Looming global food crisis

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AnnabellaGrace
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Looming global food crisis

Post by AnnabellaGrace »

I am wondering what others are seeing across the globe as far as the looming food crisis? In the United States, we are seeing both inflation in price and shrinkflation in the size of products for more money.

In our country, I do not blame it on politics, but more on what has happened because of the COVID19 shutdown, and the continuing natural disasters in our country and across the globe. Add in the war in Ukraine to the other detrimental factors such as supply chain disruptions.

In the United States, we have suffered drought, fires, tornados and now, another devastating hurricane.

The farmers cannot grow without fertilizer (high prices and supply) and so, here we are, with food shortages and high prices here in the United States.

I am fortunate in that I have space for a garden and a long growing season since I live in Texas. I also have numerous hydroponic gardens for fresh greens and for cherry tomatoes. I have canned and dehydrated more than I have in many years. My grocery bill has increased at least 40% in the past year, and that is just what I must buy at the store.

What are you seeing in your country?
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TRavine
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Looming global food crisis

Post by TRavine »

We are facing similar challenges here in Austria. Food prices are going up and up (as well as the prices for rent, gas, power, basically everything - mainly due to the crisis with Russia/Ukraine and supply chain issues, as well as COVID).

Personally, I am still in a position where I don't have to worry too much (yet), but many people I know are facing huge financial problems already, and it is bound to get worse.

Also, since COVID, it seems that certain products are out of stock repeatedly and for long periods of time.

I think that, in the long run, we will all have to adapt and try to make food choices that are cheaper and still more sustainable. I eat a lot of potatoes, rice, pasta, which is affordable, especially if you buy it in bulk, also canned beans and lentils. I'm vegan, which helps, because meat - especially if you try to buy good quality and organic, is rather pricey in comparison to vegetables and beans. (You can get expensive vegan foods as well, of course, but personally, I can do pretty well without them). And plant foods use up way fewer resources and are more environmentally friendly, which may help with food supply in the long run.

Having a garden or balcony where you can grow your own vegetables is a huge plus! It really helps in times like these!
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OurCreature
 
 
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Looming global food crisis

Post by OurCreature »

It's a similar position in the UK, AnnabellaGrace and TRavine; the cost of foods that I buy has gone up considerably, and I shop at one of the (slightly, these days) cheaper supermarkets. I am lazy and buy ready meals instead of cooking from scratch; these tend to have quite a lot of pasta in them and I eat quite a lot of rice as well. I also eat a lot more vegetables and salads than I used to. I think the UK produces around 60% of its food.

For several years we have had what we call food banks, which give a few days' basic supply to people who can't afford to buy food and who have been referred to the food banks by authorities like social services. There are plenty of reasons why people run out of money before the end of the month or week and thus haven't got the money for buying food at the time they need it and I am not judgemental about that; so far as I am concerned they are hungry and so I make a monthly donation to one of the biggest food bank charities in the UK.

I am fortunate in not being in the position (at present) where I have to worry about very careful budgeting about food, fuel etc. I agree with TRavine that eventually we will have to shift to more plant-based foods because they are more sustainable than large-scale animal husbandry.

At least we don't have to put up with regular hurricanes and tornadoes like you do in parts of the US, AnnabellaGrace. We do have the occasional tornado but they tend to be very localised and small, though scary if you are in the middle of one.
Like the late Chaircat Midge, I am not always right.
AnnabellaGrace
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Looming global food crisis

Post by AnnabellaGrace »

Glad things are not unmanageable for either of you at this time. We do grow a great deal of food in the United States, but the drought, fire, and hurricanes have wiped out most of this year's crops. When we will see even higher prices is next year when there is a far greater shortage of foods. There will be less to buy and what there is available is going to be very expensive.

My children are vegan, but I am not. However, I limit the number of times I eat meat to just a few times a week. Most of the time, I eat fish. I make everything from scratch because I must watch my salt intake, and so many foods that are ready-to-eat contain too much salt for me. I really love to cook, so it is not bother for me to cook each day. I do a great deal of meal prep on the weekends.

So many people in my country want to blame it on our current administration, but whether I like him or not has nothing to do with what is going on in the world. I hope for all of us, we will through these times of austerity with grace and without hunger. OurCreature, we have food banks here as well, and they are such a blessing to all who need them.

TRAvine, it certainly helps to not eat meat. It is healthier, and it does help the environment tremendously not to consume animal products.

