Food Prices: US in "shocking new territory;" Internationally "sky is falling"

[BurtWorm]

Not to be alarming... :patriot:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003435.html?nav=rss_politics

...

Since March 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs has jumped 35 percent. A gallon of milk is up 23 percent. A loaf of white bread has climbed 16 percent. And a pound of ground chuck is up 8 percent. Overall, U.S. food prices in 2008 are expected to rise 4 to 5 percent, about double the increases of recent years. And while the total rise is far less drastic than elsewhere around the world, the sharp hike for staples means everyone is feeling the pinch.

"We are in shocking new territory," said Todd Hale, senior vice president of consumer shopping and insights at Nielsen Consumer Panel Services. "With the exception of the very affluent, everyone is looking to save by altering where they shop, how they shop and the brands they buy."

Take the uptick in coupon clipping. According to NCH Marketing Services, a coupon clearinghouse in Chicago, the number of grocery coupons redeemed in 2007 increased by 100 million, or 6 percent, to 1.8 billion. The rise reversed a seven-year decline. "Every year, manufacturers have made coupons more difficult to redeem by shortening the expiration date and increasing the purchase requirements. And every year, people redeemed them less," said Charlie Brown, NCH's vice president of marketing. "This tells me that consumers are now more determined to save money."

The crunch for American shoppers pales compared with the challenges faced by those in the developing world. Americans spend just 9.9 percent of household income on food, according to the Agriculture Department. Compare that with poor countries such as Ethiopia and Bangladesh, where it's not uncommon for families to spend 70 percent. Diets also are more varied here: If the price of milk or flour jumps, shoppers can opt for other items. A typical poor family in Bangladesh, said John Hoddinott, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, gets 70 to 80 percent of its calories from basic staples, commodities whose prices have risen fastest.

"Internationally, it's appropriate to say the sky is falling," said Ephraim Leibtag, an economist with the Agriculture Department's Economic Research Service. "The average household is affected here, but it's not a dire situation."

...

[Sabriel]

1. "It's not a dire situation."

Spoken like a true middle-class person who can afford to buy nutritional food for a family on a regular basis.

[EVDebs]

2. Bush the other day said we're not in a recession

Which really means we're headed for a depression.

[BurtWorm]

3. I've been in a depression since December 12, 2000.

:evilfrown:

[Ghost Dog]

7. Me too. My mother died on December 10th 2000, too young,

of cancer, my brother and I having been taking turns to look after her, between home, hospital, hospice, home, hospice during the previous 9 months.

And then, there's been everything else, political, social, economic, as you point out, since... So at least I've been preparing for the worst... :smoke:

[catnhatnh]

4. "Overall 4-5%"

Is bullshit....what they mean is staples will rise 25% or better but bullshit items and luxury goods with built-in higher margins will will absorb the increases.So while overpriced sauce mixes and processed cereals damp down the real effect, your shopping cart will be going berserk and more so if you enjoy real fresh food and especially dairy and vegetables.Meanwhile the aisles full of health and beauty items and the aisles with cleaners and paper goods and all the rest of the "food shopping" experience will be used to hide the truth.

[Supersedeas]

5. just hang on -- it's going to be a bumpy ride

[bdamomma]

6. if the time ever comes I wonder if Robin Hood practices will come into reality.

steal from rich.............and give to the poor.