Pizza And Beer Now Cost An Arm And A Leg

[GTaudiophile]

You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
The scary part is that you usually hear about these things happening in third-world countries, but you never expect it to happen right here at home. Some of the price jumps are simply ludicrous; flour going from $7-->$25 bushel, hops going from $4-->$40 pound, barley doubling, etc., all in less than a year. Worse still is that everyone is predicting similar increases this year as well.

http://www.PeakOil.com

U.S. population explodes...demand for goods that originate from limited resources (like good farmland) increases. In the meantime, the worldwide demand for the oil, much of which is used by farm equipment to harvest food...increases. Then much of that farmland is used to grow ethanol as an alternative to petroleum...increasing the price of food since less farmland would then be dedicated to food production.

What we've seen so far is probably only the beginning. The question is...will we ever see a mass die off? Will Thomas Malthus crawl out of his grave?

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

Originally posted by: jpeyton
The scary part is that you usually hear about these things happening in third-world countries, but you never expect it to happen right here at home. Some of the price jumps are simply ludicrous; flour going from $7-->$25 bushel, hops going from $4-->$40 pound, barley doubling, etc., all in less than a year. Worse still is that everyone is predicting similar increases this year as well.

http://www.PeakOil.com

U.S. population explodes...demand for goods that originate from limited resources (like good farmland) increases. In the meantime, the worldwide demand for the oil, much of which is used by farm equipment to harvest food...increases. Then much of that farmland is used to grow ethanol as an alternative to petroleum...increasing the price of food since less farmland would then be dedicated to food production.

What we've seen so far is probably only the beginning. The question is...will we ever see a mass die off? Will Thomas Malthus crawl out of his grave?

And, as oil becomes more expensive it is dropped as a primary source of energy. Alternates are found as economics takes hold. Entrepeneurs pour money into R&D, alternatives are found, rolled out, and deployed en masse.

I love how gloom and doomers think on a one-track mind. People like that have the brain capacity of a sand flea.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

I'm not a "the sky is falling" type person but I definitely have seen increases in my grocery bills without an increase in consumption by me.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: Pabster
Prices are going up. <YAWN>

If Joe Sixpack can't afford a few extra $$ for his beer and pizza, maybe he needs to adjust his diet? :laugh:

Let them eat cake?

Watch your head.

 

[StageLeft]

If I have to pay more than $4 for a 6 of miller high life lite I am going to slap a ho.

 

[Throckmorton]

Ethanol

 

[piasabird]

The worst part is simple things like diet soda go up and that does not even have high fructose corn suryp. So they people that drink diet soda are paying for those that drink soda with high fructose corn syrup. That with the elevated price of gas over time is ruining our economy. Then besides that we are paying our troops to defend the rest of the world. This is just unsustainable.

 

[naddicott]

Food isn't a non-renewable resource like oil, where we expect huge price surges.

We lose 2.5 tons of topsoil for every ton of grain or hay harvested, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (source - related article from Jan '08)

No idea what the timelines are like if we keep that up, but practically speaking our "renewable" food production rates are dependent on multiple non-renewables.

First thing that turned up in Google:

The U.S. food system uses over 10 quadrillion Btu (10,551 quadrillion Joules) of energy each year, as much as France?s total annual energy consumption. Growing food accounts for only one fifth of this. The other four fifths is used to move, process, package, sell, and store food after it leaves the farm. Some 28 percent of energy used in agriculture goes to fertilizer manufacturing, 7 percent goes to irrigation, and 34 percent is consumed as diesel and gasoline by farm vehicles used to plant, till, and harvest crops. The rest goes to pesticide production, grain drying, and facility operations.

The past half-century has witnessed a tripling in world grain production?from 631 million tons in 1950 to 2,029 million tons in 2004. While 80 percent of the increase is due to population growth raising demand, the remainder can be attributed to more people eating higher up the food chain, increasing per capita grain consumption by 24 percent. New grain demand has been met primarily by raising land productivity through higher-yielding crop varieties in conjunction with more oil-intensive mechanization, irrigation, and fertilizer use, rather than by expanding cropland.

Crop production now relies on fertilizers to replace soil nutrients, and therefore on the oil needed to mine, manufacture, and transport these fertilizers around the world. Rock deposits in the United States, Morocco, China, and Russia meet two thirds of world phosphate demand, while Canada, Russia, and Belarus account for half of potash mine production. Nitrogen fertilizer production, which relies heavily on natural gas to synthesize atmospheric nitrogen, is much more widely dispersed.

World fertilizer use has increased dramatically since the 1950s. China is now the top consumer with use rising beyond 40 million tons in 2004. Fertilizer use has leveled off in the United States, staying near 19 million tons per year since 1984. India?s use also has stabilized at around 16 million tons per year since 1998.

Article goes on to talk about how in theory you can make agriculture more "renewable" by re-using organic waste, etc. to fertilize soil, but the point is that converting corn into ethanol with current standard agricultural practices doesn't necessarily cure all our ills.

edit: couple bolds to highlight non-renewable stuff.
2nd edit: source for USDA soil loss estimates.

 

[rudder]

Pizza is on the way out for me!

My 2 for 1 pizza card expires in 2 weeks. The local rec football league was selling them as fundraisers. Two extra large papa johns pizzas for $12.99.

But anyway... whats up with the price of eggs? $2 a dozen? not too long ago I was getting them for 80 cents a dozen.

LOL, we were planning on moving to a different school district but would have to give up our big yard for a .24 acre lot. Maybe I should hold off so I can raise my own chickens and have a huge ass garden. I'll make my own beer.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

I'm not a "the sky is falling" type person but I definitely have seen increases in my grocery bills without an increase in consumption by me.

