Americans hoard food as industry seeks regs

[dkf]

Farmers and food executives appealed fruitlessly to federal officials yesterday for regulatory steps to limit speculative buying that is helping to drive food prices higher. Meanwhile, some Americans are stocking up on staples such as rice, flour and oil in anticipation of high prices and shortages spreading from overseas.

Their pleas did not find a sympathetic audience at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where regulators said high prices are mostly the result of soaring world demand for grains combined with high fuel prices and drought-induced shortages in many countries.

The regulatory clash came amid evidence that a rash of headlines in recent weeks about food riots around the world has prompted some in the United States to stock up on staples.

Costco and other grocery stores in California reported a run on rice, which has forced them to set limits on how many sacks of rice each customer can buy. Filipinos in Canada are scooping up all the rice they can find and shipping it to relatives in the Philippines, which is suffering a severe shortage that is leaving many people hungry.

While farmers here and abroad generally are benefiting from the high prices, even they have been burned by a tidal wave of investors and speculators pouring into the futures markets for corn, wheat, rice and other commodities and who are driving up prices in a way that makes it difficult for farmers to run their businesses.

"Something is wrong," said National Farmers Union President Tom Buis, adding that the CFTC's refusal to rein in speculators will force farmers and consumers to take their case to Congress.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080423/BUSINESS/868303815/1001

[SpiralHawk]

1. The 'truth' from the official propaganda spigot of Republicon Messiah, Rev. "Jesus II" Moon

Ummm hmmmm

[dkf]

2. They were talking about it on CNBC this morning.

There was commentary that the earnings so far were good, but the price inflation is really starting to ramp up now, so we haven't seen what this will do to restaurants, etc.

Whoever thought turning corn into ethanol was a good idea...ARGH!!

[hobbit709]

4. That came from the same idiot who's ruined everything else.

[hobbit709]

3. Was at two different groceries the last 3 days

No shortage of rice in 1-20 lb bags.

[JoDog]

6. No shortage of regular white and brown rice

The shortages at Costco so clumsily reported by the New York Sun are of imported specialty types of rice. The countries these types of rice are grown in (India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, etc.) have severely limited or ended exports so they can better deal with domestic demand.

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Think about this next time you see a PBS show sponsored by

Archer Daniels Midland, one of biggest stakeholders in the ethanol con game.