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:confused: Is it only me, or is the cost of food at the grocery store rising? It seems that our family does not get as much as we use to for the money we spend. I have came to the place that I really do not enjoy shopping any more. Does anyone else see this happening?
Oh, it's definitely rising. While a few pennies on a pound of bananas or a can of corn doesn't look like much by itself, the fact of the matter is that the percentage by which food prices are increasing is scary.
I have definitely seen a rise in food prices. It seems like even when there is a sale, I'm still paying more then usual. It's scary to think that it may get worse. I honestly don't know what my family would do if they did.
Just come from the grocery store about three hours ago. A can of lentil vegetable soup I usually get is $2.17 from $1.82. The price hiking is understandable. It just makes me more conscious of the money I spend. Gives me a chance to be a smarter shopper but I don't want the prices to go any higher. Coupons and buying local can only help so much with the monthly food bill.
It may be "greed" or it may be because the price of corn went thru the roof, due to converting it to fuel additive. It will only get worse. Converting food to fuel.... Who thought that one up? Corn products are used in more than you realize. Everything has to go up to cover the higher corn costs. From feed for animals to feed for humans...... Get used to it.
I was just reading a news article yesterday in which the author talked of all the different factors that affect the price of food and he claimed the use of corn to make ethanol has very little to do with it. I'll let you decide for yourself what to believe because I sure don't have any proof one way or the other. Incidentally, I guess some of the grocery chains are starting another "milk war". I went to Walmart this morning for milk. My wife and I use so little milk that we may not even use up a half gallon before it sours. I do not buy any of that low fat, skimmed, etc. milk; whole milk only. And this morniing a gallon with an expiration date of 4/17/11 was $2.19 while a half gallon of the same thing with an expiration date of 4/15/11 was $2.85. Makes no sense at all to me. I always hated to see anything wasted, but it's considerably cheaper for me to buy a gallon, knowing at least half of it will be poured down the drain than to buy a half gallon.
In Canada the food prices are rising too. In less than three weeks the store that I work at has seen a twenty cent increase on a "standard" loaf of white bread. A dozen eggs have gone up at the same rate. 4 liters of milk (a little over a gallon) for a mid-range fat content is very close to $6 now, and the more the fat, the higher the price. Meat has gone up as well. and while coffee-shop coffee doesn't really count as food (it *is* a luxury after all), it too is going up. A 2 pound container of ground coffee is almost $7 Cdn. Our gas prices work out so that if you could buy one liter in the U.S, you would be paying nearly $5 for one liter. Quick, rough conversion... approximately $4.90 for a gallon of gas.
This is the excuse offered up by stores, their suppliers, the shippers, and on up the chain.
Now is the time to do what we can. Grow our own vegetables or herbs. Take a hard look at our grocery bills and start considering what we can do without. My own family has cut down their weekly consumption of Coca-Cola from 8-9 bottles a week to roughly 4 bottles. We substituted with homemade iced tea.
it's things like this that will help us in the long run.
Just one idea in a sea of many possibilities.
Yes, the same happens to us also, day by day the prices are rising very much. And We are finding difficulties in completing our daily needs.
I have alot of thoughts on this subject...and honestly I don't like any of the answers that come to mind. Keep in mind that I don't truly trust any government, religion, or mainstream media outlet.
I guess the simple answer..here in the US is that everything is shipped by trucks and I can assure you the trucking industry has no intention of absorbing the rising fuel costs.
Maybe because a crisis such as a food shortage in the US becomes a national security situation..then FEMA gets involved and a population control protocol is activated.
Maybe it's because such a small percentage of the population owns such a high percentage of the wealth that they can afford a 50 dollar gallon of milk or water.
If all you have to do is feed the slaves.....
Why has the government paid farmers not to grow corn for so long? And now we will have a shortage? Go Figure.
Why are fuel costs so high? Why do we have to fight in the Middle East? We have enough fuel here to run this country. Why are foreign companies drilling our waters while we have to drill in other countries?
Ever see the last of the omen movies..The Final Conflict?
Bow or Starve...now that's a scary thought.
Carolyn, my daughter used to live in Ontario. We'd visit every year and one thing I could never figure out was that although a lot of our beef in the states comes from Canada, that same beef bought in Canada cost a whole lot more. We'd buy our food here and take it with us, saved a lot.
One way that food prices are going up without much notice is that a lot of container sizes are shrinking. A half gallon of ice cream is really 1 1/2 qts. I believe one brand in our area is 1.75 qts. Canned goods seem to be going the same way.
My wife always buys ahead and buys whatever's on sale. She also buys a lot of store brands. We're fortunate to have several chain stores to choose from. One chain will have less expensive cleaning goods, eggs and milk but the other has less expensive meats and produce, etc. They're very close to each other so she'll break out her shopping list by store. We're not picky eaters and there's not much we won't eat so that makes it easier to shop.
This has been such an interesting thread....
