Food prices

[Steve Liberati]

Geez, any one else notice the increase in food costs? And I'm not just talking about wheat and corn (not in my basket!). Went food shopping at Trader Schmo's the other day and bought less stuff than I normally do (had grass-fed meat in the freezer at home and bought fruits and veggies at the local produce stand). Total came to over a $100 for a week of food for my wife and I.

May have to go to the meat and berries diet until prices come back down

How much a week are you spending on food?

[Mike ODonnell]

With food and gas the way they are....I'm just riding my bike to McDonalds for $1 doublecheese burgers.....

[Garrett Smith]

Steve,
My pregnant wife and I are spending ~$130/week at TJ's, that includes our meats. Prices have been going up...

[John Alston]

Gov't making corn into ethanol more profitable than corn into feed/food driving up prices of lots of food. High transport costs due to high fuel prices, largely due to refining capacity too low to meet demand.
Time to re-up the Costco membership.
Just be glad there's no price controls, ala Venezuela. Total shortages and black market there.

[Eric Kerr]

John,

You forgot one, growing more corn = using more fossile fuel based fertilizer.

Nice little circle we've got ourselves trapped in.

[Neal Winkler]

You've all missed the biggest culprit of inflation, the Federal Reserve.

If inflation is the rise of prices, then what's the word for what causes the rise in prices?

It's not the things you guys mentioned, which might cause a rise in prices in he short term, as nothing causes a general and sustained rise in prices except monetary inflation, i.e. an increase in the supply of money.

[Tony Ferous]

Biggest problem? Too many people in the world!! Need a global population cap.
No babies law next year maybe??! Practice only.

[Steve Liberati]

I agree Tony. This is the argument against sending food to starving people in Africa. By sending food over you can increase the food supply which increases the population size. Then you created a problem by having more mouths to feed despite not having a stable supply of food for the newcomers. Sadly the good intention to make us look good foreign plan only works only in the short-term. But could you imagine peoples reactions if you said sending food over to Africa is a bad idea or building another HUGE shopping center with another supermarket, restaurants, and food stores in your small town is a very bad idea for the local economy in the long run? 1 baby law is a good start, along with cutting down our food supply. But both won't happen so we're eventually doomed.

[Garrett Smith]

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure.

One of my favorite monologues of all time. Some form of population control is the only answer--I don't care how "green" everything becomes.

[Steve Liberati]

That is hilarious, Garrett. Who said it? I'm guessing George Carlin.