***The following is a guest post for Emergency Food by Barbara Fix*** This past year alone, food prices have increased by 36%. Not a good situation when our incomes have taken an incredible nosedive. Just consider unemployment rates alone (that are being reported erroneously, for they do not include those who have exhausted their benefits). Nor does it take into account many US workers who are underemployed, forced to take low-paying jobs, or are working part time. Many of us have taken huge losses in the stock market, while others have taken hits to their retirement funds. All terrible news…
But things are about to get worse. Much worse.
The Coming Food Shortage
Russia, whose grain and crops make up a portion of US imports, has suffered huge losses in grain production through wildfires last year and locust infestation this year. Expect the situation to impact commodity prices and hit our pocketbooks at the checkout stand: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1400834.stm
China has fared no better with a 60-year record-breaking drought, leading to UN warnings http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/business/global/09food.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all as the nation faces one-billion in costs to help solve their drought problem http://solveclimatenews.com/news/20110213/china-readies-1-billion-fight-worst-wheat-drought-60-years. The final outcome is yet to be determined, but expect US imports of grain to be minimal, at best, which will drive up grain prices.
Both France and Germany have experienced devastating drought, leading to crop failure of wheat http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/business/global/20iht-wheat20.html?_r=1
In the US, the Midwest has experienced flooding of biblical proportions, which devastated millions of acres of croplands. The devastation has been overwhelming enough that the full impact on crop prices are still being tallied http://deltafarmpress.com/harvest-will-reveal-impacts-midwest-floods
Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and parts of Arkansas, have experienced drought that has led to crop failures of up to 60% for wheat and cotton and the gulf coast is reporting crop failure of corn http://agrilife.org/today/2011/05/10/texas-crop-weather-for-may-10-2011/
The Good News
To parlay news of such devastation both in the US and globally may seem like a stretch, but knowledge is power. The solution is clear: It’s time to start stocking those empty shelves before the shortages catch up with us, full-force, at the checkout counter. It’s possible to begin filling pantries affordably by going online for grocery circulars for your area’s grocers and by coupon clipping. By doing these two simple things, it is possible to see a 50% savings, or more. If you are interested in long-term food storage, check with local growers for their bulk pricing. By going straight to the grower, you will be cutting out the middleman (the grocers) and should expect to save at least 50%.
Don’t Procrastinate
In this case, procrastination will cost you. Prices will soon be climbing—steeply in some cases. It is not beyond the realm of possibility for limits to be set on quantities for food items as well. It happened before when Costco set limits of purchases for 20 lb# bags of long-grain rice to 2 per customer a few years ago. Their reasoning was never revealed to the public, but for those interested in self-sufficiency, it sent ripples of concerns for possible rationing that thankfully never transpired. This go-round, we may not be as lucky…
Visit Survival Diva Blog http://www.survivaldiva.com/ for more information on rural living, gardening, home canning, food storage, and tips on combating skyrocketing food prices.
Survival Diva, Barbara’s preparedness book is available August 1, 2011 http://www.survivaldiva.com/ Download for just $3.95
