Bye Bye Organic & Wheat
April 24, 2008 by Tracee Sioux
Filed under Parenting
Food Inflation (click on the link and watch a Business Week video explaining causes of food inflation in a pop up).
Been to the grocery store yet this week?
It made me nostalgic for last week. . . last month . . . last year.
The price of wheat has gone up 80-something percent and now retailers are reporting difficulty finding it. There is a world wide food inflation and food shortage. Asia’s got a rice crisis and we’ve redirected part of our corn crop to make fuel.
Over the past 12 months milk prices have doubled as demand for corn, the staple diet of a dairy herd, increased substantially, reports The Times.
The Economist says,
“Over the past 30 years the share of food in American and European household spending has fallen from an average of 30% to less than 10%, so consumers do not care about price hikes as much as they did in the past. Even so, they are responding to the economic gloom by changing what they eat, where they eat and where they buy their groceries.”
Most news sources seem to have the same message – if you think your grocery bill is high now, come back next week when it’s sure to be higher.
I’m a recent convert to the word organic.
I’d recently started springing for the extra change to buy the organic carrots, peanut butter, milk and this or that.
But, Friday I realized we’re not talking about change anymore. I’d stop at one item and realize the difference between high fructose corn syrup cheap food and the organic version is about $2. Organic honey and peanut butter and rice, the difference of around $2.
It’s just not possible for us to face this world-wide food inflation crisis adding $2 or more to every item in my cart.
I lost about 25 pounds last year from switching my carbs via Bob Green and Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Whole wheat breads, noodles, even pizza dough and some chips. My whole family lost weight as a result.
I bought it this week, but it’s predicted by the end of the year I’ll either not be able to find it or afford it.
Are we facing the choice fat and unhealthy or broke? I’m sorry body and planet, environmentalist and health nut, we’ve got to risk fat and unhealthy over broke.
I’ll hold onto the reverse-osmosis water, the hormone free organic milk, but little else with an organic price tag made it into my cart.
In the last few weeks I’ve bought a bread maker and an air pop corn popper at a thrift store, planted some strawberries, tomatoes and herbs, and started cooking more things from scratch.
The kicker – I STILL had to put stuff back to stay on my $150 per week budget.
My Mormon relatives, firm believers in food storage “just in case,” are sending me cautionary email instructions to stock up on things like flour and grains. Quick!
It’s probably not the end of the world and American’s are blessed in that we likely won’t actually starve, but smart people insulate themselves from inflation.
“The surge in the price of food will continue for at least a further two years, the chief executive of one of the world’s biggest food companies, Pepsico, has told “The Times.
It just seems like such poor planning on the part of argricultural planners..Are there such people? Doesn’t our government have a department of Agriculture? Surely someone there would have the forethought to realize that if ALL farmers plant the same thing, it will have a drastic effect on other needed crops.
We proudly planted our squash, tomatoes and onions last night. I can’t quit worrying about the rabbits though..if I get home and they have nibbled on our crops (our crops lol) I’m going to have to remind them that it is socially acceptable in Louisiana to cook them for dinner.
I can tell you one thing though – I’ll be stuffing the loaves in the freezer tonight!
I’m sorry about the comments here folks. I’ve emailed support.
I think a lot of it is out of farmer control – there’s a fungus issue and a flooding issue with the wheat.
The corn is redirected and that’s an environmental issue – they’re redirecting to make ethanol. My understanding is that Dept of Ag. told lawmakers this would be a problem because our cows and chicken (that we eat) eat corn. Lawmakers decided to redirect the corn anyway – instead of using say flax or hemp.
There is a complex issue of paying farmers not to farm, but to “conserve land” too.
I didn’t know about the fungus thing. My husband works at a feed/nursery store and he’s been told that many farmers have abandoned wheat this year to grow corn $$$ They’re looking at a real shortage of wheat products to distribute in the feed store which is making it super hard on other types of farmers.
But I would think farmers – and agricultural analyists – and definately the dept. of agriculture would understand better than any of us the delicate balance of market supply/demand etc.etc.
I saw the former Dept. of Agric. on – do not judge me Glen Beck – he was saying there have been some mistakes by various entities – which on a good weather year would have been absorbable. But, combined with rains, droughts, fungus, oil and war and mix in some some politics = looming disaster. Rumor has it the wheat crop is shot to hell and now those farmers will try to re-plant with rice.
The more I learn the more complicated it gets. I suppose I’m looking for who F’d it up. I blame George Bush. Why not – he’s hitting the road anyway and so it’s easiest. Everything seems tied to a continuing war, rising oil prices and an energy shortage.
My gardening plan was crushed with one word – SHADE.
Nearly our whole yard is shady too – so we tilled up one little spot right on the edge of our property (and also the rabbit filled woods – grr). It’s the only spot that gets ANY sun. Squash doesn’t need much sun. We’ve put the tomatos in pots though so we can move them around with the sun as the summer comes on.
Our neighbors have recently started keeping chickens (and roosters) in a their backyard.. The more we worry about groceries I have horror fantasies of having to sneak over there in the wee morning hours and stealing eggs! They owe me – those things are loud.
I got a bread machine off of freecycle three days ago…score! And plan on using it to make pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, etc…(they really don’t make decent bread.)
I’m totally gonna stock up on grains and legumes. And if we cut out eating out pretty much all together it will make up the difference in the grocery budget.
If it makes any of you feel better, the value of “organic” foods is a lot less cut and dry than it’s been presented in some places. While there may be benefits, and in general some benign effects on the environment, you don’t need to feel like your only other option is to be unhealthy or broke.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/organic-food-better
I like the idea of getting organic food sometimes, like organic milk, but I always felt the cost was too high even before the food prices went up. Organic vs. non-organic isn’t nearly as important to me as eating the right kinds of foods in the first place. I think you can do that and have a healthy diet.
