Starvation Diet

First we were all Keynesians; now it looks as if we'll all become Breathairians.

Bear with me, Gentle Reader. I'm a crank, a doomsayer, a naysayer, a pessimist, alarmist, conspiracy kook, gun-toting wingnut and all-around pain in the ass. There, I've admitted it. Hell, I'd be writing this in my geodesic dome whilst wearing a tinfoil hat -- but recent rumors maintain that geodesic domes cause erectile dysfunction, and that the nation's tinfoil supply has been contaminated with depleted uranium.  Be that as it may, though, I'm still a tad worried over the ever-increasing price of food. Even if you don't believe that Art Bell killed JFK (who was actually the Lindbergh baby), you can't deny that food prices are increasing past the normal rate of inflation.

Beyond the government trying to ram S. 510 down our throats (a potential nightmare for small farmers, survivalists and other "back to the land" types; and one guaranteed to jack food prices through the roof) domestic production isn't keeping pace with population growth. (See the USDA link below, and ponder the law of supply and demand). As I mentioned in an earlier post on beans and grains, the prices of both (in supermarkets, at any rate) have risen dramatically in the last three years. Granted, our friends the banksters are partially to blame, for tampering with the market, but nasty weather and increasingly adverse growing conditions are also contributing factors.

This year, for example, my wife and I have wrangled with late spring rains, a severe drought, unusually high UV levels, heat indexes in the high '90s and low 100's, Roundup-resistant weeds; and an influx of stink bugs, Mexican bean beetles, and corn earworms -- all immune or strongly resistant to pyrethrin, Malathion and Sevin. And we're not the only ones. As I noted a few days ago, 98 Georgia counties have been declared disaster areas. Zooming out and considering the bigger picture, though; one notes that it's been a bad year worldwide. Rice failures in Asia, wheat failures in Europe, and sharply reduced acreage under cultivation in this country all portend ill. I hope I'm wrong, Gentle Reader, but we might very well be in for a singularly lean (and expensive) winter.

The Guardian has run a sobering article on the impact of Russia's droughts and wildfires on wheat prices in Europe.

The spectre of food inflation is back. Two years ago the world was gripped by the prospect of supplies running low, thanks to a combination of rocketing demand from emerging countries and tightening supply as farmers turned wheat fields over to biofuels.

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so...

Wheat prices, which are up 40% over the last month, reached a two-year high as concerns about a drought in Russia and rotting stocks of grain in India exercised markets in London and Chicago. Claims that a major crop failure in Australia, following an invasion of locusts and a wet summer in Canada, could lead to a worldwide shortage, have pushed up prices in recent weeks to levels not seen since 2008.

The rise in futures contract prices traded on the major markets also follows a United Nations report in June that warned food prices could rise as much as 40% over the coming decade, amid growing demand from emerging markets and for biofuel production.

But before you say: "Ah, it's just Europe. Who the fuck cares?"; consider the ripple effect, magnified by global economic codependency. These gents, certainly have. With a vested interest in the matter, they're hardly an objective source of information -- but the site makes for interesting reading.

And wheat isn't the only grain in short supply, as recent failures of the rice crop in Thailand, India, and Indonesia demonstrate. Moving closer to home, it's worth noting that the total acreage under cultivation has plummeted since the 1980s, while the population has ballooned to 300,000,000. If you're interested in overall domestic food production, (tonnage, price per bushel, acres cultivated, etc.) have a look here. The stats on staple crops (i.e. grains) are especially noteworthy -- and alarming. Beyond serving as food for most of the world's population, many of these grains are used for stock fodder and as sources of those ridiculous, wasteful "biofuels."

Forget mimicking the Eskimos by adopting a "no-carb" diet, though. Protein sources are becoming equally expensive, as illustrated by the following articles on pork, beef, and lamb. These disingenuous fucks attribute the increase to "an improving economy," (if hyperinflation is indicative of a healthy economy; I suppose Weimar Germany is the model to emulate. Luckily, even the most deranged of modern, revisionist economists and historians have yet to assert as much -- although I suppose it's just a matter of time)  but at least they confirm the trend, which stands to reason. Higher feed prices (most feeds being grains) inevitably lead to higher meat prices.  As soy prices are also on the rise, our Buddhist and vegan friends won't fare much better.

The bottom line: We might have one hell of a rough time ahead of us, folks. Unless you're feeling an overwhelming urge to gamble on the validity of the doctrine of Inedia, you might want to consider stocking up this year and producing more of your own food in the future.