Food Prices about to sky rocket, be prepared.

reply to post by hqokc

Dehydrating certainly conserves power (and addresses the issue of what if the power goes out?) BUT make sure that you have plenty of water. Eating dehydrated food without proper rehydrating can cause serious stomach cramping - even leading to death.

Grain futures are perhaps the best bellwether in predicting a food shortage caused by extremes in weather.

They are up a bit lately, check out the link: Grain Futures

reply to post by charlyv


Here is a new thread on the front page.....It brings it all home....doesn't it...

U.S. declares drought-stricken states largest natural disaster area ever
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Des

reply to post by Destinyone


Yes, I understand that. We'll have to wait and see the scale of the problem. I think I'd like to go and buy large buckets of rice at this time.

I have seen the other thread now, so I see that others (i.e., in gov't) have acknowledged the problem. Not that I wait for gov't to tell me there is a problem, but it would be weird if there were such a problem looming on the horizon and gov't were mum silent.

I heard in the other thread that people are suspecting haarp and chemtrails. Umm, I can believe that this could happen without those things, as part of Earth's cycles. But, I have no idea. Maybe the two could be affecting weather.

reply to post by daynight42


Good for you. Rice is a good start. A great staple in our diets, versatile too. Start keeping glass jars you buy anything in.

Wash them out, air dry and store grains, dry beans flour sugar....things like that in them. Keeps moisture and insects out. Ask friends who don't want to keep them to save them for you. You'd be amazed how well they stack on a shelf in the top of a closet, out of the way. I use a piece of masking tape on the lids of the jars to date when I put something up. Makes it easy to rotate out stock and use first in first out. That way you always have fresh product and can use what you bought cheaper in tougher times.

Des

I wonder if the recent attempt to decrease spending from the Department of Agriculture on food stamps will affect food prices. If food stamps are not issued out will food prices rise or fall?

Originally posted by DirectDemocracy
I wonder if the recent attempt to decrease spending from the Department of Agriculture on food stamps will affect food prices. If food stamps are not issued out will food prices rise or fall?

I don't think food stamps effect the price of food. It's the cost of growing the crops, the output from the crops and what the crops bring in at the market, that effects the price of food. Food stamps are just another currency for buying food.

Des

reply to post by Destinyone


uNFORTUNATELY, WERE THAT THE CASE , THE PRICES WOULD BE EVEN MORE UNSTABLE , AND, in times gone by CONSIDERABLY CHEAPER .lazy caps
african wheat has remained at (world) depressed prices for a long time , while outside of eu and american food trade policies (eg common ag policy eu)
there are subsidies , market issues and currency problems going further than that

also your post well presented but effect/affect are two different words . / uused the wrong one

and how much impetus do we still need to start growing our own ?
by having a garden , simply home scale know-how on the tiniest grounds , even space indoors , just like nasa does it when you're good , stands you in better stead w food , applying to anybody .
there much saying , buy rice , ok do , but this is far from ideal solutioning

get means to filter water if you do , because of rehydration problems , but as in previous point , living , hydrated stock , on the ground , is 1 edible anytime ,2 immediately propagating itself long term 3 moveable 4 does not require drystore maintenance 5 often needs no cooking 6 staple bulk does not provide vitamins/antioxidants present in fresh produce 7. real ag/wholesale money always did come from intensive projects 9ie secretised food techeg aeroponics) not , in fact from larger lower maintenance staples production.
there's more thought and sensitised data collection involved in your average pound of tomatoes than water, or, than you might think. retaining the correct articles for such efforts is akin to , or is in effect recycling , with selective application of easily available purchased resources.
and again , homescale , to anyone with intelligence , is a winner easily available and adaptable too.
not jars of rice , we relearn the art of propagation to survive
heres a good example , and learn them from those practised ; i went to asda , (uk) , bought organic shallots from cambridge, off the shelf , and because its good and wet on the ground already this year , and guaranteed to stay that way until autumn by now , have planted all of them into any warm spare ground , in between whats already growing , having dug and prepared the ground several times already. this was about 4-5 days ago. Now i go outside and see they have grown roots down 4-5 inches already and its hard to pull them out. what they going to do is split into more shallots, just about straight away , which will get repropogated when divided and some eaten.
Being from food staore they cost less than garden centre, by a lot, are in season right now, they are not from old stores with zanti-fungus poisons either . its a bypass mechanism which forms an investment effectively, without any adverse affect , at all, except a pound from my pocket. They took , maybe 1.5 minutes to bend down and push them into their spaces, next to/to replace annual veg through the winter , and use the space. garlic, works exactly the same, each piece becomes useable as spring onions style garlic greens within a month or two, nearrly any time of the year, thereby useing any space you have outdoors should be very easy. onions, cut the roots off , replant the roots , eat the rest . all you needs a bit of warm wet soil and sun > happy days

reply to post by Destinyone


In warmer climates (Southern California), my best results in keeping dry goods in glass jars have been with the following procedure:

