Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Dramatic rise in the worldwide cost of food
Topic Started: Apr 12 2008, 06:12 PM (616 Views)
ds9074
Member Avatar
Admiral
Quote:
 
The world's most powerful finance ministers and central bankers are meeting in Washington tomorrow; but as they preoccupy themselves with the global credit crunch, another crisis, far more grave, is facing the world's poorest people.

A dramatic rise in the worldwide cost of food is provoking riots throughout the Third World where millions more of the world's most vulnerable people are facing starvation as food shortages grow and cereal prices soar. It threatens to become the biggest crisis of the 21st century.

This week crowds of hungry demonstrators in Haiti stormed the presidential palace in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in protests over food prices. And a crisis gripped the Philippines as massive queues formed to buy rice from government stocks.

There have been riots in Niger, Senegal, Cameroon and Burkina Faso and protests in Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Morocco. Mexico has had "tortilla riots" and, in Yemen, children have marched to draw attention to their hunger.

The global price of wheat has risen by 130 per cent in the past year. Rice has rocketed by 74 per cent in the same period. It went up by more than 10 per cent in a single day last Friday – to an all-time high as African and Asian importers competed for the diminishing supply on international markets in an attempt to head off the mounting social unrest. The International Rice Research Institute warned yesterday that prices will keep going up.

The buffers stocks of staple foods that governments once held are being steadily exhausted.

Rising prices have triggered a food crisis in 36 countries, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. The hike in prices means the World Food Programme is cutting food handout rations to some 73 million people in 78 countries. The threat of malnutrition on a massive scale is looming.

The impact is beginning to be felt in the rich world, too. More expensive wheat has caused large rises in the cost of pasta and bread in Italy where consumer groups staged a one-day strike that brought pasta consumption down 5 per cent. The price of miso, a fermented rice and barley mixture, is up in Japan. France and Australia have launched national inquiries into rising food prices and are pressing food producers and supermarkets to absorb price rises. In Britain, the price of bread is rising in line with the cost of wheat.

Governments have begun to negotiate secretive barter arrangements as the price of agricultural commodities leap to record highs. Ukraine and Libya are close to a deal on wheat. Egypt and Syria have signed a rice-for-wheat swap. The Philippines has just failed in a rice deal with Vietnam.

All across the world, cereals, meat, eggs and dairy products are becoming dearer. "Food prices are now rising at rates that few of us can ever have seen before in our lifetimes," said John Powell of the World Food Programme. Prices are likely to remain high for at least 10 years, the Food and Agriculture Organisation is projecting.

A complex interaction of factors has provoked the panic among dealers in international food markets.

Diets are changing radically in nations such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, where economic growth has boosted meat consumption. In China, it is up by 150 per cent since 1980. In India, it has risen by 40 per cent in the past 15 years. The demand for meat from across all developing countries has doubled since 1980.

Because cattle and chickens are fed on corn – it takes 8kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef – the price has risen.

The new market for biofuels has raised grain prices. Corn is being used to produce energy and the market is anticipating hugely increased production in the coming decade. George Bush wants 15 per cent of American cars to run on biofuels by 2017, which will mean trebling maize production. Europe has a set a transport fuels target of 5.75 per cent from biofuels by 2010. As a result, the price of corn has begun to track that of oil quite closely.

The soaring cost of oil, which last week topped $105 (£53) a barrel for the first time, has another impact. It increases the price of fertiliser, and also the costs of food processing and transport.

Climate change is taking its toll. Droughts and floods are affecting harvests.

Floods in central China this year displaced millions of people and devastated rice and corn crops. Overall China's grain harvest has fallen by 10 per cent over the past seven years. Last year, Australia experienced its worst drought for more than a century, causing the wheat harvest to fall by 60 per cent. The UK wheat harvest is expected to be 10 per cent down this year, partly because of the flooding.

Worldwide, an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation and climate instability.

There is also increasing demand from a rising world population which is expected to grow from 6.2 billion today to 9.5 billion by 2050. The World Bank predicts global demand for food will double by 2030.

Government policies do not help: the rich world subsidises agriculture not to feed the world but to enrich its farmers.

There is an increasing recognition of the gravity of all of this among the leaders of the industrialised world. On Thursday, Gordon Brown called on the Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, the current chairman of the G8, to devise an international plan to deal with rising food prices with the World Bank, the IMF and the UN.

There is increasing concern about the rush to biofuels. Britain's new chief scientist, Professor John Beddington, has said cutting down rainforest to produce biofuel crops was "profoundly stupid". It was, he said, "very hard to imagine how we can see a world growing enough crops to produce renewable energy and, at the same time, meet the enormous increase in the demand for food".