I love that you donate to a food bank OurCreature. I try to what I can to help, too. I work an after school program and all of our kids are hungry. I ask schools in my district to do food drives, so I can keep a stocked pantry on site for their families to come and get food. One of the high schools raised 2,000 meals last year to help feed these kids.

I think we all have to keep an eye on our elderly neighbors and make sure they are getting enough to eat. I was in the store recently and an elderly couple was nearly in tears over how little they could by. The man behind them in line signaled to the clerk that he would pay for their food. I am 64 and still working. A young lady in line with me and I started talking about some of the healthy choices she had made, and I told her I would try some of those items next time.

After I paid, she was waiting for me outside and said, Ma"am, let me help you load your groceries, and she did. She also loaded a bag into my car from her cart. She smiled and said, please enjoy! It nearly brought me to tears. She had shared with me the health food items, some fermented drinks, and some specialty things that were way out of my budget. What kindness there is in the world! You would never know it from what the news reports, but there is so much goodness.

I realize that when I posted this topic, that it could become political, and believe me, in the U.S., we are sharply divided on which direction our country should be going and who should lead.

I appreciate that you both have shared your experiences with and from two different countries. We are truly all in this crisis together.
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OurCreature
 
 
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Looming global food crisis

Post by OurCreature »

AnnabellaGrace and TRavine, what lovely thoughtful posts. :)

I live in what we call an end terrace house in a small close; 5 on one side and 6 on our side. The two terraces face each other and have a common path going in between the terraces with paths branching off it to people's front doors. My house is at the end furthest from the parking area, though we each have a garage in a detached block separate from the houses. I guess I and my neighbour opposite are the oldest people in this part of the close - I don't know how old she is, but I'm 71!

I probably look my age - certainly I look old enough for cars to stop in the village/town centre to let me cross the road............

I had a 2 week holiday in Austria in 1976, in Innsbruck to watch the Olympic Games. I haven't returned, mainly because I have friends near Zurich so I have tended to spend time in Switzerland, and also my favourite country Iceland where I have several very good friends.

As to my Board name; many years ago when the Internet was in its infancy I got 2 black female cats - sisters from the same litter. They were my second batch of black cats, the boys having all passed away. One of these ladies was very bossy and decided she wanted a website and a typist to do it all for her; she and her sister decided to refer to me as Our Creature or just Creature. The bossy Chaircat Midge joined the Board as well, and was posting via myself right up to the day when I had to let her go in March 2013. That was the fiction anyway! The other Board members soon shortened my moniker here to OC.

I have another two cats now - Maine Coons Mother Mina and her son the Lord Midge. Here they are, looking unusually innocent.
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Wildrover
 
 
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Looming global food crisis

Post by Wildrover »

Part of AnabellaGrace's post resonates with my experience in UK supermarkets - my grocery bill hasn't gone up 40% but it's certainly gone up 25%, petrol/diesel for the car has come down a bit in price recently but is still 25% more expensive than last year, electricity and gas has nearly doubled...yet the published UK inflation rate is 10%. So my question is, what has gone up by less than 10% in the last year for the average inflation rate to be 10%?

Shrinkflation has been pretty dramatic especially on things like chocolate bars but I guess some of that is to do with government measures to tax sugar and reduce obesity. It's a shame it doesn't apply to takeaways - my main (only) cost reduction measure has beeen to stop eating takeaways but it's been a significant saving. The average takeaway Indian, Chinese, Thai or pizza here is around £30 for two of us and we used to have about one or occasionally two a week compared to the average home cooked meal at around £10 for two. They also tend to be incredibly unhealthy in salt, fat and sugar content and highly calorific so we're eating more healthily and saving around £100 per month.

We have an interesting variation on the food bank theme - they have a Food Savers event every Sunday where supermarkets donate surplus that generally has a "Use by" date in the next 2-3 days (so usually OK for 4-5 days) and would end up in landfill. People who can afford it make a donation which they use to buy tinned goods to help out those in need. It works surprisingly well and always has big queues.
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Looming global food crisis

Post by Furby »

I wondered which things had come down in price too because I couldn't think of any.
And it was saucepans and handbags. I have enough of both so didn't notice.

Just on food itself has to be 25% or more on everything doesn't it. Dairy is easily 50% dearer. The vegan dairy alternatives were always stupidly dear anyway.

Don't know if it affects people out of UK but we have bird flu which is killing birds and will make turkeys dearer this year. I think this happened last few years just before Xmas too. It's made eggs dearer because birds have to be kept inside in the affected areas. They had to have an emergency rule they could still label them free range eggs even though they aren't so we could still eat eggs until they got new boxes designed.
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