[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eXpat', '[')b]Food Riot Fears Strike Japan After Rice Trading Halted Due To Radiation Contamination
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')ears of food riots strike Japan after rice trading is halted due to a 40% price spike triggered by massive hoarding of the remaining radiation free rice supply.

It is time to start paying very close attention the events unfolding in Japan as the nation teeters on the verge of food riots which may serve as an example of what other nations in a similar situation would face.

As we approach the 5 month marker since the onset of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan has repeatedly assured the public that the nation’s food supply was safe from radiation. Japan has given those reassurances despite warnings from experts that the nuclear fallout has already surpassed 20 Hiroshima bombs with no end in site and experts say ‘off-scale’ levels of lethal radiation at Fukushima infer millions dying.

Time and again those assurances have proven to be false. Radiation has been found in everything from soil and sewage to tea and beef. Even worse, a just released report revealed that Japan ran simulations back as far as 1984 which showed 18,000 deaths from acute radiation exposure and a 55 mile radius would be rendered permanently uninhabitable. All of these factors have entirely destroyed the public’s trust in their government.

In an attempt to regain the public’s trust, Japan just announced hours ago that they will no longer offer any assurances of the safety of the nation’s food supply.

[eXpat]

South Sudan faces food shortages
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'J')UBA: South Sudan faces severe food shortages because the new African nation will produce less than half the food it needs to feed its population this year due to heavy rains and widespread violence, the United Nations said. South Sudan won independence from Khartoum on July 9 under a 2005 agreement that ended decades of civil war. But it has been struggling to end tribal and rebel violence in several parts of a country the size of France. The number of South Sudanese requiring food assistance from aid agencies will rise next year to 1.2 million people from 970,000 now because agricultural output has been hit by the violence and rain, according to the UN. “It’s not worrying, it’s alarming,” Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, told Reuters in an interview in the southern capital Juba late on Thursday. The country has a population of 8 million.

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', 'I')t's a shame when the people lose confidence in their government. I wonder why that happens? Perhaps they need to expand and grow their government even larger that should help.

[Cloud9]

I own my own gieger counters. Don't you?

[eXpat]

USDA Predicts Surging Food Prices in Coming Year
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he USDA has released their projections for food price inflation in 2011/2012, showing troubling forecasts that may send you to the grocery store today, before paying higher prices tomorrow. The report shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food increased 0.8 percent between 2009 and 2010, and is forecasted to increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2011.

Bruce Krasting notes that the USDA’s projections are especially troubling considering Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said he wants to contain inflation (although excluding food and energy) at less than 2%. Food inflation is running at double his target. Writing in Business Insider, Krasting says the problem is even more serious than the USDA indicates and that global demand is set to push prices even higher as time goes on:

“It’s not surprising that the US pays less for food as a percentage of income than any other country. But the comparisons are still interesting. The US spends 6.5% of disposable income for food. Poorer countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon are forced to pay ~45% of incomes to put food on the table. The high population countries are as follows
Vietnam = 38%

Indonesia = 32%

India = 28%

China = 22%

I find these numbers troubling. There is only one direction for them to go. The developing countries with big populations will see greater gains in income, with that will lead to increased food consumption. Approximately 30% of income goes to food in these areas. It’s hard not to see that this is going to push up the prices the globe pays for everything we eat.

[Loki]

Anyone have a good source that shows short and long term changes in the price of specific food items? I've seen some prices go up in the last year or so, but would like more details. I think having a better sense of the changing price of specific food items might help us find gaps in our food preparedness plans.

The little discussion in Thuja's thread about peanut butter and having a stocked pantry made me think of a news story I read a few weeks ago about the rising price of peanut butter, and how I failed to heed that news by stocking up while it was still relatively cheap.

Speaking of peanut butter, slow-crash, peanut-butter related news
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')ood banks worry about rising price of peanut butter, a protein source among most-wanted items

Food banks and pantries around the country say high peanut butter prices have made it harder for them to provide one of their most-requested items — and a favorite among children — this holiday season.

Peanut butter prices have gone up 30 percent or more because hot weather in states like Texas and Georgia hurt this year’s peanut crop and because some farmers switched to more profitable crops, such as corn and cotton.

The increase in peanut butter prices and the cost of food overall has been a blow to family budgets, and hunger-relief groups that say they’re serving more clients even as the poor economy has made it harder to get donations.

[Pablo2079]

Doesn't the U.S. still have massive protectionist tariffs on peanuts? Maybe they should consider reducing or dropping them?

[M_B_S]

http://www.dairyherd.com/dairy-news/lat ... 06425.html

"The fact that the prices of certain crops are approaching the peaks of last year tells you something about market direction and sentiment," Abbassian said.

The United Nations had expected soy prices to start falling by this point in the year. But the market remains nervous about early-season dryness in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

"Unpredictability in prices is increasing," Abbassian said. "If the Chinese feel that corn prices could still rise, they may surprise us and buy more, which would send prices up. Considering the agitation in the market, this could lead to panic buying.....
************************************************************


Paul Chefurka
May 15, 2011
http://www.paulchefurka.ca/Oil_Food.html
**************************

I predict a worldwide famine. It could begin 2012 but for sure before 2030

Peak Soil + Peak Oil + Peak Food + Climate Change + Population Growth = Worldwide Famine

It is time to re-activate the " Victory Gardens"


M_B_S

Die Lerchen singen so schön....

[dsula]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('M_B_S', 'D')ie Lerchen singen so schön....

[Pops]

Young feeder steers in the 300-400# range are getting $2/lb at the auction, as high as I've seen.

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'Y')oung feeder steers in the 300-400# range are getting $2/lb at the auction, as high as I've seen.

[Pops]

Yes and the demand in the US has been declining long term. Then throw in increasing input prices on the feedlot side plus a recession and drop in dairy prices (lots of cows sent to slaughter) don't forget a drought. The business is really getting turned on it's head.

Good for grass farmers tho.

[M_B_S]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dsula', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('M_B_S', 'D')ie Lerchen singen so schön....

[Fishman]

Food prices = diesel prices

[M_B_S]

http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/w ... sindex/en/






Yes, there is a exponential function underlying the graph from 2000-2012

It is ~7% growth per year 2000-2012

M_B_S

[dorlomin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('M_B_S', '[')img]http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/worldfood/images/home_graph_3.jpg[/img]

Yes, there is a exponential function underlying the graph from 2000-2012

It is ~7% growth per year 2000-2012

M_B_S

[Corella]

On the other hand we have a better distribution which is mandatory in order to gain stability and to mitigate further growth. Chances to find international agreements have never been better since distribution problems eased and threatening desasters force to finding together.

[SeaGypsy]

There is NOT an exponential function from 2000-2012, it drops back, der.
This graph shows prices following oil up then down then down some more. This is because the spike in prices caused panic, whereas 'new normal' is just that. Food prices are again following oil. The only time they didn't was as new normal was factored in.

BTW food is 30% cheaper in the last year in Australia, nothing to do with fuel prices (which have moved up 10% in this time, all to do with the breaking of the 10 year drought we just had and no major cyclones this season.