Re: Rising Food Costs
- From: "Gregory Morrow" <TheKillingOfSistahGeorge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:55:11 -0600
Michael "Dog3" wrote:
An article in today's Saint Louis Post was describing the reasons and theof
pinch on today's families in regards to food costs. One woman was
interviewed and said her food costs have risen from $200/month to
$250/month for her family of 4. She is really hurting and scrimping. I'm
curious as to how people are economizing? Steven does a lot of the
shopping because he doesn't trust me at the deli counter. I go shopping
when I need specific or specialty items for recipes. I was stunned the
other day. I was moseying through the bakery section of Schnuck's and
noticed the milk case. IIRC the price of a gallon of milk was $3.59 a
gallon. I was utterly shocked. I think the last time I bought a gallon
milk it was $1.89 a gallon. I don't see how a family with childrensurvives
these days.
Here's the article. Feeding a family of four on that budget must suck. I
spend more than that per month and I'm just one person...
Natcherly I've no sympathy for the dumb bunnie at the end of the article who
hasn't paid attention to prices...
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/Popup?ReadForm&db=stltoday%5Cnews%5Cstories.nsf&docid=ACA7A4872803FCFE862573DC001E1E63
Skyrocketing price of food has consumers scrambling
By Georgina Gustin
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Jan. 27 2008
"Over the last year, the average cost of food and beverage in the country
has
risen by nearly 5 percent - more than in the previous 25 years, by some
calculations - forcing shoppers to either fork out more cash or do some
creative economizing, or both. For Martini, and shoppers around the country
like her, the spike in prices has meant even more planning, more
cost-cutting
and more comparison shopping.
"People are struggling," Martini said, packing groceries into her minivan
outside Aldi's, one of three discount groceries she shops at each week in
the
hunt for cheaper food. "Things have gotten really expensive."
With a shaky economy and high gas prices, household budgets are strained.
The
cost of food - already high and expected to climb, some analysts predict -
is
adding another burden.
Some items, such as milk, have risen dramatically. In Missouri, a statewide
survey showed that a gallon of whole milk cost an average of $2.57 last year
and now averages $3.95.
"We can go through five gallons a week," said Martini, who lives in the
Dogtown
neighborhood of St. Louis with her husband, a research professor at
Washington
University, and their two boys, ages 3 and 5. "I go to Sam's just for the
milk."
The underlying reasons for the skyrocketing prices are complicated, with
roots
in places as far away as Australia and as close as a newly planted acre of
corn. Rising fuel prices are a main cause, but other factors, particularly a
new government mandate for more corn-derived ethanol, are playing a role,
too.
"It takes a lot of bad things happening at the same time, for the prices to
go
where they have," said Pat Westhoff, co-director of the Food and
Agricultural
Research Policy Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Farmers have to shell out more to fuel their tractors and machinery;
distributors and stores spend more on trucking food from one destination to
the
next. The cost of fertilizer, linked to high energy costs, has gone through
the
roof in the last three years.
"You don't need to look any further than the crude oil markets," explained
Jim
Sartwelle, an economist with the American Farm Bureau. "There's just a
tremendous amount of energy used to get products from the farm to the store,
and the price (of food) is just inextricably linked with the price of oil."
Demand for corn-based ethanol also has driven up prices on everything from
meat
to processed goods. A recent push for alternative, domestically produced
fuels
has created higher demand for ethanol, analysts say, pushing up the price of
corn.
A little more than 40 percent of the corn grown in the country goes to
feeding
livestock, so when corn prices go up, the prices of livestock and byproducts
follow.
The impact has been particularly striking with eggs, the cost of which has
gone
up 36 percent in the last year, according to the Consumer Price Index,
released
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The price of chicken has also gone up, while the prices of beef and pork
have
risen only slightly.
"Corn is by far the most important ingredient in food rations in the
production
of dairy, meat and eggs," said Bill Lapp, head of Omaha-based Advanced
Economic
Solutions, a consulting firm that studies food prices for the food industry.
"It will eventually translate into higher prices for (pork and beef) as
well."
Demand for corn will continue rising in coming years, analysts say. The
energy
bill passed in December by the U.S. Congress will require 15 billion more
gallons of ethanol from corn, driving up not just the cost of meat, dairy
products and eggs, but of anything containing high fructose corn syrup. The
price of the sweetener, found in everything from crackers to ketchup, has
already risen to 20 cents a pound from 14 cents a pound a year ago.
The demand for corn-based ethanol has meant that farmers are devoting less
land
to other crops, driving down yield and increasing prices.
"It means less production of soybeans and wheat and other crops," said
Westhoff. "That will affect consumers . From cereal to bread. You name it."
But the high price of corn and government mandates can't be blamed for
everything.
Worldwide grain stocks are at record lows and prices at record highs, thanks
to
weather in Australia, Canada and Europe. Demand for dry milk has shot up
because of drought in Australia, creating a much larger export market and
driving up dairy prices here, from milk to cheese to ice cream.
"It's a lot more complicated than ethanol means higher prices," Westhoff
said.
And it's not just an American issue. Growing demand for food, higher energy
and
fuel costs, and lower grain stocks have conspired to drive up food prices as
much as 37 percent worldwide, according to a United Nations food price
index.
Some analysts believe the picture is not likely to improve soon. "I think
the
coming years are going to be very challenging from a food inflation
standpoint," said Lapp. He believes the Consumer Price Index could increase
by
6 or 7 percent in 2008, compared with 4.8 percent last year.
Consumers seem to be responding.
"We've noticed a consistent growth in our store brands," said Rebecca
Herbst,
of Shop 'n Save. "It's a more economical choice than some of the name
brands,
so people seem to be choosing them more."
Martini, already a bargain shopper, has become even more careful in the last
year. Still, she's seen her grocery bills rise to about $250 a month from
$200.
"That's not a lot," she conceded. "But we hardly ever go out, and we eat a
lot
of pasta, a lot of chicken.
"I would love to buy healthier stuff, more organic stuff," she said. "But I
can't afford to."
Martini plans her shopping trips and buys sale or bulk items much of the
time.
She shops at discount stores like Aldi's, which offers off-brand items and
where customers bag their own groceries.
That's the kind of strategizing families will need, economists say.
Julie Lakey, of Webster Groves, says she never put much thought into
shopping,
but sticker shock has her economizing more now.
"I got a (credit card) bill a few months ago and it was $1,000," she said.
"And
we're only a family of three. I lost it.
"I'm paying a lot more attention now," Lakey said. "I plan my meals. I go
once for a big shopping trip, and I look for what's on sale."
</>
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Rising Food Costs
- From: Goomba38
- Re: Rising Food Costs
- Prev by Date: Re: Rising Food Costs
- Next by Date: Re: Rising Food Costs
- Previous by thread: Re: Rising Food Costs
- Next by thread: Re: Rising Food Costs
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
