food prices

[pdfangus]

after posting about food prices in the ethanol thread this article just popped into my mail box.

It is from Time magazine and came to me from the Food Systems Insider e-mail.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... =rss-world

 

[Jim62]

Good grief! Some countries are limiting exports because the product is needed in their own country.

What a novel idea..............Wonder why we didn't think of that.......

 

[bigbull338]

the reason we dont do things like that is because we think of other countries before ourselves.i agree we should take care of our needs first.an then export any surplus we have.tthings is getting rough in the food market.

 

[Calman]

I am going to more butchering and bigger garden and preserving. Hope it helps ease the pain.Ain't gonna hurt none anyhow.

Cal

 

[Anonymous]

About the Time article- When have developing/third-world nations not had food problems- that's old news showing those nations with food problems.
But what is news is that business will really pick up as China & India continue to cultivate their middle classes. Their middle classes will want the same things Westerners have - and with the weak dollar their buying power will increase as ours decreases. I've read one of China's goals is to have 10% of their population up to middle-class within the next decade. Wow - that is a middle class almost as large as the entire population of the U.S. All those people eating more and more.
The problems will start for us before long. Profit motive will keep us exporting food out of the U.S if there is a better return for it elsewhere- Ending stocks will remain low and food prices will remain elevated.
It is going to be hard for Americans to adjust to spending 15 to 20 % of their disposable income on food as opposed to 10%.
We need Farm & Food Policy to keep our farmers in business & keep our food prices lower.

 

[Jim62]

Hmmmm.

20% on food

50% on fuel

30% on taxes.

That don't leave much "disposable income" do it ??

 

[somn]

I get so tired of hearing about third world countries starving because of ethanol in the fall of 2005 I bought over 150,000 bu corn for $1.28 because the elevators had so much they were dumping it in fields next to the elevators. Because their bins and bunkers were full above their wharehouse storage capacities the grain needed to be company owned so the farmer had to sell it that day if he wanted to or not. So I bought alot. Interesting thing was on the news one of those nights they showed all these starving people in third world countries. Now almost 2 1/2 years later on the news I see starving people from third world countries. Well I don't feel any worse for them that they are starving because of $4.80 corn they were also starving when it was $1.28 before ethanol.

 

[hurleyjd]

I get so tired of hearing about third world countries starving because of ethanol in the fall of 2005 I bought over 150,000 bu corn for $1.28 because the elevators had so much they were dumping it in fields next to the elevators. Because their bins and bunkers were full above their wharehouse storage capacities the grain needed to be company owned so the farmer had to sell it that day if he wanted to or not. So I bought alot. Interesting thing was on the news one of those nights they showed all these starving people in third world countries. Now almost 2 1/2 years later on the news I see starving people from third world countries. Well I don't feel any worse for them that they are starving because of $4.80 corn they were also starving when it was $1.28 before ethanol.

The problem with the third would countries are that they are overstocked with people. You feed them and they make more people. I say let them do the best they can and when the stocking rates get ideal then they will not be starving.

 

[KenB]

I get so tired of hearing about third world countries starving because of ethanol in the fall of 2005 I bought over 150,000 bu corn for $1.28 because the elevators had so much they were dumping it in fields next to the elevators. Because their bins and bunkers were full above their wharehouse storage capacities the grain needed to be company owned so the farmer had to sell it that day if he wanted to or not. So I bought alot. Interesting thing was on the news one of those nights they showed all these starving people in third world countries. Now almost 2 1/2 years later on the news I see starving people from third world countries. Well I don't feel any worse for them that they are starving because of $4.80 corn they were also starving when it was $1.28 before ethanol.

The problem with the third would countries are that they are overstocked with people. You feed them and they make more people. I say let them do the best they can and when the stocking rates get ideal then they will not be starving.

Thats cold, But its the cold hard truth.

 

[mitch2]

I had a professor one time say (and he may of been quoting someone else)

poor, uneducated people breed more poor, uneducated people

I had someone tell me at church this past weekend, that a loaf of bread would be up to $6/ a loaf by fall....I'm not sure if I believe this. But I am not educated in this area with futures or whatnot....could be the truth for all I know.

Michele

 

[I luv herfrds]

Michele, one bushel of wheat makes 71 loaves of bread. In 2005 some farmers got together and sold bread at the price that the farmer gets for a loaf. 25 cents. They were sold out of bread in about 10 minutes. Winter wheat was selling for $3.75 a bushel. A loaf of bread was $2.00.
Yesterday 12% winter wheat was in the $13 a bushel range; spring wheat was higher.
Cost of everything is going up.

 

[TexasBred]

America for the first time is actually effected across the board by the world economy. We're no longer self sufficient in many things as in the past. We can't make demands. We sell much of our surplus' to purchase things that we have to have to meet demand. (supply and demand again). Instead of reading the US crop reports we need to read the world crop outlook. They do effect us and our costs of goods. And we better get use to these prices. I don't think you'll ever see them go down a whole lot. We're only now finding out after 200 years what other countries have lived with for ages. We can no longer meet our own needs and in order to get what we need we will pay market price.

More of us may be squirrel hunting, fishing and gardening much more intensively than we ever thought.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

The problem with the third would countries are that they are overstocked with people. You feed them and they make more people. I say let them do the best they can and when the stocking rates get ideal then they will not be starving.

Don't forget the corrupt governments selling out natural resources (to whom?) and ripping off their own people. Policy complicit in displacing rural peoples, war, disease, climate and natural disasters, and poverty. It isn't just about population. Or about giving aid.