Lately I've been learning more about Monsanto, and their reach up here to Canada, and how they could affect my efforts to save seed, not to mention how many types of seed are no longer available to buy BECAUSE of Monsanto. Lobbyists, interest groups, politics... they should all stay out of our food! The government is directly and indirectly responsible for the price of your food, because they are the ones driving the price of gas as high as it is (ever figure out how much of the at-pump price is taxes?). So my answer to this is to grow food at home. Well, this isn't the answer for everyone, I recognize that. I live in an apartment, in Ontario, on the shady side, and I can't even get peas to grow past 3" high without dying! I don't think there is one answer, maybe there just isn't, but we, all of us on both sides of the border need to do SOMETHING!
So here's a couple of things we can do.
*Get all activist on our governments, local and above. Can you have small livestock in your town? You know, rabbits, chickens and maybe a goat or two if you had the room? You may not want them right now, but think about this...CAN you have them? Are you ALLOWED? If not, why not? Get out there and make connections with people, start a community garden. Lobby your local politicians (no matter what side of the border you live on) to change the laws to allow folks in your town to be able to raise chickens or rabbits. educate yourself, then them. Be reasonable and be sane, but be firm. This is YOUR future and your RIGHTS we're talking about!
*Learn about foraging. What is it? How do you do it? Do you have a local group? We can supplement our diets with "wild" food that tastes good. try it, you'll feel better for it.
*Find your local gardening association, group or guild. Groups of this nature often have speakers. You can learn a bunch from someone who comes in to talk about bio-intensive gardening, or square foot gardening or saving seed. Educate yourself and you'd be surprised what solutions might present themselves.
*Get creative!
There is a collective in new York that has designed a hydroponic system made from 2L pop bottles and tubing, and they grow veggies in windows on the 15th floor of a high rise. Creativity, determination and stubbornness can go a long way.
And while you're busy with all that...write to your local government and ask them to explain why gas is so high, and why food is so high, and why they aren't doing more to feed their constituents. They are there to work for YOU. Make them do their job!
Its not the prices of everything going up, its the value of your money going down.
Sorry FarmerGeorge, I politely disagree. When a loaf of bread costs $2.89 for crappy white...potatoes sells for $3.99 for 5 pounds and meat is too expensive to even consider for most....that's not just the worth of my dollar. There's a whole lot more factors that make my lunch expensive, and it's not likely to come down ever again.
As government gets bigger it gets more intrusive. If it stopped passing laws tomorrow none of the politicians would get re-elected because they were do-nothings. There's always someone with a complaint and a politician eager to get a vote so they'll propose a law.
The only way to save seeds now is to buy heirlooms that haven't been crossbred and save the seeds from them. The day will come though when it will be illegal to sell seed that hasn't been approved by the gov't.
When I was a kid everyone had animals for food. My grand dad had chickens for eggs until they stopped laying then they were dinner. When I was really young he had a milk cow. I've never raised chickens but have considered it. It would be a hobby for us but we just bought a motor home and plan to travel a bit so someone else would get stuck feeding them.
According to me in this time cost of food is too much.
You are all absolutely right about the increase in food prices, my wife and I have been saying for years to friends and family that people need to be more aware of this, gold is nothing if you can't buy any food, I believe Monsanto knows this, if you do some research they have been (not so slowly) waging legal wars on small farmers because of their GMO seed cross pollination. We have been setting ourselves up for this for quite awhile, with God's help we built our own house and barn, we raise sheep, chickens, and beef and have a garden that gets larger each year. We try to be as self contained (self sustaining tin hatters seems a bit crazy) :-) We buy bulk items that have a long shelf life, wheat berries can be stored ~20 years at 50 degrees F in an airtight container with oxygen absorbers.
Sorry I am a bit fanatical about this, it's very important to associate with others of like mind, you can help each other and it is very difficult to move forward with a lot of nay Sayers
Scripture tells the truth
Rev 6:6
Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
It isn't so much the cost of food that is getting me depressed, it is the cost of fuel.
AGREE 100% FED RESERVE calls it "Quantitative Easing II" I can't even spell it its so new to ME. they printed an extra 20% of our money last year . WHY? because the gov,t can. The title suggests this is the second time they have done it and wall street expects the FEDERAL RESERVE to do it again this year. Who needs a balanced budgetQuote:
Originally Posted by farmergeorge
Let's just go with we have a mess on our hands.
Food and fuel are so intertwined that I see no way that they will ever be seperated in this country. Buying local has all but gone out the window, because there is no such thing anymore. Almost everything has to be shipped SOMEWHERE at SOME POINT. Instead of worrying about trying to keep everything "self-contained", how about we do something about the rising cost of fuel.
Now, I love nature. I love to hunt and fish. But, we have to have oil. Period. And I'm tired of paying half of my price of gas to the government in taxes so they can blow it and then go print more.
How about some of us "minions" smarten up and make our way to Capitol Hill as representatives of the people, as they are supposed to be to begin with. Can you imagine it, a bunch of country hicks blocking a budget bill and forcing the government to cut taxes! What a day it would be!
Due to floods and droughts produce is going to sky rocket, find the nearest u-pic are farmers market fresh and a lot cheaper