Lennart Båge, the president of the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development, suggested that those opposed to GM crops should take another look at the productivity gains they can unleash and bring changes as massive as the "green revolution" of the 1960s, when crop yields in India and other developing nations jumped because of of better seeds, fertilisers and improved irrigation.

That change brought down food prices, freeing millions from hunger. If world leaders cannot come up with something similar again, the food riots could spread across the globe.

Source

I've certainly noticed that the cost of food has risen quite steeply this year. I just wonder how much higher it will go. At least in developed countries we have the wealth to pay higher prices and the capacity to a) generally reduce our consumption if necessary, particularly of meat and b) reduce our levels of waste. It will be the people who dont have those options who will be hit hardest if these high prices continue.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
RTW
Member Avatar
Vice Admiral
Two of the worlds main grain producing countries had catastrophic problems with their crops so prices skyrocketed. In the US, for example, wheat went from ~$3.00/bushel to ~$15.00/bushel.

Prices should drop this year.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Minuet
Member Avatar
Fleet Admiral Assistant wRench, Chief Supper Officer
RTW
Apr 12 2008, 09:24 PM
Two of the worlds main grain producing countries had catastrophic problems with their crops so prices skyrocketed. In the US, for example, wheat went from ~$3.00/bushel to ~$15.00/bushel.

Prices should drop this year.

They listed a lot more reasons then that.

Prices may recover partially, but I don't think they will drop to previous price levels. I think that the rising demand for meat and the use of corn for biofuels has had a much larger impact then the reduced crops in the two countries mentioned in the article.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
somerled
Member Avatar
Admiral MacDonald RN
A lot of this is coupled food crops being diverted to ethanol production to blend with petroleum as an extender , the "biofuel" producers are contributing significantly to this, so much so that some countries like India and Vietnam have now banned exports of rice in order to assure sufficient food stocks.

The increasing cost of moving food due to escallating fuel costs is also contributing a lot to this problem.

I personally consider diverting food and feedstock to ethanol production to be stupidity and unethical.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
ds9074
Member Avatar
Admiral
I read recently that in the 10 years from 1990-2000 the average price of a loaf of bread in the UK rose by just 2 pence. Since 2000 the average price of a loaf of bread has risen by 50 pence, most of that in the last year. That kind of increase is a shock to the system when people have been used to fairly stable prices of food.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
LoriCiani
Member Avatar
"Effective against all things... except wood!"
It's not just bread that has taken a sudden rise, all the other things that either involve wheat or that eats it has risen. I usually get from Tesco 15 Value eggs for £1.25, last time I went shopping they were £1.50. That's a sudden jump of 25p, and I don't think that will be the last rise either. :no:
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
Well, if we'd stop burning food in this foolish quest to create ethanol this wouldn't be so severe. Second, if we'd start building refineries again the ones in use wouldn't have to run at 98% capacity, driving up oil prices (which drive up food costs).

By the way, note cheap prices for meat right now. This is because it costs too much to feed them so farmers are reducing their herds.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
somerled
Member Avatar
Admiral MacDonald RN
Well , rather than building more oil refineries , which will likely become exteemely expensive white elephants in a decade or two when petrol is priced out the reach of a lot / or most car owners , the big oil companies could get their collective arses into gear with regards getting the hydrogen cycle widely out their , so could the major car makers , and phasing out petroleum as a fuel all together.

BTW : building an entirely new oil refinery of any significant capacity is not something that will happen overnight , you are talking a major project that will likely take a decade or more design , build and bring on line and then ramp up to full production , and then you face a shortage of trained / competent engineering and operations staff , who will lilkely have to be trained up.

Maybe it will come down to federal and national governments putting their feet down hard on the big oil companies and compelling them to / forcing this change onto them. Since they are seem reluctant to change.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
ds9074
Member Avatar
Admiral
Admiralbill_gomec
Apr 14 2008, 01:38 PM
Well, if we'd stop burning food in this foolish quest to create ethanol this wouldn't be so severe. Second, if we'd start building refineries again the ones in use wouldn't have to run at 98% capacity, driving up oil prices (which drive up food costs).

By the way, note cheap prices for meat right now. This is because it costs too much to feed them so farmers are reducing their herds.

I've not seen meat prices falling. If anything meat prices have gone up the most dramatically, to the point where I am eating more vegetarian dishes.

Today I was working out of town and between meeting I went to grab something quick. Just a single burger on its own, no drink no fries, cost me £2.99. An actual cut of beef for roasting can set you back £5-£10 here.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
somerled
Member Avatar
Admiral MacDonald RN
Meat prices have been going up here too ,so have the price of bread.

