I ran across this interesting Washington Post article via Little Blog in the Big Woods. Greenpa (blog writer referenced above) has been railing against the commodities speculation market for the past month or two because they have been a source/cause of the current very high food prices. As a hedge against declining stock and bond markets due to our looming recession, fund managers, universities and other institutional investors have been speculating on food commodities (from what I understand, anyway. I'm not sure I totally get it). Basically, according to the Washington Post article, we have a food speculation bubble going on.
The article is really important. And you should go read it, especially if you are apt to complain about the high cost of, say, flour or rice. Or the fears of food shortages (or, if you are laughing at those who are fearful of food shortages and think they may be crazy). This is one of those things that effects every single one of us, and no one is immune. I was going to highlight the important sections and post them here as a teaser, but in all honestly, I started copying the entire article, which is not helpful. So go read it. Please.
Here is the link to the whole Washington Post Series on the food crisis. You might have to take that one in little bursts.
Showing posts with label food costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food costs. Show all posts
Friday, May 02, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Whole-y Wheat!
I went grocery shopping today. I don't do it often, but I broke down and went. Mostly veggies.
And you know what? I was out of whole wheat flour, so I had to buy some. $5.19 for a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour. I sure wish Costco sold giant bags of whole wheat flour, but they don't - at least mine doesn't.
I'm not going to rant and rave - at least, at this point, I can afford flour that expensive without really noticing. But I know there are a lot of people out there who can't. Instead of buying whole wheat flour, they'll switch to the less nutritious kind (the bleached white flour). They'll have to start buying more of the cheapest stuff in the store, which is the least nutritious stuff. It's scary. Our society will be forced to survive on spaghettios and corn chips.
We are in for some really rough weather folks. I joke about it, but that's just because it's too scary NOT to joke.
And you know what? I was out of whole wheat flour, so I had to buy some. $5.19 for a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour. I sure wish Costco sold giant bags of whole wheat flour, but they don't - at least mine doesn't.
I'm not going to rant and rave - at least, at this point, I can afford flour that expensive without really noticing. But I know there are a lot of people out there who can't. Instead of buying whole wheat flour, they'll switch to the less nutritious kind (the bleached white flour). They'll have to start buying more of the cheapest stuff in the store, which is the least nutritious stuff. It's scary. Our society will be forced to survive on spaghettios and corn chips.
We are in for some really rough weather folks. I joke about it, but that's just because it's too scary NOT to joke.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Stem Rust... good news keeps coming :-)
Stem rust. I've been hearing more and more mutterings about this recently. I have heard that Iran currently has it, and it would make a great biological weapon on our food security.
Here's the deal. Apparently a wheat stem rust (fungus) epidemic (Ug99) is poised to break out, and is already spreading across Africa, Asia & the Middle East. It started in Uganda in 1999 (hence the name) - not that long ago. It's not a theory - it's already happening. Ug99 is spread via the wind - the wiki page has a more in depth discussion of the life cycle of Ug99, but basically the fungus attacks the above-ground sections of the wheat plant, which decreases the ability of the wheat plant to reproduce.
In the past, stem rust has been a major cause of famines, according to this facisinating opinion piece in the New York Times by Norman E. Borlaug (Nobel Peace Prize winner 1970) titled "Stem Rust Never Sleeps." In the U.S. it caused major crop losses from 1903 to 1905 and from 1950 to 1954. Ug99 is poised to create a global wheat crop loss at a time when wheat stores are at their lowest since the 1940s, and during a time where not only has the world's population increased greatly, but a larger percentage of that population is relying on wheat & grains than they ever have in the past.
So how did "they" stop it from completely killing all of the wheat everywhere? Scientists developed a new kind of wheat - one that was resistant to the fungus and that produced a greater number of seeds. It worked for 50 years. But now, we need to develop a new kind of wheat, and we need the cooperation of the global science community to do it.
Here in lies the rub. As Americans, we have more or less alienated most of the global community (thanks, bush). If we came up with a new & better kind of wheat resistant to stem rust, what do you bet it would be met with skepticism? Let's say, for instance, we came up with the magical wheat and offered it to Iran in order to keep it's children from starving (in exchange for something, I am sure). Do you think they'd actually trust us? I'm not sure I trust us, so I don't really think I can expect a "foe" to trust us.
But that's beside the point. According to Borlaug, while the U.S. was at first very gung-ho on this issue, and provided funding for research & development, we have very suddenly made a 180 and have cut most of the funding. Thanks bush - way to go, man. This guy is AMAZING... in all the wrong ways. I can't wait to see what the history books have to say about him - if we survive that long.
Here's the deal. Apparently a wheat stem rust (fungus) epidemic (Ug99) is poised to break out, and is already spreading across Africa, Asia & the Middle East. It started in Uganda in 1999 (hence the name) - not that long ago. It's not a theory - it's already happening. Ug99 is spread via the wind - the wiki page has a more in depth discussion of the life cycle of Ug99, but basically the fungus attacks the above-ground sections of the wheat plant, which decreases the ability of the wheat plant to reproduce.
In the past, stem rust has been a major cause of famines, according to this facisinating opinion piece in the New York Times by Norman E. Borlaug (Nobel Peace Prize winner 1970) titled "Stem Rust Never Sleeps." In the U.S. it caused major crop losses from 1903 to 1905 and from 1950 to 1954. Ug99 is poised to create a global wheat crop loss at a time when wheat stores are at their lowest since the 1940s, and during a time where not only has the world's population increased greatly, but a larger percentage of that population is relying on wheat & grains than they ever have in the past.
