INFLATION IS HITTING FOOD PRICES
Linda says:
Food prices are an upcoming political issue.
Inflation and the rise in the price of food and fuel is becoming a mainstream media issue. In the United States the cost of heating oil has soared. As oil approaches a hundred dollars per barrel, more and more land is being planted with corn for ethanol production. This is land, which would otherwise be planted with grains, for human or livestock consumption.
Products such as wheat and soybeans are at record prices and the rising affluence of large populations in China and India is straining the demand, and price, of a large range of foodstuffs. Wheat has risen in price by 90% in twelve months. Whether it is the price of pasta in Italy or bread in Germany, price rises are a hot topic. A new inflationary cycle is beginning which could lead to demands for higher wages, to offset the rising cost of living.
Most affected are poorer people for whom foodstuffs represent a higher proportion of their expenditure - thus the risk of social unrest and upheaval is correlated to rises in food prices. Apart from the rises in price of food staples themselves, the rise in oil prices is increasing the costs of transportation to markets.
Droughts, pollution and loss of land to industrialization, (especially in China), are all playing their part in why the loaves at your local bakery are going up steeply in price.
