The Real Cost of Food Today

[maxx]

"...In 1949, Americans spent 22% of their income on food, whereas in 2009 they spent a meager 10%. .."

but...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_414700.html

[maxx]

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/22/w...n-america.html
"...But modern America is a place of extremes, and what you eat for dinner has become the definitive marker of social status; as the distance between rich and poor continues to grow, the freshest, most nutritious foods have become luxury goods that only some can afford. Among the lowest quintile of American families, mean household income has held relatively steady between $10,000 and $13,000 for the past two decades [[in inflation-adjusted dollars); among the highest, income has jumped 20 percent to $170,800 over the same period, according to census data..."

[oladub]

Our Federal government and Monsanto are one and the same when it comes to food policy after Monsanto's overrepresentation within the Bush and Obama administrations. The effect of such policy is to gradually drive small farmers off the land and establish a corporate food empire modeled after US health care in which only the big boys get to play and we get to pay. The just passed S. 510 effectively cut a lot of small farmers out of interstate markets even after the inclusion of some good amendments. GE alfalfa was just allowed on the market too. Under current court precedents, when GE corn etc shows up in a farmers field, he gets sued. It doesn't matter if wind blown pollen or birds spreading seeds are responsible, Monsanto will sue. I think Monsanto should get sued for pollution but the courts rule for Monsanto.

With fewer producers and retailers, we know where this is going. Food will become scarcer, less nutritious, and more expensive. We are lucky. In poorer nations, food is a larger part of the budget. Any large increase in food prices will starve people.

I don't mean to suggest that gov/corp policies are the only reason food is going up in price. As China gets richer, it's people will be able to buy more food and better food. More demand raises prices everywhere. Also, our dollar is in decline causing our prices to go up on international commodities like canned tuna.

[gibran]

Thank you futures trading for driving up the cost of food tooo... so much for freee market economics here.. just ask Egypt

[maxx]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews
"...China, the world's largest wheat producer, consumes almost all of what it grows and keeps roughly 55 million tons in reserve. But the prospect of a failed winter wheat crop might prompt the country to import grain on a scale that could put further stress on world prices, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned..."