1. Start with clean jars, as you say.
2. Fill the jar within about 1/2 inch of the top, to minimize oxygen in the jar. Add 1-2 dried bay leaves to the top of the jar contents to discourage any bug activity (and add a small dessicant pouch if you have them to reduce humidity in the storage jar; dessicants are available from an emergency preparedness store such as the following link). Tighten down the lid. I label each container with the name of the contents, whether or not it is organic, and the month and year the contents were purchased, to make it easy to maintain a proper rotation of all stored foods (use the oldest first, as you said).

www.sosproducts.com...

3. An uncarpeted floor in a cool dark storage room (or cupboard) is the best stabilizer for dry goods. The higher you store jars in a cupboard or closet, the warmer the air will be there. (Heat rises.) The darkness preserves nutrients like some of the B vitamins, which are soon destroyed by light.
4. If you cannot keep your full sacks of grain in a bug-proof storage container (such as a disused freezer), plan on transferring the sack contents to glass storage jars ASAP. Over the years, I discovered that some grain sacks are more equal than others ... the integrity of bag end stitching varies, and the stitching method of bag closure always leave some gaps where something can crawl in, etc.; some bag ends are glued, which may weaken over time.

Many independent natural food stores (some of whom are run in a co-op management style) stock gallon-sized glass storage jars with locking tops. Here's one such store:

www.ukiahcoop.com...

reply to post by tw0330


Lays Potato Chips from 1.99 current price- 4.29

Progresso Soup- From 1.50 at Walmart current- 1.89

I guess they are starting to mark everything up- July-16th-2012

Originally posted by Apollo7
reply to post by tw0330

 

Lays Potato Chips from 1.99 current price- 4.29

Progresso Soup- From 1.50 at Walmart current- 1.89

I guess they are starting to mark everything up- July-16th-2012

Well, with the poor corn crops this year, corn syrup is going to be more expensive, and since they throw that CRAP into everything they can - expect a huge jump in your grocery bill.

reply to post by tw0330


let the corn and soy die if its GMO from Monsanto Seed let it rot

www.newfrontier.com...

For decades, the Monsanto Corporation of St. Louis has been slowly dominating the world's supply of seed for staple crops (corn, soybeans, potatoes) -- a business plan that Monsanto's critics say is nothing short of diabolical. Monsanto says it is just devilishly good business.

Monsanto has spent over $30 billion in recent years buying numerous U.S. seed companies. As a result, two firms, Monsanto and Pioneer (recently purchased by DuPont), now control the U.S. seed business. Monsanto specializes in genetically modified seeds -- seeds having particular properties that Monsanto has patented.

The U.S. government is very enthusiastic about these new technologies. From the viewpoint of U.S. foreign policy, genetically modified seeds offer a key advantage over traditional seeds: because genetically modified seeds are patented, it is illegal for a farmer to retain seed from this year's crop to plant next year.

To use these patented seeds, farmers must buy new seeds from Monsanto every year. Thus, a farmer who adopts genetically modified seeds and fails to retain a stock of traditional seeds could become dependent upon a transnational corporation.

Nations, whose farmers are dependent upon corporations for seed, might forfeit considerable political independence. The Clinton/Gore administration has been aggressively helping Monsanto promote new, untested gene-altered products, by-passing U.S. health and safety regulations.

A key component of the U.S./Monsanto plan to dominate world agriculture with genetically modified seeds is the absence of labeling of genetically engineered foods. All U.S. foods must carry labels listing the ingredients: salt, sugar, water, vitamins, additives, etc. However, three separate U.S. government agencies -- the Food & Drug Administration (FDA, the. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- have ruled that genetically- modified foods deserve an exception: they can be sold without being labeled "genetically modified."

