[BombayBen]

Has anybody noticed how rapidly the price of food is rising? - I did my monthly grocery shop today and was astonished at the prices - this is not just UK - this is global and it is very frightening. Prices of rice, bread and oil have doubled!!!

[shel]

Originally Posted by BombayBen

Has anybody noticed how rapidly the price of food is rising? ...

Yes!

scb

[cabooseof9]

.....The prices of certain cuts of meat are jumping 10 cents per lb. every few days to a week here.

A 6 pk. of 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese went from $7.07 to $8.67 in 2 weeks.

Cheapest gas around here is $4.05 a gallon, making it tough for a lot of people here in "The Mitten" to chose between spending money on gas to get to work, or eating.....

[MaryB]

Last year this time I paid $1.19 a pound for a case of spare ribs. This year it was $1.69. My BBQ season is going to be slow this year, people won't be able to afford it.

[BombayBen]

OIL - UP TO 95 P FROM 59!!
BREAD - £1.50 A loaf!!
RICE - 90p to £1.74 for a 1kg bag

[RufusTF]

I ran across this article/book review in the New Yorker. It's got a lot of good info on the how's & why's of our rising food costs. And yes, the situation appears to be bad, or at least will worsen before it gets better if the information here is true.

The Last Bite: A Critic at Large: The New Yorker

[shel]

Originally Posted by RufusTF

I ran across this article/book review in the New Yorker ...
The Last Bite: A Critic at Large: The New Yorker

Thanks for posting the link. Reading what I did of the article, I was reminded of the movie Soylent Green.

scb

[Cat Man]

Part of the problem is perception.
In the western hemisphere, we've been enjoying record low prices for many food items and had gotten used to it.
2 years ago, gulf shrimp prices were lower than the 1960's.
Beef and Pork production had grown faster than supply, thus artificially lowering prices for the market place.
A lot of corn and wheat prices were subsidized by either the farm bill or GMO companies.
And we had a relatively strong dollar which made import prices seem cheaper than they really were.

While the food prices across the board are undeniably up, they have not doubled in a real sense.

What we're seeing here in the US is much like what the Japanese saw in the 80's.

[KYHeirloomer]

Sorry, Cat Man, but if you're stuck in a low-end job, and have little mouths to feed, and last year were paying $2.25 for milk and it's more than four bucks, it don't get any realer than that.

The reasons are irrelevant. Prices have sky rocketed while wages have remained stagnent.

And there's no change in sight: not until Congress realizes the stupidity of the energy bill it passed, and recinds it in favor of something rational.

[Cat Man]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

Sorry, Cat Man, but if you're stuck in a low-end job, and have little mouths to feed, and last year were paying $2.25 for milk and it's more than four bucks, it don't get any realer than that.

The reasons are irrelevant. Prices have sky rocketed while wages have remained stagnent.

And there's no change in sight: not until Congress realizes the stupidity of the energy bill it passed, and recinds it in favor of something rational.

KY, I can't argue with that. I guess what I was trying to convey is that we here in the US (low end pay or not) are not nearly as impacted by these higher food prices as poorer countries are. As an example, Indonesia had been subsidizing it's fishing fleets fuel by 80% up until recently, and now that it's gone AND their food prices have almost doubled, just imagine that impact