The era of cheap food may be over

[Locutus]

via Fark

The era of cheap food is over. Maybe biofuels weren't such a great idea after all

The last decade saw the end of cheap oil, the magic growth ingredient for the global economy after the second world war. This summer's increase in maize, wheat and soya bean prices – the third spike in the past five years – suggests the era of cheap food is also over.

Price increases in both oil and food provide textbook examples of market forces. Rapid expansion in the big emerging markets, especially China, has led to an increase in demand at a time when there have been supply constraints. For crude, these have included the war in Iraq, the embargo imposed on Iran, and the fact that some of the older fields are starting to run dry before new sources of crude are opened up.


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The era of cheap food may be over | Business | The Guardian

 

[Goober]

via Fark

The era of cheap food is over. Maybe biofuels weren't such a great idea after all

The last decade saw the end of cheap oil, the magic growth ingredient for the global economy after the second world war. This summer's increase in maize, wheat and soya bean prices – the third spike in the past five years – suggests the era of cheap food is also over.

Price increases in both oil and food provide textbook examples of market forces. Rapid expansion in the big emerging markets, especially China, has led to an increase in demand at a time when there have been supply constraints. For crude, these have included the war in Iraq, the embargo imposed on Iran, and the fact that some of the older fields are starting to run dry before new sources of crude are opened up.


more


The era of cheap food may be over | Business | The Guardian

Food for Bio Fuels- Look at the cost- drives up prices of basic foodstuffs used by Industry- look at corn for one.
Using food for Bio Fuels is just a factor that will cause more people to starve to death. Going so called green is costing lives.
Now bio mass is different - but using food for bio fuels creates competition for food for 2 different uses. One is heavily subsidized. Guess who wins - guess who loses.

 

[PoliticalNick]

Cheap food went away in the 80's. Cheap anything is going to be gone in the next few years. The cost of living is increasing much faster than than incomes and that is a recipe for disaster in the not-to-far future.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

The CPI is now done without including food or energy, two essential ingredients for life. The cost of gas in 2000 was 95 cents a litre, now its $1.30. Inflation is thoroughly tamed, no problem. And Israel has not yet bombed Iran, which may cause another spike in oil prices.

 

[darkbeaver]

The future is now. It's time I got back to writing my cookbook, Thirty-five ways to cook your pets.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

There would be no shortage of food if Brazil and other countries did not grow sugar. Brazil alone has over 100 million acres devoted to growing a crop that has no food value. Sugar is junk food. We do not need it. It only produces money, it is as bad as biofuels.

 

[The Old Medic]

Factor in inflation, and most food is cheaper than it has ever been in history.

As to sugar being grown (in either cane or beet form), try to outlaw it and watch how fast the population will rebel. In Brazil, over 70% of the sugar cane is used to produce Ethanol, and many of their autos run on a virtually pure form of it, which produces far less pollution that gasoline does.

 

[bill barilko]

Food is dead cheap to grow yourself-the only hitch is processing it all when it's ready.

 

[darkbeaver]

Food is dead cheap to grow yourself-the only hitch is processing it all when it's ready.

Have you factored in the labour? A aching painfully swollen spine is not cheap by any means.

 

[L Gilbert]

There would be no shortage of food if Brazil and other countries did not grow sugar. Brazil alone has over 100 million acres devoted to growing a crop that has no food value. Sugar is junk food. We do not need it. It only produces money, it is as bad as biofuels.

Trying surviving on foods that contain no sugar.

Food is dead cheap to grow yourself-the only hitch is processing it all when it's ready.

Trading food (or other goods) for food is also cheap. Processing time and cost depends upon what the food is.

Have you factored in the labour? A aching painfully swollen spine is not cheap by any means.

Then you aren't gardening properly.

 

[Tonington]

Trying surviving on foods that contain no sugar.

Really though. Here's perhaps the most conserved of all biochemical pathways, and it begins with glucose!

Everything that lives on this planet uses this set of reactions to survive. Though I think a better point from dumpy would have been we don't need to consume pure sugar. A balanced diet should be enough.

 

[L Gilbert]

Really though. Here's perhaps the most conserved of all biochemical pathways, and it begins with glucose!

Everything that lives on this planet uses this set of reactions to survive. Though I think a better point from dumpy would have been we don't need to consume pure sugar.

Right. No sugars, no life.

A balanced diet should be enough.

It IS enough. However, it's nice to "be naughty" (as wifey puts it), sometimes.

 

[bill barilko]

Have you factored in the labour? A aching painfully swollen spine is not cheap by any means.

That's what raised beds are for-quite unlike you I know what I'm talking about.

 

[darkbeaver]

That's what raised beds are for-quite unlike you I know what I'm talking about.

That's a lot of shoveling. Have you considered the labour? ya I herd about raised beds, good idea

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Factor in inflation, and most food is cheaper than it has ever been in history.

As to sugar being grown (in either cane or beet form), try to outlaw it and watch how fast the population will rebel. In Brazil, over 70% of the sugar cane is used to produce Ethanol, and many of their autos run on a virtually pure form of it, which produces far less pollution that gasoline does.

I live with much less sugar than I used to. It has no vitamins, minerals or food value anyway. It is no big loss. Less fattening food is better anyway.

Let the peons rebel all they want, they don't need it. Send in the army and crush them like a bug. Another good reason to invade backward countries, but we don't need their food anyway. We have lots. We export food, we happy.

 

[damngrumpy]

I hope this is true, farmers need higher food prices, to match much of the rest
of the world. We have a cheap food policy that should have ended a long time
ago.