Food Shortage.... I keep hearing about it, but I have a sneaking feeling that there is no real food shortage. I do feel there is a cash shortage.

I say this because it seems if you have cash, you have food. I don't see any empty shelves at the store (This maybe different countries, but even there, I think it's more of a cash caused issue) and it seems everything is available. Plus, I keep reading that the UN is asking for more cash for food. Now, if there truly was a food shortage, how is cash going to help?

Personally, I feel this whole food problem is due to the cost of energy. You need Natural Gas to make fertilizer and you need fuel, whether it be gas, oil, diesel, etc to make/transport most anything. If energy prices were to drop, I feel the economy would grow and food will be cheap again. Yes, the prices won't drop to where they were, but they would stabilize and drop some.

Sorry, to make such a post, but I'm getting tired of hearing and reading that there is a food shortage and we are causing this problem by making Ethanol and Bio-Diesel. Remember, we wouldn't make Ethanol or BioD is regular fuel was cheap again either.

I've got a lot of stuff to say on this subject, especially in terms of energy costs, but I think you get my drift. If I'm wrong on my thought, please straighten me out on this issue.

BTW, if you haven't figured it out, I line of thought is that all these problems were seeing are due to the cost of energy. I just don't understand why fuel/oil is so high! Adjusted for inflation, it's higher now then when there was a true shortage in the 70's; when there were odd/even days and long lines at stations that had fuel.

 

The only reason we are still making Ethanol is that it is subsidized by the .gov. That is the only reason. If our taxes didnt hold that up it would die tomorrow.

Other then that, we do have a bit of a food shortage, but not enough for us in the US to feel except for money wise. Food will cost more because there has been major drought in the world and we have lost a couple of major crops. But the US has the money and will be eating fine. It will cost a lot though. Other, poorer countries will be VERY hungry and starving in some areas because of this.

 

been around the world twice. Kazakhstan had the thinnest shelves, but they were stocked with food.

I agree, any food shortage would be due to a money shortage.
I dont see very many people that look like they have missed a meal lately and it wouldn't hurt the majority of Americans to miss a few meals.

 

There is a shortage of certain kinds of rice. Some countries will only eat brown rice or Basmati rice or whatever. Some of the crop failures due to drought has caused a shortage of certain kinds. This in turn allows the media to create a problem to sell news and people actually refuse to eat a different type of rice than what they want and are willing to starve to make their point.

As for using food products to make biofuels I just saw B99 for $5.50 a gallon today. I didn't know they used rice to make diesel. Where in the world are the savings in making bio? B20 was $3.70 while I could still buy straight petro diesel for $3.40.

 

Where in the US are you seeing those prices? The spot price of diesel is almost $3.40 right now. The lowest price, around me, I've seen are $4.29

 

The price of fuel and food are leaving me a little short on cabbage.

 

there is an international food shortage, being caused by so much of the available crop growing land being used for bio-fuels. it's a by-product of the global economy- more than ever, nations don't have to take care of themselves, and rely on importing even the basic necessities. as for any food shortages here at home, you can thank the financial 'experts' on t.v., who told people to stock up on food, because big price increases and shortages were coming fast. i saw one who said to take your entire economic stimulus check, and use it to stock pile food.

 

id die for 3.40 a gal. cheapest around here is 3.99.

 

this site will show the latest spot price for #2 diesel is around $3.30-$3.41/gallon (gulf coast is cheapest, then N.Y harbor, followed by L.A.). http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_spt_s1_d.htm

 

11-52 fertalizer is $1025 a ton of Anhydrus is $860 a ton Urea is $560 a ton all of the Nitrogen is almost Double from last year 11-52 is more then. Not to mention $4.00 farm fuel. Did I mention most sprays took a huge jump, I also hear John Deere had a 15-20% price increase this year. If wheat goes back to $4.00 and corn to $2.50 their wont be any farmers. It also looks like the way cattle prices are going to end up we might be aproaching -$$ per head.
Most of the price increase of food is from the processors and from trucking. For example the price of bread has gone up more then what would be the total farmers share.

 

that's funny i live on the gulf coast, louisiana and its 3.99-4.07 and 4.3x a few miles away

 

the spot price is not the retail price, charged at the pumps. maybe someone smarter than me can jump in, but i think the spot price is the price the fuel stations pay for fuel.

 

Bought a friggen moped to ride around town for short trips. Been riding motorcycles my whole life, but just want something to play around on, and take the kids for rides. Now for the mods., big bore kit and exhaust, I'd like to get it too 45mph if I can.

 

Corn ethanol is merely a stepping stone to producing ethanol from more reasonable sources. Give it time. The technology will develop further and we'll start making it from other sources, yet corn will stay expensive. Only 15% of the increase in corn prices can be attributed to ethanol, but people want to blame the struggling economy and food shortage and all the world's other problems on Bush and his biofuels.

 

that would make sense, cause i aint seen it that low in months. glad i got an older more efficient truck