| Welcome to Romancereaders. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Current events: Food shortages to face U.S. too? | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 22 2008, 12:24 AM (424 Views) | |
| Deleted User | Apr 22 2008, 12:24 AM Post #1 |
|
Deleted User
|
You've probably heard about food shortages and rising food prices in other countries around the world, some facing real crisis. Here's an article in The New York Sun talking about some food shortages in certain areas of the U.S. The food items in question being mainly rice, flour, and cooking oil. MOUNTAINVIEW, Calif. — Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks. Article here I wonder if this is going to finally affect the U.S. too in some ways, or if this is just the media trying to sensationalize as usual. <_< Rising gas prices, economy slowing down, a lackluster election year, and now this? Things getting bleaker huh. |
|
|
| DW from Amazon | Apr 22 2008, 01:44 AM Post #2 |
|
Short Story
![]() ![]()
|
Time magazine just had a good article on this issue. It all correlates to biofuel production, which is consuming massive amounts of corn here in the US and sugarcane and other crops in South America. This has been driving up other commodity prices and the poorist countries are now feeling the effects. It is very real and the US has seen food prices (from milk to cereal) jump. |
![]() |
|
| Deleted User | Apr 22 2008, 01:55 AM Post #3 |
|
Deleted User
|
Yah I heard about how the demand for biofuel raising up prices for corn. What does everyone think about that? I wonder if all these alternative fuels worth it? It seems there will always be a cost that will counter the benefit. In this case, raising food prices and food shortages around the world. People are starving and rioting in 3rd world countries because it's starting to affect their lives. Is it better to stand by your principles ("We need to rely less on petroleum because of global warming, so let's try biofuel") when real people don't have the luxury to do so? |
|
|
| greenwise | Apr 22 2008, 03:10 AM Post #4 |
|
Flyer
|
I haven't done a lot of research on it, but have felt the bite of higher grocery prices. I think being green is good, but with increasing fuel costs we should focus on a realtistic strategy for fueling our cars that won't leave us wondering about our food source. |
![]() |
|
| EssieLou | Apr 22 2008, 03:13 AM Post #5 |
|
Administrator
![]()
|
Yep. We can't have it both ways. |
![]() |
|
| DW from Amazon | Apr 22 2008, 04:28 AM Post #6 |
|
Short Story
![]() ![]()
|
There are many pros and cons with the biofuel issue. Sugarcane biofuels are close to 100% efficient and corn around 80% efficient, as far as carbon output. So, they are definitely 'greener' than fossil fuels. However, in places like Brazil, the true pioneers of this technology, they are tearing down the rainforest at very high rates to put in sugarcane, corn, and soybean to keep up with the demand. Another pro is the lessening of our dependence on foreign oil and a bolstering to the mid-western farmer. A sad little note though, even if we (USA) put 100% of our current corn production towards biofuels, it would only cover 20% of our gas needs.
