Per Bloomberg - ” Further gains in food prices would be ‘terrible’ for the world’s poor and throw hundreds of thousands of them into starvation…Governments throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East are seeking to combat food inflation and avoid social unrest by curbing exports or lifting import duties on basic food staples such as rice. Global food prices surged 57 percent last month from a year earlier, according to the United Nations, and the World Bank warns civil disturbances may be triggered in 33 countries.”
The price increases are presumably triggered by worldwide shortages of cereal grains, especially rice, which in turn have led to export restrictions by major producers.
Or so it is reported…
A closer look ties it all back into the unstustainable system that has developed over the past 60 years.
Bettina Luescher, the chief North American spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Program, cites several factors, including, “…a rise in oil and energy prices and an economic boom in developing countries like India and China that is increasing demand, as well as climate changes causing droughts and floods [and], some farmers are shifting their crops from food to those used for alternative fuels, like corn used for ethanol, because of rising demand.”
It is not a third world problem.
In the US there is a multi year drought taking its toll in the southeast. There are hay shortages over most of the country. Livestock and poultry producers are reducing production due to increased feed prices. Dairy production is down across the country, and some States (Missouri for instance) that used to export dairy products now import.
Things are changing, and the change is accelerating, even as the US and global economy enter the most significant slump in at least 25 years and the US dollar is at record lows against virtually all foreign currencies.
Reading the Capital Press and now even making it into mainstream media it appears we have a bit of a problem on our hands.
Call me a contrarian, but I find this kind of exciting. A core group of people have spoken about the unsustainable agricultural systems that have arisen over the past 50 years - one that has farmers starving even as they work their own land. One that enriches corporate megolyths like Cargill and ADM and Monsanto while leaving everyone else to starve.
Riots are no fun for anyone, but perhaps better than starvation!
They do signal change…
I suspect that the day of the CSA may be approaching. As food prices rise, it is quite possible that local growers with good business sense will once again be able to make a livable income.
So, one of our layers has moved on to hen heaven.
Now the wife wants to thin the rooster ranks. There are only three of those poor guys left. (One of the nice things about roosters is that they are usually the first to fall to things like hawks and other predators - doing their “man thing” defending the girls.)
Leave it to a woman to pass a death sentence for the ravages of testosterone!
I was going to put the hen on the burn pile, which will probably get torched this weekend given the improvement in weather.
Instead she got a “proper” funeral buried in her own little chicken grave.
Not sure what we are going to do when the property is filled with little animal graves. Between cats, dogs and now chickens we could fill up pretty quick!
The saying goes, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”
The wife has been selling eggs to a local ”fresh to you” produce store. Getting a whopping $1.50 a dozen, which by my calcuations is at least twenty-five cents less than it costs to produce them. The produce stand in turn sells for $3 a dozen, which is double what it cost to acquire them.
Of course, the local grocery is selling ”free range” eggs for closer to $4 a dozen.
So, who is getting the profit? Kind of the (hi)story of farming.
Never could figure out why people think they should be able to buy off the farm for less than in the
store. ”Cutting out the middle man,” shouldn’t mean shortchanging the producer, at least in my mind.
Next time you are looking at produce, beef, eggs or anything else straight off the farm, ask yourself
why that producer shouldn’t see a decent profit on their investment and work?
Watching various chat lines, newsletters and alpaca related websites, it appears that current economic conditions are having a pretty significant impact on the alpaca “industy”.
It’s about time!
For 6-8 years the alpaca industry has been based on marketing and hype. I hate “I Love Alpacas” which quite intentionally portrays alpacas as a quick road to riches.
When the wife and I bought alpacas many years ago there was a pioneering spirit largely missing today. Early owners and breeders had it in their mind that we were creating a new niche in US agriculture. Somehow those goals were lost and a model based on the show ring and “huggable investments” took over.
Now, as more and more people are having difficulty cashing in on their “investments” a new focus on fiber is emerging, and there is even open talk of a consumption market. Good stuff!
Perhaps we can get back to creating that new agricultural niche. Certainly groups such as the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative are trying.
‘Business as usual is no longer an option,’ states the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which will be formally launched on 15 April by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The report’s authors recommend that agricultural science place greater emphasis on safeguarding natural resources and on ‘agro-ecological’ practices, including the use of natural fertilizers, traditional seeds and intensified natural practices, and reducing the distance between production and the consumer.
The global shipping of food staples which can be produced locally is simply insane! Poor farmers in 3rd world countries can not afford to purchase hwat is not produced locally, and the poor US farmer is being driven into indigence since they can not compete with low priced imports.
Buy local. It may cost a bit more, but it is better, fresher and greener.
BB&T Capital Markets analyst said Monday corn rationing may be necessary this year, following a U.S. Department of Agriculture report predicting farmers would plant far fewer acres of corn in 2008.”
On the farm front this will lead to major increases in the cost of feed. Even the backyard chicken owner will feel this in the wallet.
On the larger front we can expect to see increases in most food at the local supermarket. Corn is insidious, being an ingredient in virtually everything we eat these days - and if not a direct ingredient, the a part of the food chain leading to it.
Expect meat prices to go through the roof, and eggs, poultry and dairy products as well. Anything (meaning most everything) with corn syrup will be going up in price as well.
The stock market already sees the ramifications. Early news shows, “Shares of Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world’s largest meat companies, fell 12 cents to $16.01 in afternoon trading, while shares of pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. dropped 39 cents to $25.57. Chicken producer Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. shares dipped 19 cents to $20.28. Earlier in the day, the stock reached a new four-year low of $20.08.”
Fully expect announcements of reduced production by some of these big players.
Walked out on the deck and saw swallows for the first time this year!
Swallows are a sure sign of spring. Have never been very good at keeping track of the date of their first appearance, but always appreciate their presence when they do arrive.
We have never been too successful at keeping up with blogging in these parts, but thought it was probably time to try again. So many competing interests arise…
Spring is nearly here. The grass in the paddocks is showing signs of growth, and the animals will soon be off of hay. Geese, Mergansers and Mallards have been pairing up and floating the creek. A bald eagle was circling overhead a couple of days ago. And, I spied an otter in the creek.
All signs that winter has passed..
All signs of a lot of work around the property, fixing and building fences, laying irrigation lines and such.
Came across a great site about fence building the other day, including a nifty fence cost calculator! I expect to be visiting that again!
Will see how well we keep up with this project this time…