In was at the Grocery Store this morning and they had a note by the milk warning the customers of an impending price hike. Eggs meat and breads are definately more expensive too and probably will keep going up in price.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

I'm not a "the sky is falling" type person but I definitely have seen increases in my grocery bills without an increase in consumption by me.

In was at the Grocery Store this morning and they had a note by the milk warning the customers of an impending price hike. Eggs meat and breads are definately more expensive too and probably will keep going up in price.

When we moved into NYC in March last year, milk was at 3.09. It's now at 4.32.

 

[blackangst1]

I think the homeless rate will increase 25% this year, as will food bank customers.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

I'm not a "the sky is falling" type person but I definitely have seen increases in my grocery bills without an increase in consumption by me.

In was at the Grocery Store this morning and they had a note by the milk warning the customers of an impending price hike. Eggs meat and breads are definately more expensive too and probably will keep going up in price.

Here it depends on the "brand."

I can get a gallon of Milk for $3.49.
Meat is still relatively cheap(it is TX afterall).
I can still get a dozen eggs for $1.19.

 

[jpeyton]

Milk has jumped 40% here in the last year.

But at least gas is keeping pace now; milk was more expensive per gallon for a while.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Milk has jumped 40% here in the last year.

But at least gas is keeping pace now; milk was more expensive per gallon for a while.

Someone here made the comment that he was going to convert his car to run off milk, its cheaper

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: blackangst1
I think the homeless rate will increase 25% this year, as will food bank customers.

No problem, we'll just build more prisons and put the homeless there.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Milk has jumped 40% here in the last year.

But at least gas is keeping pace now; milk was more expensive per gallon for a while.

About the same here, but I paid well under $2/gallon one day last year. I'm currently paying $3/gallon for the cheap stuff.

 

[redly]

my Senior Year in High school, 1994, cheap beer and frozen Pizza cost damn near to the cent the same money as it does this year. Something's gotta give

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

I'm not a "the sky is falling" type person but I definitely have seen increases in my grocery bills without an increase in consumption by me.

In was at the Grocery Store this morning and they had a note by the milk warning the customers of an impending price hike. Eggs meat and breads are definately more expensive too and probably will keep going up in price.

When we moved into NYC in March last year, milk was at 3.09. It's now at 4.32.

Yep, the price of milk has gone up a LOT lately, as well as other dairy items.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You know, I keep a good track of the prices of what I buy at my grocery store, and I have NOT seen ANY inflation at all on what I buy.

I'm not a "the sky is falling" type person but I definitely have seen increases in my grocery bills without an increase in consumption by me.

In was at the Grocery Store this morning and they had a note by the milk warning the customers of an impending price hike. Eggs meat and breads are definately more expensive too and probably will keep going up in price.

Doesn't surprise me, we've been feeling the pain here in NYC for a while now...

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

And, as oil becomes more expensive it is dropped as a primary source of energy. Alternates are found as economics takes hold. Entrepeneurs pour money into R&D, alternatives are found, rolled out, and deployed en masse.

I love how gloom and doomers think on a one-track mind. People like that have the brain capacity of a sand flea.

You're making a huge assumption. Surely a guy who's so smart and who feels that his intellect is so superior to those of others that he's willing to make ad hominem attacks shouldn't miss that assumption.

You're assuming that there are comparable alternatives to be found and that they will be found and developed in time to prevent a significant reduction in our standard of living. In the meantime, as our nation's population explodes and as the rest of the world begins to use the world's finite petroleum resources, we have less and less time to find and develop alternatives.

In the case of oil, we hope that R&D finds and develops viable alternatives that provide just as good or nearly as good of an Energy Return on Investment (EROI).

I don't disagree that alternatives of lesser EROI can be found nor that the free market will spur that development. However, for such an intellectually potent guy you sure do seem to have tremendous amounts of faith that viable alternatives will be found and developed in time to prevent a significant decrease in our standard of living. I hope that that is the case, but I don't have that faith. Alternatives are currently available but they are also very expensive, which is why we are not currently using those alternatives in mass.

Perhaps folks who accept free market economics as a religious dogma and who have faith that technological advances driven by the free market will magically be able to outpace the forces of Malthusian biology are the ones with the brain capacity of a sand flea.

 

[KrispyKreme50]

I don't understand why people complain about rising gas prices. Energy stocks (including the oil supermajors) have performed admirably in recent years. If these individuals were "sure" that gas prices were going to rise, they could have invested into this sector and the amount that their investment would have appreciated would have far more than compensated for increased expenses.

In reality, nobody is sure whether gas prices will continue to rise or begin to decline. As with any investment, there is a risk that the value of the investment will decline when buying energy stocks. If gas prices decline, it should be obvious that energy stocks will lose value. Since a way to profit from rising oil prices does exist, I will have to state that those complaining the most want all of the benefits without any of the risk.

Any thoughtful comments/criticisms are appreciated.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: KrispyKreme50
Any thoughtful comments/criticisms are appreciated.

This thread is about food prices.

 

[KrispyKreme50]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: KrispyKreme50
Any thoughtful comments/criticisms are appreciated.

This thread is about food prices.

While you are correct, energy (especially oil) is an input into the price of almost every good including food. A discussion about the rise in food prices would not be complete without an analysis of its underlying causes. This ties into my original post because it reflected on the fact that many people are complaining about oil prices (and food prices as a result) when a way to profit from this trend clearly exists. Since other posters have also mentioned the price of oil in their responses, I did not feel that my post was too off-topic.