I tried to be vegetarian over the weekend and I threw my PH Balance off. I now have mouth ulcers from all the fruit and gas from the black beans…
P.S. I’m not kidding.
LOL
I love you Rebecca.
I never believed in peer pressure as a teenager. Now I totally get it. I can identify with “Mommy peer pressure.”
I just read an article that women are succumbing to “green guilt” – what’s our deal? Why do we need so much guilt to motivate us?
I feel constantly pressured to eat “organic food” from various sources. But, seriously I think it’s a bit of a marketing scam for lots of products. And excuse to charge $2 more.
Especially if the water they’re using to grow organic food or raise organic cows and chickens is polluted with pharmaceuticals as was recently in the news.
What motivated the veggie decision Crystal?
Ashley I’m going to buy some squash plants for my partial shade, and some pots and try to get my tomatoes to chase the sun.
I also got some Miracle Grow – not organic either.
Get this – I had fresh Basil in the cart. They sold it “with the roots for utmost freshness.” I put it back cause it was over $4.
For $2.50 I got the same amount of Basil in the gardening section, also with the roots. I planted them in pots and plan to chase the sun around the yard. Also trying to grow cilantro.
I checked out organic milk yesterday at the ‘Big Star’ and it was NEARLY SIX DOLLARS!! for a HALF GALLON!!!
Who can afford that? Why is it so much? Why do I all of a sudden feel like I’m depriving my children of health by giving them regular old milk? I grew up on regular old milk, but back then it was called ‘the healthy stuff that keeps your bones and teeth from breaking’…
It’s all getting to be too much. And how do we KNOW that it’s organic? Who checks?
About the squash – plant about 2 on a mound and that will spread like crazy (according to my dad and husband aka ‘expert farmers’). One little six pack of squash babies is apparently going to be enough for me to put in the freezer..with all my bread and black beans;)
I was hesitant about the miracle grow until my uncle told me this hilarious story about how when he was a kid, he and his friends would chase the mosquito truck (the ones that used to come around and spray insecticides along the streets) with their bikes everyday…and I looked at him and realized what a healthy well rounded adult he had become (besides the two heads) and I had this epiphany that put everything in perspective..
I’m in a milk nightmare. I’m hoping children don’t need milk at all. My husband came with a milk allergy he passed down and I’m afraid of hormones in milk AND soy. I’ve got to wean the 2 year old off both. I’ve actually considered buying him a goat. I figure I can teach him to suck it right from the teat. And bonus – the goat can mow the grass too!
The girl gets her own special hormone-free organic milk from Braums. It’s actually cheaper too (under $4). Everyone in town goes to Braums because they own their own herd of cows and feed them organic food.
Here’s an interesting blog article from Britain discussing whether the Gov. should keep paying for people’s special dietary needs on prescription.
It’s fascinating – if you have a gluten allergy you get gluten-free stuff free cause your doctor wrote a prescription. People here just pay out their ears.
http://www.free-from.com/blog/?p=421
Good tip. Maybe we’ll run into each other there one day. I’ll be the crazy lady frantically cramming about a hundred gallons of milk into a coffin sized ice chest in the trunk of a rusty brown clunker with Louisiana plates..
(If you’re too embarrassed to speak to me, just nod and we’ll have a moment.)
I do try to eat more organic, and many items are expensive. But some items, like the organic black beans I buy, are like 4 cents more. For the whopping $1 more per year, I’ll take the “maybe it makes a difference, maybe it doesn’t” chance.
There will always be people who will tell you what you want to hear. I can point to dozens of articles that say organic matters greatly and dozens more that say it is a scam. Everyone has to do whatever feels right to them and this does for me.
It just feels right to me that the better we treat livestock (I try to buy free range chicken and eggs too) and the less chemicals and additives and crap like HFCS we use, the better the food is for us. I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty about it, that’s just what resonates with me.
Sometimes I can afford to support that idea more than other times though. Right now? Not so much.
By the way Ashley, regular old milk isn’t the same as it used to be. I believe farmers started using growth hormones in the mid 90s.
You’re right Violet. I think most of us know it has to be better to just let nature take it’s course instead of altering it or rushing it somehow..it’s just hard on the pocketbook right now.
I hear you. Food prices are crazy these days. Our organic milk is just a little more. $6 for a half gallon would probably make me stop in my tracks.
This latest grocery trip was my breaking point.
It’s not a matter of “want to” eat organic.
We simply can’t.
When the money runs out – it runs out.
I can see how it would be a bigger priority for other people. If you already have food-induced health issues or if you’re very passionate about the idea. Probably the more educated you are about the issue the more important it becomes to you. I know I’m not letting my daughter drink regular milk or water anymore due to precocious puberty issues.
I like to maintain a little ignorance when it comes to what’s in my food. Because the education I got about saving and budgeting made me slightly militant about it.
I can’t afford both pet issues when they are in direct conflict.
Oh the food shortage around the world especially Haiti is just horrible. I am so frustrated with this negative effect of free global trade. I am watching it on the news right now, just so upsetting. I have found something that can put our hard earned money, that we spend every time we shop, to even better use…http://www.nonprofitshoppingmall.com . It is a site where you can choose a non profit such as, The Hunger Project, and then you SHOP from all of your favorite stores. A percent of your sale goes to the nonprofit you chose. It is really easy to use. Put it on your bookmarks page ladies!!!!!