Food Prices, Shortages & Inflation - The Trash Index

[k15n1]

Is this a joke? You're worried about food prices and you use ice cream as your example?

YES! It WAS A JOKE! Did someone pee in your Wheaties this morning?

You seem to be missing the big picture. Put down the microscope and step back a bit. Sheesh.

I'm going to ignore this post and take a day to digest this other stuff you posted.

 

[freemotion]

There are MANY people on a fixed income and many who have been out of work for a while, and those of us who are self-employed in a "non-essential" industry and have lost many clients and new ones are hard to come by. So even a minor increase in food, gas, electricity, and other essentials becomes a huge problem. Not everyone in a precarious financial position is there by their own stupidity. There are also those who have had to take time off due to illness/injury or to care for a family member in a serious health crisis. So, yes, slight increases in the price of each food item can add up quickly until it interferes with the ability to pay for basic needs.

 

[Wannabefree]

There are MANY people on a fixed income and many who have been out of work for a while, and those of us who are self-employed in a "non-essential" industry and have lost many clients and new ones are hard to come by. So even a minor increase in food, gas, electricity, and other essentials becomes a huge problem. Not everyone in a precarious financial position is there by their own stupidity. There are also those who have had to take time off due to illness/injury or to care for a family member in a serious health crisis. So, yes, slight increases in the price of each food item can add up quickly until it interferes with the ability to pay for basic needs.

I agree completely with this. And k15n1...YES ice cream matters, are ya crazy?!

ETA: Also wanted to add the fact that the second highest household bill is usually the grocery bill. If our mortgage payments fluctuated from month to month like our food bill, LOTS of folks would take more notice, which IMO, makes food inflation a HUGE deal.

 

[Wifezilla]

We don't have credit cards or car payments. We have a mortgage, utilities, groceries, clothes...that's about it. My pay goes SPECIFICALLY to food, groceries, and gas for my car. I know I can buy less with my money now than I could 3 years ago. I know I have had to cut back. Hubby really sees the rise in utilities. With 40% of our customers going out of business (we sell marketing materials to realtors, mortgage brokers and small businesses), the fact that we have grown our business at all is a minor miracle. While the doors are open and the bills are paid, our income isn't going up but our expenses are. Fact.

Plus you have a bunch off gooberment tools suggesting small business owners pay more taxes. Oh really? And where am I going to get more money to pay more taxes? When did I become rich? Did that gallon of ice cream I bought last month put me in the rich category?

So comments like the rise in groceries are no big deal do make me a tad cranky.

 

[k0xxx]

You seem to be saying that there are increases in food prices that are not inflationary. What do you think is causing these increases?

BTW, in economic terms, 3 months is not very long. I would call this a temporary fluctuaction. I'll just remind you that food and energy prices are volatile and are excluded from important economic indicators, such as core inflation because they produce short-term results that are misleading [1].


1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_inflation

I seriously doubt that the cost of flour (or any other basic ingredient) is going to make or break your budget. If you are such a precarious economic state, I certainly hope you're participating in this forum via a computer at the public library!

Knowing that food is cheap gives perspective an enables good budget management in hard times. To save money, it makes more sense to cut back on the most expensive bills first, before trimming the smaller bills. For example, I was having a going-green fit a while back and realized that water basically doesn't cost anything here in MN. There was no point in cutting back on water usage because it would take time, money, and even a 40% reduction would only save 10 $/mo. Similarly, the cost of food is relatively low and cutting back on that is probably not the place to start.

I'm not sure that I understand your points. It seems that you are saying that we are just seeing minor swings in food prices, and that we shouldn't be concerned. Is that it? Food prices are not as big of a concern for me personally, because I am currently to grow a lot of my food. There are many people though, that are not as fortunate.

