Milk, bread, & eggs

I read this at Bill Moyer's Journal and thought it was worth sharing:

"The news at the grocery store is grim for many. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices rose by 4% last year, the largest increase in 17 years. And, the USDA predicts they will rise another 4% this year. Eggs are up 40% in the past year; milk up 26% a gallon; a loaf of standard bread, 20%.

All across the nation families, government agencies and food banks are feeling the pinch. So many people are in precarious straits our government figures 28 million Americans will be using food stamps this year, the highest level since the program began in the 1960s. Almost one in 10 people in Ohio get food stamps; one in eight in Michigan, and one in six West Virginians. The rising food prices make that assistance worth less and less and food banks and pantries are facing increased need and those same higher prices."

The govt. does not use the word "hungry" to describe the 35 million Americans who have trouble finding the money to put food on the table. They use the term "food insecure." Second Harvest Food Bank will be changing their name to "Feeding America." http://www.secondharvest.org/

Demand at their food banks is up 20% over last year.

So why have food prices gone up so drastically? Well I did some research and found out that it's mostly because of record oil prices, so there's an increase in transportation costs, and an added demand for corn and soybeans to make alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, and as a result, corn prices have more than doubled, soybean prices have nearly tripled. When the price of corn rises, so does price of livestock feed. So, meat, poultry and egg prices go up. Another reason is poor wheat harvests. And it is predicted that food prices will continue to rise. So I guess it's a good idea to clip those coupons and start cutting back.