|
![]() |
|
| Deleted User | Apr 22 2008, 07:22 AM Post #7 |
|
Deleted User
|
That is almost ironic. While using biofuels in our cars would be more "green", and help reduce carbon emissions, it's also not that green to produce them as you have to raze the rainforest to make room for the crops. It's like a drop in the bucket...only about 20% of our gas needs? Even if we reduce our dependence on oil for the gasoline in our cars, we still use petroleum in many products such as contact lenses, dishwashing liquids, paints, etc. So we could never really cut our dependence on petroleum 100% unless there were a substitute that could be found to take the place of petroleum in many products made. I know I could never go without my contact lenses.LOL. |
|
|
| luvsromance | Apr 22 2008, 07:33 AM Post #8 |
|
Epic Saga
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
According to what I've read, the prices of housing and food have gone up 65% and an average of 25% over the last five years. The average wage has gone up only 12.5 %. Meanwhile, there are bills on the floor of congress right now to subsidize more farmers. So, with food prices soaring for staple items, fuel costs rising... ah nostalgia... remember when we thought that $2 was a lot to pay for a gallon of gas? Does it make sense for the agricultural industry to be paid to produce less? |
![]() |
|
| Deleted User | Apr 22 2008, 07:54 AM Post #9 |
|
Deleted User
|
Ha, I remember that. I remember when gas was only $1.... I seriously think the price will go up $4 or maybe more in some places (Cali or Hawaii for instance always has higher than average gas prices) by summer. It's around $3.50 where I live. It's painful. :angry: I honestly don't know what's going on with Congress. Never know what goes on inside the beltway. No, it does not make sense to pay farmers to make less!! |
|
|
| Tams | Apr 22 2008, 08:06 AM Post #10 |
|
Epic Saga
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I can tell you I live in the cotton belt. All my life I have been surrounded by cotton fields (also a lot of rice and soybeans). Five or ten years ago the very idea of planting corn besides someones garden would have been a joke. Now many of those cotton and rice fields are turning to corn field. It's very eerie. I mean cotton is still predominant, but to see some of those fields turned over to corn is strange. They say you can't trade food for oil, but if biofuel limits supplies of food and drives up the price isn't the outcome the same or worse. |
![]() |
|
| luvsromance | Apr 22 2008, 08:13 AM Post #11 |
|
Epic Saga
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I live in CA. Last weekend I paid 3.99 a gallon to fill up my minivan. I think the new "low" price here will be a four dollar minimum before the end of summer. We usually see a spike in July at around 3.80. Way past that already and it isn't even summer. |
![]() |
|
| Deleted User | Apr 22 2008, 05:10 PM Post #12 |
|
Deleted User
|
Ouch! That's painful!! Okay, so it will reach $4 in some places even before summer hits. |
|
|
| EssieLou | Apr 22 2008, 05:43 PM Post #13 |
|
Administrator
![]()
|
The issue is the need for energy is high and will stay high, unless we become North Korea with one light on at night. So, the energy supply, whatever it maybe needs to be from something that does cut into the food supply or wreck the environment (as in rain forests) to meet needs. The irony is great when you have a biofuel source that creates a food shortage meets a small % of the energy requirements. And yes, I live green--- just via upbringing. But I drive 50 miles to work and I'm not going to move in town nor do I want to give up my livelyhood. |
![]() |
|
| RenaRuadh | Apr 22 2008, 06:10 PM Post #14 |
|
Short Story
![]() ![]()
|
Over here in Scotland we also feel the rising food prices. And there's a lot of discussion going on about biofuel and whether it's safe or not. As regards other renewable energy sources, we just heard that the planned windfarm on the isle of Lewis is not going to go ahead, as too many rare wild birds would be endangered. That's definitely a conflict of priorities. On one hand we need to protect our birds, but on the other hand, we need to find renewable energy sources. Right now we are threatened by a petrol shortage as the one and only refinery in Scotland, Grangemouth, is being stopped as it's no longer safe. And then the workers are going to go on strike. I agree with trying to live as green as possible and I take public transport whenever I can. Thankfully we have a really good bus and train system here. |
![]() |
|
| Deleted User | Apr 22 2008, 06:25 PM Post #15 |
|
Deleted User
|
Living green is good, but it can also be quite expensive. For instance, I go to Whole Foods grocery store and they are a very green company. They have stopped using plastic bags indefinitely (starting today, Earth Day). Each store purchases local produce from the surrounding area and the meat are bought from reputable suppliers. All the food sold there doesn't include any preservative and all the cleaning supplies sold there are green (all natural). All the bins are separated, paper, plastic, food, etc at the eating area so when you throw away your things you have to separate it all. But the downside. The foods and items at this store are more expensive than at your average grocery store so not everyone can afford to be this green. I try to be as environmentally aware as I can. Turning off lights I don't use when I leave the room, recycling everything, driving a car that gets pretty good gas mileage. I even save bottles and soda until I come home to recycle. I keep hearing about biofuel this and that, so what machinery or vehicles use biofuel right now? Does anyone know how it all works? |
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Anything You Want to Talk About · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2










7:27 PM Jul 11