This strategy has successfully prevented consumers from exercising informed choice in the marketplace, reducing the likelihood of a consumer revolt, at least in the U.S., at least for now.

Earlier this year, opposition to genetically modified foods exploded in England and quickly spread to the European continent. Burgeoning consumer opposition has now swept into Asia and back to North America.

In a NY Times article, it states that Japan -- the largest Asian importer of U.S. food -- passed a law requiring the labeling of genetically modified foods.1 A subsidiary of Honda Motor Company immediately announced that it will build a plant in Ohio and hire farmers to supply it with traditional, unaltered soy beans. Soy is the basis of tofu, a staple food in Japan.

Subsequently, the largest and third-largest Japanese beer makers, Kirin Brewery and Sapporo Breweries, Ltd., announced that they have stopped using genetically modified corn. Other Japanese brewers are expected to follow suit. (American micro-breweries take note.)

South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand have all recently passed laws requiring the labeling of genetically modified foods.

However, the U.S. government has publicly protested against such labeling laws, and has privately lobbied hard against them, unsuccessfully.

Grupo Maseca, Mexico's leading producer of corn flour -- recently announced it will no longer purchase any genetically modified corn. Corn flour is made into tortillas, a Mexican staple. Mexico buys $500 million of U.S. corn each year, so the Grupo Maseca announcement sent a chill through Midwestern corn farmers who planted Monsanto's genetically modified seeds.1

About 1/2 of U.S. Corn Crop is Grown from GMO seeds

Gerber and Heinz, the two leading manufacturers of baby foods in the United States, announced that they would not allow genetically modified corn or soybeans in any of their baby foods.2 After the baby food announcements, Iams, the high-end pet food producer, announced that it would not purchase any of the seven varieties of genetically modified corn that have not been approved by the European Union. This announcement cut off an alternative use that U.S. farmer's had hoped to make of corn rejected by overseas buyers.

As the demand for traditional, unmodified corn and soy has grown, a two-price system for crops has developed in the U.S. -- a higher price for traditional, unmodified crops, and a lower price for genetically modified crops. For example, Archer-Daniels-Midland is paying some farmers 18 cents less per bushel for genetically modified soybeans, compared to the traditional product.1

The American Corn Growers Association, which represents mainly family farmers, has told its members that they should consider planting only traditional, unmodified seed next spring because it soon may not be possible to export genetically modified corn.1

Deutsche Bank, Europe's largest bank, has issued two reports within the past six months advising its large institutional investors to abandon ag-biotech companies like Monsanto and Novartis.3

In its most recent report, Deutsche Bank said, "...[I]t appears the food companies, retailers, grain processors, and governments are sending a signal to the seed producers that 'we are not ready for GMOs [genetically modified organisms].'"

Deutsche Bank's Washington, D.C., analysts, Frank Mitsch and Jennifer Mitchell, announced nine months ago that ag-biotech "was going the way of the nuclear industry in this country."

"But we count ourselves surprised at how rapidly this forecast appears to be playing out," they told the London Guardian.3

In Europe, the ag-biotech controversy is playing out upon a stage created by an earlier -- and ongoing -- scientific dispute over sex hormones in beef.4

Over 90% of U.S. beef cattle are treated with sex hormones -- three naturally-occurring (estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone) and three synthetic hormones that mimic the natural ones (zeranol, melengesterol acetate, and trenbolone acetate). Hormone treatment makes cattle grow faster and produces more tender, flavorful cuts of beef.

Since 1995, the European Union has prohibited the treatment of any farm animals with sex hormones intended to promote growth, on grounds that sex hormones are known to cause several human cancers. As a by-product of that prohibition, the EU refuses to allow the import of hormone-treated beef from the U.S. and Canada.

The U.S. asserts that hormone-treated beef is entirely safe and that the European ban violates the global free trade regime that the U.S. has worked religiously for 20 years to create. The U.S. argues that sex hormones only promote human cancers in hormone-sensitive tissues, such as the female breast and uterus.

Therefore, the U.S. argues, the mechanism of carcinogenic action must be activation of hormone "receptors" and therefore there is a "threshold" -- a level of hormones below which no cancers will occur. Based on risk assessments, the U.S. government claims to know where that threshold level lies. Furthermore, the U.S. claims it has established a regulatory process that prevents any farmer from exceeding the threshold level in his or her cows.

