Moms' new battle: The food price bulge

[Sarah in SC]

DD, that is funny, as my memories of it are wonderful--we used it (and UHT milk) when we went cruising for the summer of 2003 in the Bahamas. I associate powdered milk with very happy times....

But, I drink "fancy" now--only drink pastured organic--the Organic Valley brand. Must drink milk from happy cows on pasture! I scrimp in a couple of other places...

 

[CuppaJoe]

Wow, who would have thought that you can save money by keeping leftovers instead of throwing everything away for the sake of convenience. Maybe the higher prices are good in a sense that it will force people to use some common sense and stop being as wasteful.

Yeah, the article could be recycled, rewriten to say that people who are the "victims" of upscale marketing and convenience have a lot of leaway to cut back. The downscaling reminds me of how my grandma lived in the '50s. Still love the image of her wheeling the wringer washer out into the yard on a warm day, and taking a knife to slice her hand-made lye soap into the machine.

 

[W2R]

I will do many things to LBYM but I draw the line at powdered milk. Had to drink it when finances were tight growing up. That stuff is just foul... and raises bad memories.

DD

I drink a lot of it, and like it almost as well as fresh skim milk. Besides, I don't have to run to the store to buy it fresh because it doesn't spoil.

I'm not saying that I do it to LBYM - - I'm saying that I drink powdered milk because it's convenient, fat free, and I have learned to like it. Each to his/her own....

 

[DblDoc]

With the price of corn and grain having recently gone through the roof I guess having chickens just for the eggs would not be cost effective. However if your intentions are to ring a neck every now and then have some fresh chicken, that one would know had not been violated by hormones or human hands, then I would say keep the chickens.

Does this answer your question?

GOD BLESS US ALL

Feed has been going up. I don't think it is cost effective just for the eggs but we also feed them table scraps (they are ravenous omnivours) and weeds from the garden so the feed goes that much farther. There are more eggs then we can eat so we give them to friends. We also get straw mixed with chicke s*&t that goes into the compost which saves us from using much fertilizer. The biggest downside is it makes it a challenge to get away for more then a few days.

DD

 

[TromboneAl]

As far as corn ethanol goes, I don't know who came up with idea, but it's probably the most idiotic idea of the decade, no matter how you slice it. When I see the fundamentals behind corn ethanol production, I want to shoot myself. I can't even comprehend how anyone could see it as a the way to wean us off foreign oil. The math doesn't work. The chemistry doesn't work. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

It's right up there with hydrogen-powered cars -- another government favorite.

 

[REWahoo]

Feed has been going up.

According to some, we're in the midst of a chicken crisis...

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the world's biggest poultry processor, will close a U.S. chicken-processing plant and six distribution centers and cut 1,100 jobs, blaming U.S. ethanol policies for pushing the industry into ``crisis.''

The company is considering closing other production facilities, citing oversupply and a ``crisis facing the U.S. chicken industry'' because of rising feed costs. Costs have surged along with the price of corn, which reached a record $5.795 a bushel yesterday in Chicago. U.S. mandates promoting ethanol use led to record demand for fuel derived from crops.

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Maybe the solution is to feed them powdered milk.

 

[W2R]

Maybe the solution is to feed them powdered milk.

Sorry, there won't be enough available. Once I ER to Missouri next year, I'm planning to hoard it for the long, icy winters up there.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Feed has been going up. I don't think it is cost effective just for the eggs but we also feed them table scraps (they are ravenous omnivours) and weeds from the garden so the feed goes that much farther. There are more eggs then we can eat so we give them to friends. We also get straw mixed with chicke s*&t that goes into the compost which saves us from using much fertilizer. The biggest downside is it makes it a challenge to get away for more then a few days.

DD

Interesting. I didn't know you could feed them table scraps.

 

[FIREd]

Interesting. I didn't know you could feed them table scraps.

