, but on the availability of some products in general. Many Texas cattle producers had to reduce the
size of their herds dramatically to stay in business at all when the drought was at it's worst. And their drought is not over, by the way. This article clearly points out how the cost of beef is affecting everyone, from the prices at restaurants, to your kitchen table. How many families have had to limit their intake of meat due to rising costs? How many people have gone to buying the cheaper processed food products to fill in the gaps? When the cost of fixing a hotdog or hamburger for your children gets to be a luxury, then what?

According to Food Business News, the bread basket in the middle of our country is seeing the affects of our unusually cold and prolonged winter weather this year. Corn crops in some parts of the country have had to be delayed because the weather is too cold and wet to plant. There are areas in Kansas and Nebraska that are experiencing drought conditions which may impact their wheat production this year. There are also some areas that the winter kill of wheat has not been determined yet.

And then, there is the drought in California which has been written about in many places. It still amazes me that there is any debate at all on choosing
between food production and the habitat of a fish or bird, but that appears to be the case. One thing is for certain. The water supply in California for the major food producing areas is dwindling at an ever increasing rate, be it the aquifers, snow melt, rain fall or the reservoir or lake levels, they are running out of water. Thus, another area of the country is experiencing shortages in production and increasing costs that are being passed on to the consumers. The Wall Street Journal recently had an article with a very interesting graph. It gives a visual for many of the statistics we keep hearing about.


If these projections come to pass and continue following these trends, what will that mean for your family food budget? How will it affect what you put on the table for the family meal? Will you be able to sustain your current standard of living? If not, what will you cut to make up the difference? How deep will you have to cut?

July 2013
This is yet another important message to all of us. The time to become more self-reliant is here. If you haven't already started to learn about producing some of your own food, I would recommend you do so without delay. There are so many different ways to produce some of your own food, from growing sprouts by the kitchen sink, to container gardening on your patio, deck or in the back yard. We have had several people comment here about growing vegetables in containers because of where they live or their ability to work in a garden. Stay aware and informed of what is happening around your neck of the woods and in the nation. The world has become less stable than it has been in years past and the need for vigilance has never been greater. Remember one of Frank's favorite quotes, "I'd rather be a prepared fool, than an unprepared fool." It could make all the difference in the world.

Until next time - Fern

12 comments:

  1. The Zero Hedge article indicating food had gone up 19% this year was shocking -and pretty scary. Doing what we can given that we are urban based.

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    1. It is rather scary, I agree. Keep at it. It will make a difference for you and yours.

      Fern

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  2. Hi Fern! I just came back from the store and the same ground chuck that was $3.39 a pound last week is $3.78 this week! It amazes me to watch prices go up weekly! I'm so thankful to have a garden space to grow vegetables! I just hope the weather will allow it this year! Thanks for sharing! Have a Blessed Easter!

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    1. Thank you for the information, Felecia. It is amazing to see what is happening to the value of our dollars and how much less they will buy. The same thing is happening all over the world. Take care.

      Fern

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  3. Tellers ... Again spot on. Another way to see is I remember when I was a kid & the candy?... A few penny's got me a bag of candy (1 Time every 6mos or so) or when I worked summers in Denver before returning to SE Kansas for high school ... That was enough money to last pretty much till the next summer?... I even hauled hay and put it up in the barns for .03 per bail ... Now that was money
    Now try that today ....

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    1. Thank you. This is just one more example of how we lose the value of the dollar, year after year after year. Good comment.

      Frank

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  4. Was thinking of you today, Fern, as I worked on clearing out a front flower bed to plant lettuce and kale. It was so good to be in the sun and working the soil. I tried to plant the lettuce in a formal looking configuration with flowers planted sporadically so that maybe it will just look like foliage to the average suburbanite passing by. :) We will see how it grows in the partly shaded bed, but I would love to fix salad every day (or almost) this spring and summer, and there is so much other food I want to try in the back. I'm also concerned about loss to rabbit, chipmunk and deer. Maybe I will try a hot pepper spray. I think the deer would just keep eating. I so wish I had more space. Will just do the best I can with what I have.

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    1. An air rifle or BB gun comes in handy for pesky varmints. It sounds like you have a good plan for tucking in some edibles where you have the space. Good for you. There are so many different ways to grow food. Thank you for the example.

      Fern

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  5. Great Post...would your post be any other way!

    The ordinary person's mood is different, I think more of the populace is becoming aware of how polls can be tweaked to present any image the pollster wants! No matter how the Pollsters tweak inflation people are noticing the cost of food.

    Here in our small town in Virginia they are hosting their very first Prepper Fair. All 70 tent spaces on main Street sold out in the first day the Fair had their website up. The organizer's were shocked at the interest but I think it means that we as a population are finally getting nervous!


    In 2013 with a drought in the Midwest the USA still exported 7% of its corn. The other thing people have got to know about US corn is it is NOT really edible unless it is fed to animals or processed into oils and High Fructose corn syrup. Here is a good site to learn about corn markets.

    http://www.grains.org/index.php/buying-selling/corn

    Thank you Fern and keep us thinking and learning.

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    1. I think it's great the folks in your area are showing interest in being prepared. The information about corn is another interesting detail in the complex picture of the food supply. I wonder how many cogs in the wheel have to break before there is a major disruption? Thanks for giving us more information to 'chew' on.

      Fern

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  6. When 'reduced for quick sale' beef started at $3.50/lb we started reducing our beef consumption - not that it was a lot - but now it's less. Only my husband eats beef, we both eat chix, turkey and fish. I've become a 2/3s vegetarian - vegetarian for breakfast and lunch. Living on a fixed income we've found ways to change what we eat but not reduce the quality or nutrition content.
    Florida also has been having drought conditions and it has affected the orange crop. Most of our oranges are used to make orange juice and the price is supposed to increase. Tomatoes didn't seem to do that well and things like zucchini, green beans, summer squash are $1.29/lb this year as opposed to $.99/lb last season. Next year should be much higher.
    To help with food costs we, of course, grow as much as we can in containers - ground is heavily infested with nematodes which kill the plants. We also forage what we can - usually citrus from the neighbors who don't eat it and loquats that are used as ornamental trees at the apartment complex behind. We now have our own producing loquat and besides eating fresh I've frozen enough for 40 servings or about 6 weeks worth for me. Next year the crop should be much heavier and I'll freeze more. We are very fortunate to be able to have some type of veggie growing to harvest all year.
    We all need to be vigilant about food prices - keeping a price book helps and cooking from scratch does too.

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    1. This is very good information, Bellen. I don't guess I had read about the drought in Florida as well. There are so many things happening that are affecting the food supply. There are ways to grow things year round in many places, like here. I just haven't learned how.....yet.....but it is on my list of things to do. Thank you for the comment.

      Fern

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