Food prices are indeed volatile, but not all increases in food prices are due to inflation. As the dollar loses value, the price of items go up (inflation). Food is a value added type commodity and there are several factors that are compounding the increases. According to the USDA, our farmlands (in the US) have become depleted due to modern agribusiness methods, and farming has become dependent on nitrogen and phosphate based fertilizers. The costs of the base ingredients of the fertilizers has increased, with phosphates leading the way at a 58% increase in the last twelve months. Thousands of acres of farmland are lost each year to urban sprawl. Add to that the depletion of some of our most important aquifers, and the droughts and flooding that has plagued a major portion of our farm lands, and it's no wonder than the basic ingredients (commodities) for food have skyrocketed.

Combine wheat prices being up 55% in the last 12 months, with more corn now being used for food, than for food and it increasing 83% over the last 12 months, is it any wonder we have increasing food prices? As I mentioned in an earlier post, beef prices have actually dropped considerably over their highs due to ranchers either selling them to market or losing them due to the drought. Even with these recent drops, beef prices are up 22% from where they were twelve months ago.

With so many people on fixed incomes, out of work, and those working seeing their wages stagnate or only being able to find part-time or entry level jobs, rising food costs are hitting them hard regardless of the reason for the increase. More and more economists, investors, and financial commentators are seeing what is going on in the commodities markets and are advising investors to invest in agriculture. These people see the big picture and realize where things are headed. In a lot of other countries, families spend 30 to 60% of their income on food. We have been blessed with low prices due to being the largest producer and exporter of food, but our overabundance has been dwindling.

ETA: I did a bit of searching and located the news story about ethanol, and I was mistaken about the percentage. The article actually stated that for the first time we put more corn into producing food, than into feeding livestock. According to the Scientific American website, we are using 40% of corn production for fuel.

 

[savingdogs]

There are MANY people on a fixed income and many who have been out of work for a while, and those of us who are self-employed in a "non-essential" industry and have lost many clients and new ones are hard to come by. So even a minor increase in food, gas, electricity, and other essentials becomes a huge problem. Not everyone in a precarious financial position is there by their own stupidity. There are also those who have had to take time off due to illness/injury or to care for a family member in a serious health crisis. So, yes, slight increases in the price of each food item can add up quickly until it interferes with the ability to pay for basic needs.

Thank you Freemotion for defending folks like us. I became disabled this year and believe me, it has been very hard to afford food with the medical bills + the loss of my income. I cannot believe that "ice cream" is considered a luxury item by anyone. I guess anything with sugar would be, as well? No complaints allowed unless you have already cut all dessert out of your life I guess. And acting as if the cost of INTERNET is going to make or break a household budget is ridiculous. We pay something like 21 dollars a month for our internet service, which would be enough to feed my family for about one day. The nearest public library is a 30 minute drive from my home and I DO NOT DRIVE. It is pretty hard for other people to decide what is "essential" for someone else unless they SEE how they live.
Meanwhile, because of where we LIVE, the internet saves us COUNTLESS dollars by connecting us with the outside world without the use of GASOLINE. Just being able to price shop/shop around online ALONE must save us 21 dollars a month. Having access to Craig's List saves us immeasurable amounts of money every year.

Before you scoff at people who are pinching pennies, walk a mile in their shoes. The cost of food going up HAS significantly impacted my family, mostly because we have had no money to spare. Perhaps it has not happened in YOUR town but it has in mine. There are regional differences that matter. Here on the west coast water is pretty precious to us. K15N1, I find it interesting that you have no concern for water conservation because it is "free" but say you were having a green fit.

 

[abifae]

My food cost is up 20 a week with the costs rising, compared to 3 months ago. That is 80/month. That isn't small change.

And that is with me cooking everything at home, from scratch. I cannot imagine how tight it is getting for people who eat boxed food.

 

[old fashioned]

To compound the problem of using more corn for bio-fuel, here in WA it was recently reported that 'they' (I don't remember who is 'they' either the governor or biofuel industry) are trying to convince Eastern WA farmers to replace their wheat crops with another NON-EDIBLE crop to boost biofuel production.