My grandparents used to feed their chickens a mixture of vegetable peels and stale bread boiled in water. I don't know why they boiled these things in water before feeding them to the chicken. Otherwise the chicken would just feast on small amounts of chicken feed and whatever else they could dig up from the yard.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I buy frozen pastured poultry from a SC farmer that does not feed corn or other grain to his chickens, likewise we buy fresh eggs from a pastured poultry farm locally. It all tastes wonderful, as I'm sure Dbl Doc's chicken and eggs do!
I think they feed them a variety of field "spoils" left over after vegetable harvests.

 

[Johnphx]

Having grown up on welfare, eating puffed rice and drinking powdered milk are two things I am holding out on as far as cutting back on spending.

I fail to understand the idea that anyone wouldn't keep and eat leftovers (especially if you can take them into work and have it for lunches the next day).

 

[shoe]

I got so irritated with spending nearly 3 bucks on a loaf of crappy bread that I dug out the old bread machine 6 months ago and have made our own ever since. There is 55c worth of flour in a 2lb loaf and if you buy the yeast in 1lb packs it is dirt cheap. Fun too!!

 

[bssc]

Many more moms are cooking at home, growing their own vegetables, breastfeeding instead of buying expensive formula, using leftovers to stretch the week's meals, and even hoarding discounted products.

I liked "hoarding discounted products" because it is such an emotionally charged phrase. I always called it buying in bulk when things are on sale.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I got so irritated with spending nearly 3 bucks on a loaf of crappy bread that I dug out the old bread machine 6 months ago and have made our own ever since. There is 55c worth of flour in a 2lb loaf and if you buy the yeast in 1lb packs it is dirt cheap. Fun too!!

Costco...whole grain multigrain bread, two loaves for $3.50

But my wife likes firing up the breadmaker on occasion. Makes the house smell nice!

 

[Khan]

I buy frozen pastured poultry from a SC farmer that does not feed corn or other grain to his chickens, likewise we buy fresh eggs from a pastured poultry farm locally. It all tastes wonderful, as I'm sure Dbl Doc's chicken and eggs do!
I think they feed them a variety of field "spoils" left over after vegetable harvests.

Chickens also eat worms and bugs.

One system is to have two small plots (one garden, one chicken yard) and swap every year; chickens scratch, and eat bugs and weed seeds, and add fertilizer. You can also put the compost bin at one end of the chicken run and let them do their thing on the compost.

I do not want chickens.
I do not want chickens.
I do not want chickens.

 

[Walt34]

The math doesn't work. The chemistry doesn't work. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

So when have mere facts deterred a politician from doing anything?

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Costco...whole grain multigrain bread, two loaves for $3.50
quote]

I keep reading how the price of grain is going up but we have a local grocery store chain up here that hasn't increased it's bread prices at all.....$1.29 for a loaf....still the cheapest compared to other bigger retailers up here.

 

[Jeremy]

I keep reading how the price of grain is going up but we have a local grocery store chain up here that hasn't increased it's bread prices at all.....$1.29 for a loaf....still the cheapest compared to other bigger retailers up here.

Same here. Obviously, some parts of the country will experience different price changes, but I just went shopping today and a loaf of bread was $1.39, dozen eggs were $1.49, and a gallon of milk was $3.19. None of these items were on sale. Been shopping at the same store for about 3 years, and none of the staples have really changed in price except for the organic stuff.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Well lets see. Costco had eggs 18 for $1.20ish, and milk was two gallons for $3.99. Two years ago. I dont remember what the bread prices were.

Now the eggs are $2.28 for 18 and the milk is $5.99 for two gallons.

A loaf of regular decent bread like orowheat or earthgrains in a local supermarket is generally between $4 and $5. A double milk is $6.99. An 18 pack of eggs is $3.29.

 

[W2R]

Same here. Obviously, some parts of the country will experience different price changes, but I just went shopping today and a loaf of bread was $1.39, dozen eggs were $1.49, and a gallon of milk was $3.19. None of these items were on sale. Been shopping at the same store for about 3 years, and none of the staples have really changed in price except for the organic stuff.

This is definitely regional. Bread at my (average priced) grocery store is $2/loaf, and milk is around $4. Plenty of foods have increased in price lately, and the price of groceries is shocking to me! but prices are way lower than in some other regions.

