Food Prices - the shocking truth.

[Anna B]

According to the above named programme on Channel 4 last night, food prices have gone up an average of 25%, with some staples like bread up 100% and meat up 60% in just the last 6 years. And it's going to get worse. With wages more or less static, it's no wonder some people are having to turn to food banks.

 

The causes are many, but nothing to do with lack of food - yields have multiplied more than enough to feed the many extra people who need feeding, with some of the best harvests ever.

Vast swathes of land in America are now producing tons of corn to turn into biofuel, stockpiling and the commodities markets are destablising prices.

 

What with that and rising energy prices, I can see the day when many people in this country are not going to be able to afford to eat.

[Super Hans]

There are lots of reasons, I mean nobody will eat an egg nowdays unless the chicken has lived its life out in a spa and had the eggs massaged out of it daily.

 

Nobody wants chicken unless it's breast meat, nobody wants beef unless it's had 2 million acres to roam round.

 

It all costs money. 6 years ago chickens were kept in a cage smaller than your handbag for their entire life, pigs were kept in pens slightly wider than your bathtub...so it's a toss up between getting cheap meat and treating animals absolutely appallingly or paying more and not being an abominably careless species.

 

I mean it is what it is, you can get a supermarket brand loaf for 50p but people pay £2 for an artisan seeded hovis hot loaf so there is no crisis, people are just choosing to pay more for better quality food.

 

A 2 litre bottle of Coca Cola now is about £2.75 about 1000% (Yes one thousand percent) more than ASDAs own brand for 25p.

 

People telling me they're struggling to buy food with a £3 box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes in their cupboard and a bin full of scratch cards.

 

If food banks didn't exist, nobody would starve, the people who visit them would just go "Right, nothing to fall back on now. Better stop smoking and drinking and going to the bookies and playing the lottery".

 

Get a grip.

[*_ash_*]

There are lots of reasons, I mean nobody will eat an egg nowdays unless the chicken has lived its life out in a spa and had the eggs massaged out of it daily.

 

Nobody wants chicken unless it's breast meat, nobody wants beef unless it's had 2 million acres to roam round.

 

It all costs money. 6 years ago chickens were kept in a cage smaller than your handbag for their entire life, pigs were kept in pens slightly wider than your bathtub...so it's a toss up between getting cheap meat and treating animals absolutely appallingly or paying more and not being an abominably careless species.

 

I mean it is what it is, you can get an supermarket brand loaf for 50p but people pay £2 for an artisan seeded hovis hot loaf so there is no crisis, people are just choosing to pay more for better quality food.

 

Some good points. Energy is in some ways like this. People want cheap fuels and energy, but cheap fuels and energy supplies are dirty.

 

Green seems nice, until the bills come through.

 

Something isn't right though. Too many people is probably the main reason for most or all of these issues.

[anywebsite]

There's increased demand from China & other quickly developing countries. They're consuming more meat & wheat. They could survive on less, but as they get more money their diet is becoming more 'western'.

 

I thought they'd abandoned biofuel when people started starving because of it a few years ago? Is it still going in the USA? Corn is the worst type too.

[Anna B]

There's increased demand from China & other quickly developing countries. They're consuming more meat & wheat. They could survive on less, but as they get more money their diet is becoming more 'western'.

 

I thought they'd abandoned biofuel when people started starving because of it a few years ago? Is it still going in the USA? Corn is the worst type too.

 

I think the increased consumption in China is having a small effect, but they are growing more themselves to cover it. The biofuels issue is the big one. It's an expanding market, with more farmers in America going over to it as it is more profitable than growing other crops.

 

Also some growers in developing countries no longer think it's worth it, when they can get more money working in a factory, so land is going to waste.

 

We're all going to have to eat insects (seriously) in the future, as they are almost pure protein and and good source of nutrition. Anyone who has been to China knows how popular the things on sticks are....