An EU scientific committee argues that hormones may cause some human cancers by an entirely different mechanism -- by interfering directly with DNA.5 If that were true, there would be no threshold for safety and the only safe dose of sex hormones in beef would be zero. "If you assume no threshold, you should continually be taking steps to get down to lower levels, because no level is safe," says James Bridges, a toxicologist at the University of Surrey in Guilford, England.4

Secondly, the EU spot-checked 258 meat samples from the Hormone Free Cattle program run jointly by the U.S. beef industry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This program is intended to raise beef cattle without the use of hormones, thus producing beef eligible for import into Europe. The spot check found that 12% of the "hormone free" cattle had in fact been treated with sex hormones. EU officials cite this as evidence that growth hormones are poorly regulated in the U.S. beef industry and that Europeans might be exposed to higher- than-allowed concentrations if the ban on North American imports were lifted.

"These revelations are embarrassing for U.S. officials," reports Science magazine.4 Nevertheless, the U.S. government continues to assert that its hormone- treated beef is 100% safe.

Thus we have a classic scientific controversy characterized by considerable scientific uncertainty. This particular scientific dispute has pro- found implications for the future of all regulation under a global free trade regime -- including regulation of toxic chemicals -- because the European Union is basing its opposition to hormone-treated beef on the pre- cautionary principle. The American government insists that this pre- cautionary approach is an illegal restraint of free trade.

The EU's position is clearly precautionary: "Where scientific evidence is not black and white, policy should err on the side of caution so that there is zero risk to the consumer," says the EU.6

The Danish pediatric researcher, Niels Skakkebaek, MD, says the burden of proof lies with those putting hormones in beef: "The possible health effects from the hormones have hardly been studied -- the burden of proof should lie with the American beef industry," Dr. Skakkebaek told Chemical Week, a U.S. chemical industry publication that is following the beef controversy closely.6

It appears that European activists have seized upon hormones in beef, and upon Monsanto's seed domination plan, as a vehicle for opposing a "global free trade" regime in which nations lose their power to regulate markets to protect public health or the environment. The New York Times reports that the Peasant Confederation of European farmers derives much of its intellectual inspiration and direction from a new organization, called Attac, formed last year in France to fight the spread of global free trade regimes.7

The Confederation has destroyed several McDonald's restaurants and dumped rotten vegetables in others. Patrice Vidieu, the secretary-general of the Peasant Confederation, told the NY Times, "What we reject is the idea that the power of the marketplace becomes the dominant force in all societies, and that multinationals like McDonald's or Monsanto come to impose the food we eat and the seeds we plant."

What began as consumer opposition to genetically-modified seed appears to be turning into an open revolt against the 25-year-old U.S.-led effort to impose free-trade regimes world-wide, enthroning transnational corporations in the process. If approached strategically by alliances of U.S. activists and their overseas counterparts (and it must not be viewed as merely a labeling dispute), genetic engineering could become the most important controversy in this century.

Although not mentioned in the above article, Monsanto's #1 consumer product is the highly toxic herbicide called Roundup.

Also note that Monsanto's US patent for this pro0duct expired in September, 2000 and the Scotts Company may be licensed by Monsanto, or has gotten around the Monsanto trademark, since a check of Google will show they offer the product Roundup as well.

Below are informative links:

Millions Against Monsanto

Monsanto Buys Out Seminis

www.gmwatch.org...

Deception and Disinformation

Originally posted by tw0330
I am not a farmer, but do have a large farming family. also my Father in Law raises cattle, goats, chickens, and pigs as a kind of hobby.

Anyways, This past weekend I was helping him with keeping the animals as cool as possible is the heat. every few hours we had to go out and refill/cool down the water buckets of the animals as well as water down the hogs so they didn't over heat. This was a constant thing all weekend, yet he doesn't have a lot of animals.

I was talking with him, and many animals around the area were dropping like flies, because it became impossible for many of the larger farms to keep up with all the cattle and such. luckily my father in law has only lost chickens out of the severe heat.

The corn crops around his house are far from fully grown, and most of them are starting to turn yellow or even brown around the bases, while the soy beans aren't looking good either.

This is just one area of the state (eastern indiana) and though it looks a little better on the western part of the state, it doesn't look a whole lot better.

This is going on all over the country, in areas much of our food comes from.

Unless we get rain soon, much of the crops in the midwest will be done for, causing the price to go up in most of the food we eat. The extreme heat has caused much of the livestock to suffer, and even if the majority do survive, the cost of feeding them will go up for the ranchers which in turn will make the price of meat go up.


