Food Giants Race to Pass Rising Costs to Shoppers

Companies throughout the food chain are changing the way they do business in response to soaring grain costs, and consumers are likely to bear the brunt in the form of rising food prices.

Farmers are making the broadest cuts to their livestock herds in decades, meaning meat at the supermarket will likely cost more in coming years. Middlemen are trying to shorten the duration of supply contracts to 90 days from one year so they can pass on higher costs more quickly. And food brands are shrinking the contents of their packages, from ice-cream cartons to beverage containers.

...In another measure, the cost of the groceries that the federal government suggests middle-class families buy to have healthy diets rose 8.6% in June compared with the same month a year earlier.

Michael Swanson, an economist at Wells Fargo & Co., thinks the food inflation rate could rise as high as 6% next year. Paul Prentice, president of Farm Sector Economics, Colorado Springs, Colo., said he expects retail food prices to rise about 7.5% in 2009.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sees food prices climbing 4.5% to 5.5% this year and 4% to 5% in 2009. Even under this more conservative forecast, the average family of four would see its annual food costs hit $9,800 in 2009, up about $1,200 since 2006.

LOL! I probably do. I’m just repeating what I’ve been told. Somebody was telling me that it’s the big ones which are $1 a pound, but the little ones were $100-120. I guess I’ll find out when I get there. I’ll check it out next month before I make any big decisions.

If it’s that much I’ll just go to a friend of a friend. They will sell me a 1200 pounder, butchered, packaged and brought to my door in coolers for $800.

I was told that the meat yield is about 40% of the live weight. Is that right?

The hanging weight is, give or take 2/3 of the live weight; after that, it depends upon how you cut the carcass and what you keep. I would think 40% is on the conservative side, probably intended to indicate the portion of the live animal which is lean red meat. But, of course, if you buy a porterhouse steak in a restaurant for $25 per pound, you're paying for the bone at the same rate as the red meat. Keep all the edible cuts (such as tongue, brains, oxtail) and tell the butcher to leave the fat on. (you can trim it yourself; suet has all sorts of uses and in the Obamanation, you may need it to make candles).

Sorry for the late reply, Marie. I had to go out for a few hours. I’m familiar with the Tightwad Gazette — own the complete set! I find them inspirational as well.

Most recipes for laundry soap make a huge batch that you have to store in a five-gallon bucket. I’ve scaled it down to a quantity that you should be able to fit into one of your empty Tide bottles. Here’s what I do:

Grate one fourth of a bar of Fels Naphtha soap. Heat one cup of water in a pan until it is almost boiling, and stir in the soap. Keep stirring until the soap is completely dissolved. This may take 10 to 15 minutes. Then fill a stockpot with 3 quarts of water. It doesn’t have to be hot. Add your very soapy cup of water to the water in the stockpot. Then, stir in 1/4 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not Baking Soda) and 2 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax. If you have very hard water, you may want to double up on the Borax. Stir for a couple of minutes, and let the mixture sit overnight. In the morning you will have a stockpot full of gelatinous slime, the consistency of egg drop soup. Don’t worry — it’s supposed to look this way. Funnel it all into an empty detergent bottle. You may have to give it a little shake before pouring it out.

I use 1/4 cup of white vinegar in my fabric softener dispenser instead of Downy. It’s cheaper, softens the fabric, and helps break up soap scum that can build up in the washer. Your clothes won’t smell like vinegar. (If you use this recipe, they will smell like nothing. Some people add a little essential oil to the detergent recipe for fragrance, but I’m trying to be frugal, so I don’t see the point!)

I’ll make up a batch next month! Thank you so much.

I used a homemade laundry soap for about 6 months about 5 years ago. The recipe took me an entire evening to make. I didn’t mind it, but our clothes did get quite dingy over time. Eventually I switched back to Tide.

I have to be very careful with bleach with the septic tank.

This recipe looks much easier to put together. I can’t wait to try it!

I do like a vinegar rinse. The first time I tried it, I had no idea what I was doing. I poured about half a gallon of apple cider vinegar in the hot washer water and that was a *fun* smell to get out of the house. :-)

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