[ivanava]

I think the increased consumption in China is having a small effect, but they are growing more themselves to cover it. The biofuels issue is the big one. It's an expanding market, with more farmers in America going over to it as it is more profitable than growing other crops.

 

Also some growers in developing countries no longer think it's worth it, when they can get more money working in a factory, so land is going to waste.

 

We're all going to have to eat insects (seriously) in the future, as they are almost pure protein and and good source of nutrition. Anyone who has been to China knows how popular the things on sticks are....

 

When a 1/5 of the worlds population increases its consumption of energy, food and other resources the effect on everyone else isn't likely to be small.

 

EVERY day there are 219,000 extra people on Earth and thanks to successful economic development increasing numbers are consuming more and pushing up food prices.

 

On top of this there are global water shortages, new export restrictions in Russia, oil price rises caused by the Arab revolutions, the use of maize as bio-fuel and the turning over of farmland to Asia's growing mega-cities.

 

Food production as also been affected by droughts and floods over the past few years.

[Mecky]

There are lots of reasons, I mean nobody will eat an egg nowdays unless the chicken has lived its life out in a spa and had the eggs massaged out of it daily.

 

Nobody wants chicken unless it's breast meat, nobody wants beef unless it's had 2 million acres to roam round.

 

It all costs money. 6 years ago chickens were kept in a cage smaller than your handbag for their entire life, pigs were kept in pens slightly wider than your bathtub...so it's a toss up between getting cheap meat and treating animals absolutely appallingly or paying more and not being an abominably careless species.

 

I mean it is what it is, you can get a supermarket brand loaf for 50p but people pay £2 for an artisan seeded hovis hot loaf so there is no crisis, people are just choosing to pay more for better quality food.

 

A 2 litre bottle of Coca Cola now is about £2.75 about 1000% (Yes one thousand percent) more than ASDAs own brand for 25p.

 

People telling me they're struggling to buy food with a £3 box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes in their cupboard and a bin full of scratch cards.

 

If food banks didn't exist, nobody would starve, the people who visit them would just go "Right, nothing to fall back on now. Better stop smoking and drinking and going to the bookies and playing the lottery".

 

Get a grip.

 

I don't know where you get your views from but they're rather strange. If what you say is true why are budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl booming?

[geared]

We're all going to have to eat insects (seriously) in the future, as they are almost pure protein and and good source of nutrition. Anyone who has been to China knows how popular the things on sticks are....

 

I'd eat insects on a stick.

 

You might be half right tho, I can see things like insects and meat-by products being processed into a protein slurry or powder for food.

 

Kinda like what sports people use, but made on a massive scale to produce it far cheaper than normal meat.

[barleycorn]

I'd eat insects on a stick.

 

You might be half right tho, I can see things like insects and meat-by products being processed into a protein slurry or powder for food.

 

Kinda like what sports people use, but made on a massive scale to produce it far cheaper than normal meat.

 

I wonder what colour it would be? Green probably. Nom nom.

 

jb

[ECCOnoob]

I don't know where you get your views from but they're rather strange. If what you say is true why are budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl booming?

 

Because they have very very good marketing ploys that give the impression that they are dirt cheap when not always the case.

 

They have lots of phantom brands (hidden own brands behind a posh sounding name) shadowing where they get their products from making packs look like a bargain when you often get less than you would in a real branded item.

 

They offer very limited ranges with often only one or two lines of stock which in turn costs less and takes up less space. They dont have to worry about offering a wholistic service of fresh bakery/deli/non food like other supermarkets. They also have minimal staff levels with very tight targets which all goes to make up their profits.

 

Its not all just as simple as customers through the door.

 

I would be very interested in asking regular Aldi / Lidl shoppers how many of then ALSO have to pop into Tesco/Asda/Morrisons to pick up a few bits that they are not able to get in the BUdget stores.

 

Poundland/Poundworld/Home Bargains/99p Stores all have the same business model and rely on very clever psychology to get people through the door.