More "good" news on food prices

[bacpacker]

Saw this this morning. More of the No-shit Sherlock information. But coming from another country gives a little different spin.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/430...ext-five-years


Global food crisis set to send prices of household staples soaring over next five years
A GLOBAL food crisis will see the cost of household staples rocket by almost a fifth in five years, economists warned yesterday.
By: Giles Sheldrick
Published: Thu, September 19, 2013

Food-shopping-bills-are-already-soaring-and-are-said-to-treble-in-the-next-20-years-POSED-BY-MODEL- Food shopping bills are already soaring and are said to treble in the next 20 years (POSED BY MODEL)

Growing demand for essentials like meat and grain, topsy-turvy weather and land commandeered for the production of biofuels will add at least £850 to typical annual food spending, they claimed.

Retail analysts at research agency Conlumino said food price inflation would add almost £20billion to the nation’s annual grocery bill by 2018, a rise of almost 18 per cent.

Experts calculated the increases would add £1.50 to a 2lb joint of roasting beef, 25p to a loaf of Hovis sliced bread and almost 10p to a pint of milk at Asda.

The bleak outlook could only be reversed, experts said, by setting aside more land on which cattle can be reared and grain harvested.

On average, households spend almost £5,000 a year on groceries.

Neil Saunders, of Conlumino, said: “These figures will shock hard-working households because everyone has to eat to live and it’s jolly hard to economise on the basics.

“The foods we are talking about here are essentials, it’s not discretionary spending.

“This is a global problem, it’s not one unique to Britain.

“Salaries look like they are going to be eaten up by the increase in food prices.

“The only consolation is that over the longer period households might see their disposable income increase.”

cattle grassExperts said that hikes in food prices can be reversed by setting aside more land for cows and crops

These figures will shock hard-working households because everyone has to eat to live and it’s jolly hard to economise on the basics

The doomsday report comes after a Government adviser on food supply warned that food prices would treble during the next 20 years.

Professor Tim Benton, head of the Global Food Security working group, said families needed to slash the amount they eat by a third, calling current consumption levels “unsustainable”.

Already food prices are causing concern.

While inflation dropped from 2.8 per cent to 2.7 per cent in August, food inflation rose from 4.4 per cent in July to 4.7 per cent.

Fruit is 8.5 per cent more expensive than last year, meat is up 4.9 per cent and vegetables now cost 5.9 per cent more.

Governments across the world have been warned that the expected explosion in the global population and a worldwide shift towards eating more meat and dairy produce are likely to cause significant problems.

Experts say countries will ultimately be forced to embrace new techniques like genetically modified crops and animal cloning to boost food production.

Figures show that nearly a billion people in the world live on the brink of starvation.

[ElevenBravo]

I dont know about starvation, but I am on the brink of poverty.

EB

[bacpacker]

Join the crowd brother! Summer isn't my favorite time of year, but I sure am hating to see the garden go this year.