I surely hope this doesn't happen. Eastern WA is primarily agriculture that produces tons of fruits, veggies and grains to markets here in the US and worldwide. If even a small percentage of the farmers do replace their food crops for this crap crop, it could make a serious dent in the whole food production line. I figure if a few convert over, then sooner or later more will follow and not just here in WA

 

[CrimsonRose]

You seem to be saying that there are increases in food prices that are not inflationary. What do you think is causing these increases?

BTW, in economic terms, 3 months is not very long. I would call this a temporary fluctuaction. I'll just remind you that food and energy prices are volatile and are excluded from important economic indicators, such as core inflation because they produce short-term results that are misleading [1].


1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_inflation

Ok first the price of gas going up which in turn makes the price of everything (even local items) increase in price to cover production prices is what I feel is the primary cause of the current price fluctuations. Farmers need fuel to run the tractors then trucks need fuel to deliver said items to the stores... this in turn raises the core price of the item to said store... hence they pass that fee along to the customer... So yes the price of CORE items is inflated.... We have not seen a significant decrease in the price of fuel in while and experts do not expect it to drop anytime soon... (a temp fluctuation in fuel prices in the 70's caused a temporary fluctuation in prices then but since the fluctuations were TEMPORARY it wasn't a large of a concern such as with the current situation we are dealing with) so you arguing about all this as being temporary is in my opinion not correct... if you could please provide me with proof that these expert backing that this is all a temporary core inflation such as you are claiming I would appreciate it... but all I can see is these price increases are here to stay... as well as experts saying the wages and job situation is not improving anytime soon.

In a stable economy inflation typically isn't a problem. Because when stores charge more for items they in turn have a higher profit margin that they can pass on to the employees pumping all that money back into the economy. That over time devalues the dollar and that is how inflation works...

I'm not saying that the prices of goods are not inflating.... on the contrary that is exactly what I'm saying when I say things are expensive. You originally stated you didn't understand how people can say things are expensive because price increases have always happened... yes I agree with that... but I am trying to show that with all those price increases over the last 100 years have also seen a wage increase to the general public... the income increase verses the cost of living, balanced each other out... This time it's not the case...

Is this a joke? You're worried about food prices and you use ice cream as your example? I thought this thread was about food that you actually need, not luxury items. You're stressing over prices of arguably optional items, like meat, coffee, and ice cream.

Maybe I should leave you all to your worrying. Now that I've read about inflation and other economic indicators (because of this thread) I realize that a thread devoted to the volatile price of food is... a bit pointless.

Another fact in my personal diet meat is not a luxury... I have severe vitamin deficiency anemia... and out of my love of animals and how they are treated on factory farms I tried to go vegetarian for a bit... within a couple of weeks I was hospitalized... Long story made short... My body absorbs the vitamins I need much more efficiently from meat... and I was advised by my doctor to not try a vegetarian diet again...

As for my coffee example it was just that an example... I buy many other items weekly so hadn't noticed the smaller increases... where as we don't drink a ton of coffee so it's only purchased every few months... I noticed the $5 increase that's a 50% increase to the price... if all our food had that high of on impact even if it was only temporary... then temporally my family would be hurting! If you would like I can make out a list of my grocery purchases with all the increases over the past year... Would that be enough examples for you or would you just continue trying to tell me all the things that are frivolous for me to buy...

I don't know about you but I like my few small luxuries I have in life... and when I have to start cutting them out to afford to feed my family I then feel that it's getting expensive... and in my personal opinion feel I have a right to state that fact. Yes there are luxuries that we can cut to absorb the price of food... but once those luxuries are cut then what would you have us do? Do we have to go to that extent before you will admit that simply... yes things are a bit expensive?

ps as for wiki it's a public reference site... not a true encyclopedia written by experts... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer "Wikipedia cannot guarantee the validity of the information found here."

 

[Wifezilla]

My body absorbs the vitamins I need much more efficiently from meat

Most people do. It's just that some can handle the damage caused by grains and other carbohydrates better than others. Like you, I am one who can't.

Now excuse me for a bit. I am going to check the couch cushions for change so I can go out and buy some inflated ice cream