So how did "they" stop it from completely killing all of the wheat everywhere? Scientists developed a new kind of wheat - one that was resistant to the fungus and that produced a greater number of seeds. It worked for 50 years. But now, we need to develop a new kind of wheat, and we need the cooperation of the global science community to do it.
Here in lies the rub. As Americans, we have more or less alienated most of the global community (thanks, bush). If we came up with a new & better kind of wheat resistant to stem rust, what do you bet it would be met with skepticism? Let's say, for instance, we came up with the magical wheat and offered it to Iran in order to keep it's children from starving (in exchange for something, I am sure). Do you think they'd actually trust us? I'm not sure I trust us, so I don't really think I can expect a "foe" to trust us.
But that's beside the point. According to Borlaug, while the U.S. was at first very gung-ho on this issue, and provided funding for research & development, we have very suddenly made a 180 and have cut most of the funding. Thanks bush - way to go, man. This guy is AMAZING... in all the wrong ways. I can't wait to see what the history books have to say about him - if we survive that long.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
International Year of the Potato
No, I'm not kidding; it IS the International Year of the Potato. According to who? The United Nations.
I first heard about this from a guy in the relocalization group, who is a potato fan, and more or less instigated a giant potato buying order (my potatoes are now trying to sprout in my sunroom). When I heard about the year of the potato, I though "aww...how cute." Now, it dawns on me. The UN saw the writing on the wall with the rapid increase in rice and wheat prices. Remember the whole rice rioting thing that's been going on in various places? The UN's answer is potatoes.
Potatoes can grow just about anywhere, if you have a variety thats adapted to your climate. I had some serious potatoes growing in my cabinet this spring, for pete's sake (which I have since stuck in some dirt...and they continue to grow).
According to the UN's potato page, a third of the world's potato production occurs in China & India. 2005 saw a dramatic shift in the balance of world wide potato production with the developing nations outpacing the developed nations in potato production. The U.S. in #5 on the list of top potato producers with 19,460,119 tons; #1 is China with 79,366,428 tons (#2: Russia, #3: India, #4: Ukraine).
Interestingly, the U.S. has by far the highest potato yield per acre in the world with 16.49 tons/acre. Europe is the next contestant with 7.71 tons per acre, and the rest of the regions fall between Europe and the lowest-density producer Africa with 4.83 tons per acre. I imagine the density of yield is directly related to land value. In Europe and N. America, farmers really have to be able to get as much yield as possible out of what land they have in order to stay in business. In the other regions, there are likely still more areas to grow potatoes (outside of densely populated cities). I also wonder how much production density has to do with the type of economy that is in operation in the growing area. While the market-driven economy does have its draw backs, it does force farmers to squeeze all they can (for better or worse) out of their land.
Here's a neat little diagram on HOW potatoes grow. Here's the U.N.s fact sheet on potatoes, including nutritional content and how it will be a key player in solving the world's food shortage keeping the developing nations more stable.
Reuters did an interesting article on potatoes in mid-April. Potatoes are cheap, mostly due to a lack of a financial speculation market - most potatoes aren't exported. This makes farming them difficult on the farmers - they end up selling them cheaply, which means they have to grow and sell a very great many of them & it's labor intensive. BUT for us home gardeners, potatoes are perfect - the seed is cheap and it's nutritious. Less fat than wheat, good source of protein, half of your daily vitamin C intake. They keep pretty well too.
I first heard about this from a guy in the relocalization group, who is a potato fan, and more or less instigated a giant potato buying order (my potatoes are now trying to sprout in my sunroom). When I heard about the year of the potato, I though "aww...how cute." Now, it dawns on me. The UN saw the writing on the wall with the rapid increase in rice and wheat prices. Remember the whole rice rioting thing that's been going on in various places? The UN's answer is potatoes.
Potatoes can grow just about anywhere, if you have a variety thats adapted to your climate. I had some serious potatoes growing in my cabinet this spring, for pete's sake (which I have since stuck in some dirt...and they continue to grow).
According to the UN's potato page, a third of the world's potato production occurs in China & India. 2005 saw a dramatic shift in the balance of world wide potato production with the developing nations outpacing the developed nations in potato production. The U.S. in #5 on the list of top potato producers with 19,460,119 tons; #1 is China with 79,366,428 tons (#2: Russia, #3: India, #4: Ukraine).
Interestingly, the U.S. has by far the highest potato yield per acre in the world with 16.49 tons/acre. Europe is the next contestant with 7.71 tons per acre, and the rest of the regions fall between Europe and the lowest-density producer Africa with 4.83 tons per acre. I imagine the density of yield is directly related to land value. In Europe and N. America, farmers really have to be able to get as much yield as possible out of what land they have in order to stay in business. In the other regions, there are likely still more areas to grow potatoes (outside of densely populated cities). I also wonder how much production density has to do with the type of economy that is in operation in the growing area. While the market-driven economy does have its draw backs, it does force farmers to squeeze all they can (for better or worse) out of their land.
Here's a neat little diagram on HOW potatoes grow. Here's the U.N.s fact sheet on potatoes, including nutritional content and how it will be a key player in solving the world's food shortage keeping the developing nations more stable.
Reuters did an interesting article on potatoes in mid-April. Potatoes are cheap, mostly due to a lack of a financial speculation market - most potatoes aren't exported. This makes farming them difficult on the farmers - they end up selling them cheaply, which means they have to grow and sell a very great many of them & it's labor intensive. BUT for us home gardeners, potatoes are perfect - the seed is cheap and it's nutritious. Less fat than wheat, good source of protein, half of your daily vitamin C intake. They keep pretty well too.
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