Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

trainerboy — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:45:02 GMT

We must look at rising prices in all areas of the economy differently. It's the plummeting value of the dollar that is driving prices upward. Looking at that fact from the other side, it simply means that it takes more of them (dollars) to obtain the same amount of goods and services than it used to. We are enslaved by the Federal Reserve which is debasing the value of our currency by constantly pumping more fiat money into a fractional reserve sytem, and that money is LOANED to our government at interest. The Fed, for those of you who may not know is a privately owned bank. Our government does NOT issue our money. Our dollar will continue to fall in value, and it will take increasingly greater amounts of them to buy food, housing and energy until we print and issue our own money backed by something tangible. America's good faith isn't enough to keep our dollar afloat any longer.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

ccrider2 — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:22:09 GMT

I think ist's just a way to get us all eating the chemical industries "Genetic Foods" ....and feel good about it.

Kinda sounds like the old movie "Soilet Green"

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

Echovilla — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:33:04 GMT

World problems don't have "one" source or "one answer". The scope of the entire picture is so enormous it almost makes one feel what's the use, sometimes. But I trudge along anyway doing my part by reducing my use of toxic products, reusing everything I can until it literally falls apart before throwing it way and buying new, and recycling. It's very disheartening to try and live in a more mindful fashion when there is so much mindless consumption going on all around you. I'm giving myself a break this summer and visiting an Echo-Village in Oregon and one in Virginia. I may even consider becoming a member of an Echo-Village in the next couple of years. Living in small self-sustaining communities seems to be a very good alternative to continuing to feed the big machine. If I can't beat it, at least I can stop supporting it.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

americanconsumer — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:57:08 GMT

It may sound a bit crazy, but besides saving valuable farming land for food growing purposes, the biogas fuels (methane from landfills and sewer treatment plants) could also help eliminate much of the global warming gases, which in turn, could help contribute to healthier climates, which is not only better for growing crops, but also for everything, globally. I've seen articles where scientists are working on finding ways to turn methane gas into more valuable hydrocarbons as well, such as propane and even n-octane (manmade gasoline). If solutions like this were made reality, this could also make a partial solution to energy for the automotive industy, without having to turn to something like hydrogen gas. I read that these hybrids are using 8-1/2 lb hydrogen tanks in them, that are pressurized to 5000 lbs of pressure! Just imagine what would happen if some cell phone wielding idiot not paying attention caused a car crash with one of these involved! The Hindenburg would look like a Bic lighter compared to the potential here (especially with a chain reaction explosion)!!!

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

T_rex — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:45:52 GMT

Have you seen the french documentary about Monsanto's manipulation of the world's food with GMO's and Roundup-ready soybeans ?

www.restoretherepublic.com/.../71

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

tyanny — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:09:10 GMT

Food "crisis" will be solved as soon as you humans stop breeding like flies and worshiping and congratulating pregnancy and births. "Oh how nice! You're having a baby!"

one baby=carbon footprint doubled

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

swdhj — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:06:25 GMT

Local produce is less impacted by recent energy price increases because it is less energy intensive. For example, local eggs at the farmer's mkt are still about $3.00 a dozen, and have been for the past 4 years whereas battery eggs have doubled in price from about $1/doz. to about $2/doz. That is because a greater percentage of the cost of producing battery eggs goes to production (more energy intensive) and distribution (more food miles). So higher energy prices are a relative benefit for local produce. It is a higher hurdle to clear for big agro, requiring even higher economies of scale and/or more externalization of costs to overcome the higher energy prices. It makes sense in this environment to have more distributed production.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

AZcautiousmom — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:23:56 GMT

We are born into a culture and raised with luxuries we know not what it is like to live without. We keep hoping that technology will bail us out of a dire situation by figuring out ways to squeeze more out of the earth, in an unnatural way, and with by-products that harm us. How is technology helping us in the food crisis? We are demanding that scientists find new ways and new technologies to help us get more from the earth, We demand that technology find ways to produce more, for less (in less time, in less space, in depleted soils). How much pressure can we apply to our environment and still expect to get quality foods? Quality went out the window when we started having to amend our soils with "technology-produced" chemicals, growing for the masses, and using pesticides to keep pests off the produce. Everyone seems to gloss over the fact that we have not just a growing population, but an EXPONENTIALLY growing population. That is a HUGE pressure on supply and demand. Technology is not able to keep up. Personally, I am very wary of most technology results. For the most part, their by-products are extremely harmful, and I cannot agree with it's ultimate goal of "getting more for less". We may "get" more produce for less, but at what cost to us and our health? 99% of American people are deficient in minerals. And we try and correct that problem by popping vitamins? It is a very fractional way of looking at problems and solving them.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