I try not to look at prices.

 

[Khan]

It's been many years since I bought milk and several months since I bought bread. I buy most meat/eggs from local farmers. Don't really know if prices are going up.

 

[Wags]

USA Today - Poll: Food costs a major worry for consumers

Poll: Food costs a major worry for consumers - USATODAY.com

Excerpts from the article

Rising food prices are a significant worry for Americans, with 73% of consumers in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll citing higher grocery bills as a concern, and nearly half saying food inflation has caused a hardship for their households.

Consumer food inflation has been running at a 5.3% annual rate in the past three months, the Labor Department says. The largest price increases are white bread, up 16.3% in the past 12 months; milk, which has risen 13.3%; eggs, up 34.8%; and bananas, which are 17% higher.

Prices are being influenced by several factors, including rising U.S. exports, growing demand in nations such as China and India, poor crops in some important producing countries such as Australia, and the emergence of the biofuels industry. Economists predict a third of the U.S. corn crop will be diverted to government-subsidized ethanol production.

End of excerpts.

Things are not looking good for the American family.

The use of corn and grain for biofuels are not only affecting food prices in the U.S.A but they are also having a severe effect on the availability of rice and other foods worldwide which have lead to hunger, protests and violence.

In memory of Mr. Al Wilson - rest in peace

YouTube - AL WILSON SHOW & TELL ORIGINAL VIDEO

GOD BLESS US ALL

 

[ERD50]

And the milk? Why not powdered milk if they are really interested in scrimping?

Is it really cheaper? I can see WTR's point about convenience and storage, if you don't use much milk, but cheaper?

I've priced it out for use in cheese-making (some say adding cream to powdered milk can provide a better base for cheese-making than some store-bought whole milk), and it looked to be as much or more than the liquid stuff.



It's already been pointed out how stupid the ethanol-from-corn policy is. And now, from the same people that brought you ethanol, it's hydrogen - hydrogen is the new ethanol!

You can make it from water! Isn't that just wonderful <insert picture of kittens and rainbows>! Our government to the rescue, once again! What would we do without them!

Fact Sheet: Hydrogen Fuel: a Clean and Secure Energy Future

search 'hydrogen and hoax' in the titles of this forum for a good discussion on the subject. Good Morning america did an Earth Day segment yesterday, and they were touting this hydrogen car, because you know 'hydrogen is an abundant fuel, available right here in the good old USA'.... Arghhhhhh! with the resources available to the production staff of GMA, you'd think they could afford to do a little fact checking.

-ERD50

 

[Wags]

It's already been pointed out how stupid the ethanol-from-corn policy is. And now, from the same people that brought you ethanol, it's hydrogen - hydrogen is the new ethanol!

You can make it from water! Isn't that just wonderful <insert picture of kittens and rainbows>! Our government to the rescue, once again! What would we do without them!

Fact Sheet: Hydrogen Fuel: a Clean and Secure Energy Future

search 'hydrogen and hoax' in the titles of this forum for a good discussion on the subject. Good Morning america did an Earth Day segment yesterday, and they were touting this hydrogen car, because you know 'hydrogen is an abundant fuel, available right here in the good old USA'.... Arghhhhhh! with the resources available to the production staff of GMA, you'd think they could afford to do a little fact checking.

-ERD50

The use of corn and grains for ethanol does not seem to be working and it is creating a food crisis.

Here is a site that I came across that addresses water fueled cars.

Water Car Run on WATER+Fuel. Hydrogen Save Gas=FREE ENERGY!

I do not know if the site is on the up and up or if it is just a way to get people to buy into a product that is a hoax and in the end will get people to fool·ish·ly part with their hard earned cash.

 

[two4theroad]

"Crimes against Humanity"

I saw a blurb yesterday during a short news story on increasing worldwide hunger that said world opinion is that America is committing "Crimes against Humanity" with the ethanol policy. I agree. I believe that until the technology exists to make ethanol from waste products (non-food and non-fertilized) it will cause more human misery than any other additive ever has.
2fer