Don't count on sea food being cheaper either, as it is down as well (especially in the gulf).


my suggestion, stock up as much as you can while it's still reasonable to buy.

Recently on the news, now we have to be on the lookout for locusts eating up everything in site. Food prices will definately go up unfortunately.

Here's an MSM update on the drought's effect on food prices...

Food Prices to rise!
Starts at :33.


If the drought continues so will the prices.
Prices went up in only one month-

One Month Change
Corn 35%
Soybeans 18%
Wheat 45%
Video Source

" Cattle feed lots are loosing as much as 200 dollars an animal." Video Source

As the grains are used to feed them rise.

One of the largest US chicken factory farms says that every 10 percent hike in feed price increases their costs to 2.2 million.

reply to post by dreamingawake


I saw that report today. It was quite telling when the specialist on commodities from the stock exchange, when asked by the reporter, what should people do about the rising prices. He said, "start stocking up now, for next year. It's going to be bad. To start buying canned goods now while they are still cheap.". He sounded like one of us preppers....

I hope that the people who've been trying to say there is no problem, will start to get it now.

Des

Except to see a shortage on livestock as people won't be able to afford to feed their herds....a friend of mine of buys feed by the ton, price used to be 178, went up to 198 (in which they ordered another ton)...in a few weeks that price jumped to 260.

If that keeps up, you can be sure to see some massive price increases at the supermarket.

Are you prepared for a food crisis?

You want more than rice. You do not want to get scurvy Beans are good protein. Bullion cube are cheap , last forever and will give you flavor. I know its cheapo, but you can buy those big packs of romain noodles for 2.50.
They come sealed and in a box and you can store those for a very long time. You want oils.
Here in AZ I do not worry about moisture too much, so I do not jar my drys. Other places you will need to.

Water a MUST. I have a garage full of water bottles. We get water from water delivery. We do not drink as much as we get delivered each month. We buy more plastic bottles and put them in for exchange. Doing this you can get a nice supply of water built up, and as you drink it you are rotating it. We pay for 5 bottles a month, but use only three. Have done this for a long time now, and have plenty. Not enough to bathe in, but to live on .

I have seen the prices go up each week. Two weeks ago , Frys pretzles were 99 cents. Last week, 1.64.
Even dog bones last week 4,89 this week 8.99 BIG hike there. Chicken is the only meat that seems to stay low for now and im SOOOO sick of chicken. The meat quality in the stores have gone downhill and up in price. We only get good meat now once at a month and only buy it at safeway. Can not afford it each weekend as we used to. The hamburger at frys has plastic type filler in it. You can see it in the tubes. Its nasty.. I pay the exrra and buy the fresh ground. They add these things, make it look like prices are not rising that fast, but soon it will be doubled overnight.

Peanut butter is going up too. Get it while it is cheaper. It lasts for ever. .

THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW!

I come from a family of farmers and we have seen this before.

1. When wheat and grain are effected by weather your in trouble.
2. Can not grow it so the price skyrockets.
3. Farmers feed animals from wheat and grains
4. Farmers WILL auction off animals at such an alarming rate that no one will buy them.
5. No one will buy them because, "they" can not afford to feed them.
6. Animal farms will not recover for years! Even if the weather is great for growing then next year.
7. That's because farms will go broke, or retire, or switch crops.
8. The prices always take forever to come back down to normal......YEARS and YEARS!


So that is the skinny on this whole situation! It will be YEARS that you need to prep for! Thats just if the weather is bad for one year. hope that next year is good.

Originally posted by MidnightTide
Except to see a shortage on livestock as people won't be able to afford to feed their herds....a friend of mine of buys feed by the ton, price used to be 178, went up to 198 (in which they ordered another ton)...in a few weeks that price jumped to 260.

If that keeps up, you can be sure to see some massive price increases at the supermarket.

Are you prepared for a food crisis?

This year, as the feed shortage for cattle gets worse. More people will be selling off their herds cheap because they can't afford to feed them. There will be a short glut of beef in the market, prices will come down for a short time.

But, next year, beef prices will soar through the roof due to less cattle being brought to market. So, buy beef in about 4 weeks when the prices drop like a rock. If you have the means to store and or process it for future use, do it.

Get together with a relative/friend to purchase sides of beef for rock bottom prices.

Des