Amicus Curiae1 — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:20:07 GMT

from a down under view. it appears to be a manipulated effort by ? whom? well there is no less fuel available, and the producers aren't increasing supply, and the real! demand is marginally higher at best. so who owns/are, almost all the fertilizer ,pesticide,seed producers?? hmm monsanto aventis dow etc and just quietly some similar companies also own the mines, fuel,oil,gas they use to power the whole show too. now ,if you want to force people to accept gmo as a supposed "desperation saviour" for humanity to eat...and i have an old print out from about 4 years back -stating america was bankrupt, just momentum and housing bubble were helping it to be hidden. it would appear to be rather correct! and yes our aussie crops were way down, but not as bad if you average the years a bit, as prior years were above average in quite a few areas, while others were drought troubled. i havefood industry articles bragging of how to substitute some goop that gets by as "clean labelled" ie they do not have to list it !! to keep profit margins up in times of rising resource costs. wonderful hey? they give you even less real food for higher prices (they claim "input costs rising" while they are in fact reducing them!)and much higher revenue to them. nestle just now are worth watching closely, they are having big product pushes and appear to be "buying" a lot of shelf space in our aussie stupormarkets shelves, fake coffee cocoa whitener muck. and substituted fats in chocolate items , to ehance their profit, not the consumer. ditto in bakery items and pasta products.from a range of name brands. if it was crappy before- its going to be worse now folks.flour doubled per kg price, yet breakfast cereals, which have little cereal in them, in truth- have tripled or more..hmm? when i eat home made bread 2 slices is plenty,bought bread 4 slices of fluff and a dose of preservative. yuk, and you could eat soon after. why? cos its not real food, 6/700gms bought or 1.2K for real bread.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

Perry A. Chapdelaine Sr. — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:11:24 GMT

In the first place, $3.60 gasoline is about the same as 18 cents gasoline of 1935. Gasoline has for long been cheaper than bottled water. In the second place basic to everything is energy -- not oil -- energy! Energy drives our economy, and therefore it also drives the price of food. Don't blame the price of food -- the symptom -- on so many other factors. Blame it on the cost of energy. There are energy solutions all of which will bring down the price of food, and everything else, if our politicians would get off the Arab oil, oil, oil, and more oil insanity. Do a search on "Changing World Technologies," for example, which, by itself, can solve the energy problem. Then do searches on John Bedini and Thomas Bearden, and learn how to create free energy of any amount -- all handily ignored by our politicians!

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

nomajohns — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:41:11 GMT

This is all the more reason, for those of us who have an abundance, to give to our local food pantries for the poor of our population.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

builder7 — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:49:19 GMT

I think that the goverenment printing money has a little to do with the high prices but mainly it is rich people jacking up the prices through markets. They bid things up so they make a profit there on their business which also makes a profit and when the whole economy gets jacked up then they make more profit on that too. You see, the economy works great, but you have to be rich to get the advantage. Peak oil isn't here yet nor is there a real food shortage. They can't gouge people if they don't create these artificial shortages, or maybe part of it is real. Using corn and other food sources for fuel is one place that our food is going. It looks like we aren't going to have a choice on whether to lower our intake of food and oil. Don't worry, there will also be other shortages. Why we vote for people that support this time after time is what I think is interesting. Why does one have to be rich to get elected? Wasn't getting rid of the Military Industrialist Establishment the main focus of the 60s? Now my generation speaks like the generation they were against in the 60s. Does the government just brainwash people. Did the government just make it so rough on people that they forgot all about their morals? You either do it the MIE way or you are out. Where did all the people that believed in doing something about all of this go? Maybe it is time to come back because what has been happening is not freedom and America. It is out of a chapter of the book 1984.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

Katie B — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:50:47 GMT

If you want to save money, buy less (we do not need near as much food as we think we do, and much more water than most people drink). We can live on 1200 calories a day, grow our own gardens, etc. I don't redecorate my house just because I get bored with it--I buy quality furniture (so as not to have to replace anything--cheap really is expensive), and make it last (the furniture I have now I plan on having till I die), I don't own a car, I take a cab (I live about a mile from my job site), so I save on gasoline, car insurance, the expense of a car (including maintenance), etc., I don't spend money on magazines or movie, concert or sports tickets, I buy all my books used, I don't spend money on toxic cleaning products, and I could go on, but I'm sure everyone has wonderful ideas on how to cut back and I'm sure everyone here is able to work a second job if need be--even a few hours a week at minimum wage is better than no extra money at all. Work hard, be smart about money, and you'll be fine. As for health insurance, I don't have it (though I probably should, just in case I'm ever in an accident, but it's one of those things I just cannot afford).

That's my two (or ten) cents anyway.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

CATRYNA_203 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:48:01 GMT

The main problem is greed. If you can't pay for it you don't get it. No government on this earth cares enough about it's people to take care of them. I know of crises situations in which contributed food stuffs sat on docks and went to waste or were sold instead of going to the people they were designated for. Such is the stupidity and greed of governmental authorities.

re: Food Prices Are a Global Crisis

seg — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:11:07 GMT

Fear mongering at it's finest !!!!! There simply is no no excuse for food or oil prices to be soaring they are right now.....

The same ploy they are using to drive the price of oil through the roof is going to be employed in the food industry- we gotta eat right !!!!.
Look at the record breaking profits the Oil Companies posted last year, gimme a bloddy break people !!!!!

It's all politics and wherever there's money to be made they are going after, simple as that..... That is until the people stand up and take back what is rightfully their's.......Until then we can whine all we want, if we don't stand up and say enough is enough, then prepare to PAY the consequences.......