Posted on 04/20/2014 9:50:27 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Alert shoppers are accustomed to watching food prices go up and down. But a string of forces—from droughts to diseases—is raising the cost of a trip to the grocery store at a rapid clip.
And it looks like it will be a while before the price pressure eases.
Some of that pressure is coming from California—the source of roughly half the nation's fruits and vegetables—where a long-running drought is forcing farmers and ranchers to cut production. After the driest year on record, large sections of farmland are expected to lay fallow this year as the Golden State copes with an ongoing water crisis.
That could have "large and lasting effects on fruit, vegetable, dairy and egg prices," according to a recent USDA report, which said the full impact has yet to be felt.
Smaller cattle herds have forced meat prices higher in March—up more than 5 percent from a year ago, as demand remained strong despite tightener supplies. Ranchers are getting higher prices for cattle and food companies are able to pass them along....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Don't forget the Federal Reserve running the presses at Ludicrous Speed and then fibbing about the inflation rate.
Ignore the fact that food, gasoline, healthcare, utilities, taxes, and most of life’s other essentials are rising in price rapidly. We can take comfort in knowing that the government reports very little inflation.
Also, they are also using corn for fuel not food and feed.
Simple solution to the obesity “problem”. If you can’t buy the food, you can’t eat, you might lose some weight. Good goin’ there moochie. We’re spending a heck of a lot more and getting a heck of a lot less. Lucky for us we’ve turned the corner. On another front, regular gas is up to between $3.87 and $3.93/gal for regular in Reno now. Must be the spring/summer blend transition.
If the government were less concerned about tortoises and various desert plants and more concerned about letting farmers in California irrigate their fields prices might not be so high.
Article doesn’t mention the recent EPA order to reduce cattle methane emission by 25%. It would seem the only way to accomplish this mandate would be to reduce the cattle population by 25%. From a progressive’s perspective how could that possibly affect the price of beef? No doubt Bush and the evil food processing companies will be blamed for soaring beef prices.
I have not seen prices come down in many years. Everything is more expensive in the grocery store and many packages contain less product for higher prices. The prices of fresh vegetables at the grocery store floor me. We have a very large garden and using grocery store prices one of our garden rows produce hundreds of dollars of peppers or tomatoes.
California and the West in general need to take some lessons from Israel who have created a vibrant agricultural industry with far less water than the U.S. Israel also manages to do this without illegal immigration.
As the government continues to borrow money, print money, and impose stricter environmental regulation/taxes on the agricultural industry (and diesel prices) the price of food will continue to rise.
At my favorite grocery, for example, avocados vary from 19¢ up. When they go over 49¢, I quit buying them. Some other groceries have them as high as $1.79 each.
Similar with cantaloupes, which vary from week to week and store to store. One week they are 99¢ each. The next week they were $1.99. Another store had them at $2.50.
Also, even ‘fresh’ products are imported. Pears-USA, Roma Tomatoes-Mexico, Cantelopes-Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras.
We used to see ‘seasonal’ produce. Just a decade ago, I would never see cantaloupes or watermelons later than September. Now, the stores stock them even in winter.
Did anything bad, and I mean ANYTHING, ever happen that wasn’t blamed on GWB? How can anyone not see how they’re being manipulated by the MSM?
In my view, almost all price increases are now caused by insane liberal government policies, taxes and regulations.
Every action taken by the Obama administration decreases efficiency, productivity and actual production while raising costs.
And I believe it is all done with purposeful intent to reduce consumption, reduce our standard of living, reduce our independence and increase reliance on the government.
Do you have an Aldi’s nearby?
That's a discount price in San Diego... Whoops, I mispoke. Can't get for $3.87 in San Diego.
I think universal food insurance is inevitable. Universal gas insurance? Not so likely.
I was in Ventura last week and it was well over $5 gallon. Ludicrous.
I live in metro Seattle.
Food prices have gone up a lot, but sale prices are still pretty good.
I live within walking distance of two major grocery stores, so I can shop every day, and stock up, which really helps the budget.
I have noticed that sale prices are less and less frequent, and the sales last less time.
Unfortunately, two of my favorite items, Nature Valley granola bars and canned peas, almost never go on sale anymore, so I’ve had to stop buying them.
A couple years ago, canned peas almost doubled in price, and they have never come back down.
They are getting much better at storage. I read a story about apples which they store in sealed warehouses just above freezing and with a very low oxygen content to keep them fresh for a long time. This results is relatively stable prices throughout the year (generally $1.79-$1.99 for my favorite Granny Smiths) rather than selling them cheap right at harvest and then much more expensive the rest of the year.
Which reminds me, I didn't see any huge sales on citrus this winter like usual. Was there a bad harvest or are they doing the same thing with oranges.
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