And at a faster rate than petrol has too.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Dandandat
Member Avatar
Time to put something here
somerled
Apr 14 2008, 11:25 AM
Well , rather than building more oil refineries , which will likely become exteemely expensive white elephants in a decade or two when petrol is priced out the reach of a lot / or most car owners , the big oil companies could get their collective arses into gear with regards getting the hydrogen cycle widely out their , so could the major car makers , and phasing out petroleum as a fuel all together.

ROE is to small to make it a worth while investment, untill that changes dont expect change.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
ds9074
Member Avatar
Admiral
Figures out today show that the price of inputs for UK producers rose by 2.9% last month and have risen 20.6% in the last year. Apparently thats the fastest rate of increase in 17 years.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
ds9074
Apr 14 2008, 10:30 AM
Admiralbill_gomec
Apr 14 2008, 01:38 PM
Well, if we'd stop burning food in this foolish quest to create ethanol this wouldn't be so severe. Second, if we'd start building refineries again the ones in use wouldn't have to run at 98% capacity, driving up oil prices (which drive up food costs).

By the way, note cheap prices for meat right now. This is because it costs too much to feed them so farmers are reducing their herds.

I've not seen meat prices falling. If anything meat prices have gone up the most dramatically, to the point where I am eating more vegetarian dishes.

Today I was working out of town and between meeting I went to grab something quick. Just a single burger on its own, no drink no fries, cost me £2.99. An actual cut of beef for roasting can set you back £5-£10 here.

I'm paying less per pound than I did for the following items:

Boneless chicken breast ($2.09 a pound as opposed to $2.24)
Flatiron cut steak ($3.09 a pound as opposed to $3.39)
Ground beef, 91% lean ($2.20 as opposed to $2.45)
Pork loin ($1.95 a pound as opposed to $1.99)

Those four I have actual records of.

The price I pay for boneless leg of lamb has not changed in five years for me. Still $3.99 a pound.

On the other hand, milk has shot up 50% in the past year, only to settle back down a bit. A year ago I was paying $2.15 a gallon for skim milk. It went as high as $3.25 a gallon this February. Now the price has settled to $2.95.

Note: I buy all of these at Costco. Yes, they are in bulk.

The price of vegetables has also jumped significantly.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Hoss
Member Avatar
Don't make me use my bare hands on you.
As long as they don't put the squeeze on hot pockets, I won't complain too loudly.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
somerled
Apr 14 2008, 10:25 AM
Well , rather than building more oil refineries , which will likely become exteemely expensive white elephants in a decade or two when petrol is priced out the reach of a lot / or most car owners , the big oil companies could get their collective arses into gear with regards getting the hydrogen cycle widely out their , so could the major car makers , and phasing out petroleum as a fuel all together.

BTW  :  building an entirely new oil refinery of any significant capacity is not something that will happen overnight , you are talking a major project that will likely take a decade or more design , build and bring on line and then ramp up to full production , and then you face a shortage of trained / competent engineering and operations staff , who will lilkely have to be trained up.

Maybe it will come down to federal and national governments putting their feet down hard on the big oil companies and compelling them to / forcing this change onto them. Since they are seem reluctant to change.

I hate to tell you, but the hydrogen cycle IS the petroleum industry. Oil is a hydrocarbon, after all.

The government is not going to put their "feet down hard" on "big oil" because "big oil" is owned by the the same people who put them into office, all those millions of folks who are their shareholders. The thing about Utopian dreams is that they are just dreams.

If you mean having cars running off of hydrogen instead, that just isn't ever going to happen. I figured you'd know that hydrogen-tight connections are far more expensive than what is currently used. You aren't going to see a hydrogen station the way you would a gas (petrol) station. That's just not going to happen. Besides, even if you could do all this, because you need fossil fuels to create hydrogen economically. Indeed, the idea of having a high pressure tankful of an odorless and colorless flammable gas doesn't give me the warm fuzzies.

Fuel cells are fine, for small vehicles on smooth surfaces. Fuel cells are very fragile and ongoing bumps and vibration will damage them. They're also expensive to produce. The technology is going nowhere, and even the leading developer of automotive fuel cell technology gave up last year. Hell, you'd be better off burning methane, as low a number of BTUs that fuel generates.

Lastly, who is going to pay to develop the infrastructure?

I could go on, but you get the picture.

Sorry, but oil is the only substance with sufficient energy per cubic centimeter to fuel our infrastructure. No, we aren't going to be forced to give up our cars (you first, by the way) and given bicycles and forced to ride trolleys and trains. It didn't work for Red China, and it won't work for the rest of the civilized world.

EDIT: I almost forgot to add, most additional refinery production in this country would be done as add-ons to existing refinery production. The plans already exist. Turnaround is more like four years.
Offline | Profile | Quote | ^
 
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Politics and World Events Forum · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Tweet
comments powered by Disqus