Times UK: Food shortages loom as wheat crop shrinks and prices rise

[El Pinko]

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article3423734.ece



Food shortages loom as wheat crop shrinks and prices rise
Jonathan Leake

THE world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies after stocks fell to their lowest levels for 50 years.

The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high and could lead to further hikes in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods. It could also exacerbate serious food shortages in developing countries especially in Africa.

The crisis comes after two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests, which saw production fall from 624m to 600m tonnes, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Experts blame climate change as heatwaves caused a slump in harvests last year in eastern Europe, Canada, Morocco and Australia, all big wheat producers. Booming populations and a switch to a meat-rich diet in the developing world also mean that about 110m tons of the world’s annual wheat crop is being diverted to feed livestock.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Wise American consumers should consider the CSA option. Now.

The UN has making troubling predictions about the cost and availability of a lot of foods, on a global scale. The years ahead are likely to be very different, very real.

ABOUT CSA
"Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offers a way for every human being to be directly involved in the care and healing of the earth, while also ensuring a supply of clean, healthy food for their families and their neighbors..."

http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

[mainegreen]

2. CSAs are great!

We have a summer and a winter CSA. I trust my food, and I've found that by doing CSAs natural organic food is about 1/4 cheaper than generic blah sold at the supermarket.

Plus I like my farmers. I like knowing who my farmer is. I've been to the farm.

It's nice to be able to say that.

[dkf]

3. FAO predicts that the shortages could be eliminated within 12 months.

I hope so.

[SpiralHawk]

4. Me, too

eom