Did you catch this recent headline about food prices?
Global food prices hit record high
Food prices hit a record high last month, surpassing the levels seen during the 2007-08 crisis, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation said on Wednesday.
The Rome-based organisation said the spike was not a crisis. But Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the FAO, acknowledged that the situation was "alarming". He added: "It will be foolish to assume this is the peak."
The jump will increase fears about the repetition of the crisis of 2007-2008. However, poor countries have not so far seen the wave of food riots that rocked countries such as Haiti and Bangladesh two years ago, when agricultural commodities prices jumped.
The increase in food costs will also hit developed economies, with companies from McDonalds to Kraft raising retail prices. Higher food prices are also boosting overall inflation, which is above the preferred targets of central banks in Europe.
What about this one?
World Food Prices Jump to Record on Sugar, Oilseeds
World food prices rose to a record in December on higher sugar, grain and oilseed costs, the United Nations said, exceeding levels reached in 2008 that sparked deadly riots from Haiti to Egypt.
An index of 55 food commodities tracked by the Food and Agriculture Organization gained for a sixth month to 214.7 points, above the previous all-time high of 213.5 in June 2008, the Rome-based UN agency said in a monthly report. The gauges for sugar and meat prices advanced to records.
Sugar climbed for a third year in a row in 2010, and corn jumped the most in four years in Chicago. Food prices may rise more unless the world grain crop increases “significantly” in 2011, the FAO said Nov. 17. At least 13 people died last year in Mozambique in protests against plans to lift bread prices.
Grocery prices are rising.
Fast.
JPMorgan: Surging Food Prices Fueling Global Inflation
Rising food prices are stoking global inflation with many agricultural commodity markets driven higher by bad weather in key producing countries, a senior trader at JPMorgan said.
"If you break down the inflation numbers then the impact of food has been extremely significant," Will Shropshire, head of investor trading, product development and agriculturals for JPMorgan said in an interview.
"Increased prices for key agricultural food components (are) undoubtedly going to have an impact on inflation," he added.
High food prices have moved to the top of policymakers' agendas because of worries about the impact on inflation, protectionism and unrest.
The United Nations' food agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said last Wednesday that food prices hit a record high last month, above 2008 levels when riots broke out in countries as far afield as Egypt, Cameroon and Haiti.
CHART OF THE DAY: Global Food Prices About To Break An All Time High
A food crisis in 2011?
I don't know. Only time will tell ...
But you don't need a crystal ball to see that the trend is clear ... That not long from now, it will cost you a lot more just to eat.
Oh. And you won't be making any more money.
Probably less.
You don't need to be an "economist" to see what's going on either, do you? To understand the implications ...
The strain on families, the ever-tightening budgets, the regression in lifestyle ...
Food prices were up for the sixth month in a row.
Yes. It really can happen here.
Food Riots Commence As The Fed's Loose Money Policy Leads To First Violence Of 2011.
Are you prepared?
Today, less than 1% of Americans live on farms. This single demographic shift makes all the difference. And it is not only the lack of land that is the issue. The skills necessary to cultivate a garden or to care for livestock have largely been forgotten. Or to put matters in a somewhat different light, who is better prepared: a) the urban-dweller who works for a wage and rents a flat on the 15th floor of a high-rise, or b) the person who owns a bit of land and has developed the skills to grow a significant portion of his own food? Jefferson’s yeoman farmer whispers from a forgotten time. Can you hear him?
Perhaps this crisis is overblown. Perhaps it is simply being used as cover for the consolidation of power. That much is obviously true. But if the sky really is falling, we need to be wise. We should not blindly trust the fixers to fix the problem. After all, they created the problems in the first place. They very well could make matters worse. What to do? In my worst moments, I’m tempted to move to a mountain with a stockpile of beans and bullets and ride it out. But with sober reflection, I think there are some simple steps that virtually anyone can take. The most pressing and obvious is to figure out ways to become more dependent on local food sources. Ideally, this means growing some of your own food. This will, obviously, involve plenty of hard work, a steep learning curve, and time. Even in cities, space can be found for cultivating gardens and small animal husbandry; although, we’re going to have to get over our aversion to manual labor, to dirt and blood, to dung and death.
A Guide to Survival Food Storage in Ten Easy Steps
Survival Food Storage is one of the most essential elements of emergency planning.
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Why almost everyone is wrong about how to survive any food shortage or crisis!
Food Crisis 2011 is a post from: Classic Liberal Blog
