Food Prices

[xaeniac]

Is it just me or are food prices really rising? Prices are are on the up and up; especially beef and dairy products. Thoughts? No one is really talking about this either.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't notice so much. I don't buy fresh meat, but I have noticed milk and eggs have been on the high side for awhile now.

 

[bbhaag]

Ya prices have been slowly going up over the past year or two. We used to get away with a $125 grocery bill every couple of weeks in the past but now it creeps up to around $150 to $160. If we have to buy items like garbage bags or laundry detergent it can go a little higher. It makes it tough for a family of four making right around $65k a year like we do.

 

[mmntech]

Beef and fish prices have really gone up in the last couple of years. The sunday roast is being relegated to holidays now. Dairy has long been grossly overpriced here. Supposedly a lot of our food is being exported to China, which is why the prices are so high. Supply and demand. I guess they get a higher price over there.

 

[lxskllr]

Dairy has long been grossly overpriced here. Supposedly a lot of our food is being exported to China, which is why the prices are so high. Supply and demand. I guess they get a higher price over there.

Ingrate. They fortify it with cadmium and mercury, then sell it back to you cheaper than your inferior unfortified raw material. Some people are never happy :^S

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Beef and fish prices have really gone up in the last couple of years. The sunday roast is being relegated to holidays now. Dairy has long been grossly overpriced here. Supposedly a lot of our food is being exported to China, which is why the prices are so high. Supply and demand. I guess they get a higher price over there.

It's not a demand problem, it's a supply problem. Major droughts in the prime cattle states and a couple of years where disease was culling herds. It's been something like seven straight years of declining livestock and there are now fewer beef cattle in the US than at any point since the 1950s.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It's not a demand problem, it's a supply problem. Major droughts in the prime cattle states and a couple of years where disease was culling herds. It's been something like seven straight years of declining livestock and there are now fewer beef cattle in the US than at any point since the 1950s.

Food prices these days have very little to do with supply and demand. It's all about food warehousing, transportation and price fixing. Crowding out smaller brands, kickbacks for more shelf space and political games at the State level are the catalysts behind rising prices. Supply and demand are all but, irrelevant.

 

[Ns1]

Almond and beef prices are crazy these days.

 

[Sonikku]

I wouldn't worry. I'm sure wages will be adjusted accordingly.

 

[Mai72]

I wouldn't worry. I'm sure wages will be adjusted accordingly.

Lol

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Food prices these days have very little to do with supply and demand. It's all about food warehousing, transportation and price fixing. Crowding out smaller brands, kickbacks for more shelf space and political games at the State level are the catalysts behind rising prices. Supply and demand are all but, irrelevant.

Livestock are not warehoused, animals are raised and brought to market immediately as the point where they can be sold, every day beyond that costs the producers money. Fresh meat can't be warehoused, it goes bad. Beef is not controlled by "major brands" and smaller brands are not squeezed out. There are no kickbacks for shelf space in supermarkets meat case. The beef price spike is 100% environmental with drought decimating herds and shooting feed prices through the roof. Not a single factor you cite has anything to do with it and you're clueless.

 

[Mai72]

I don't know how a family does it anymore. It's sad. I can only imagine what grocery shopping will cost in 20 years.

 

[mmntech]

Food prices these days have very little to do with supply and demand. It's all about food warehousing, transportation and price fixing. Crowding out smaller brands, kickbacks for more shelf space and political games at the State level are the catalysts behind rising prices. Supply and demand are all but, irrelevant.

Yep. Here in Canada the meat and dairy industry are still working under an outdated government quota system. Which is why milk is obscenely overpriced. It only really benefits large dairy producers. The small time farmers don't want it.

Canada only deals with supply issues in the winter when produce has to be imported. Otherwise we have our own domestic meat and fish.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Livestock are not warehoused, animals are raised and brought to market immediately as the point where they can be sold, every day beyond that costs the producers money. Fresh meat can't be warehoused, it goes bad. Beef is not controlled by "major brands" and smaller brands are not squeezed out. There are no kickbacks for shelf space in supermarkets meat case. The beef price spike is 100% environmental with drought decimating herds and shooting feed prices through the roof. Not a single factor you cite has anything to do with it and you're clueless.

The majority of beef is purchased frozen not fresh. Beef is indeed controlled by the large packers who squeeze out smaller packers forcing them to find other markets or, sell at a smaller margin which is never passed on to the consumer. While drought and disease play a part, the real story is the lack of flexibility in the large packers. According to supply and demand, smaller producers and packers should step in but, they were forced out of business years ago by predatory business practices. Finally, we were talking about food prices in general not, specifically beef.

 

[Skaendo]

Supposedly a lot of our food is being exported to China

Actually other countries don't want our food anymore because of the GMOs that our government approves and forces on our farmers & ranchers.

It's not a demand problem, it's a supply problem. Major droughts in the prime cattle states and a couple of years where disease was culling herds. It's been something like seven straight years of declining livestock and there are now fewer beef cattle in the US than at any point since the 1950s.

I beg to differ. In South Dakota around where I lived last year and for the previous 10 years, all the cattle ranches were increasing their heads by 3000+ on each ranch. And this is the good black angus.

Pork prices are ridiculous, this is due to disease in the past few years. But they should be coming back down in the next year or so. *This years profit per pig was $60 where normally it is at about $10 per pig.

Expect cotton item prices to go up drastically. Here in Texas we had a incredibly wet growing season and output on cotton is expected to be 1 million less bushels than last years 4 million.

Interesting cotton fact: Most cotton grown in the US is shipped raw to countries like China where they turn it into products and sell them back to us.

 

[Slew Foot]

Thats ok, the gubmint tells me that inflation is non existant.

 

[dmcowen674]

Food Prices

Is it just me or are food prices really rising? Prices are are on the up and up; especially beef and dairy products. Thoughts? No one is really talking about this either.

Everyone on AT makes six figures or better so they don't notice.

 

[luv2liv]

Glad I don't eat meat. Seems like such a waste of money eating it and then have to worry about cholesterol and other health issues. By next year I hope to have a vertical garden to save some money

 

[doubledeluxe]

Ask for a raise to offset your higher costs.

 

[kranky]

She does the shopping and brought this up a while ago. We aren't really on a tight grocery budget so prices would have to make a pretty big move for her to notice.

We're a little insulated since some family members raise animals and we get beef and pork for pretty cheap. But the one who raises pigs used to pay $15 for a piglet to raise, and his supplier now charges $150. In the last year or so we started to buy more from the family and split it with some friends.

And she's discovered Whole Foods and gotten on an organic kick which hasn't helped with cost.

 

[KB]

I have noticed this too. Last year we had high prices for a variety of commoditities due to drought. We will see if the prices keep rising in the next year. Now with corn and wheat futures prices at their lowest in years, a rising dollar and dropping oil prices we should see prices coming down in the future unless supply and demand are totally out of whack.

 

[Scarpozzi]

They've definitely gone up. It's hard to get a good steak in this town for less than $30.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I don't notice/care.

If it's really a problem, I just eat less. 40 bucks a week max for food.

Glad I don't eat meat. Seems like such a waste of money eating it and then have to worry about cholesterol and other health issues. By next year I hope to have a vertical garden to save some money

Cholesterol doesn't work that way. Also, there are health issues associated with eating kale. Eating too much of anything is bad for you.

 

[waggy]

it sure has gone up. milk is more expensive thats for sure. we go through about a gallon every 4 days.

As for eggs we get them free. A friend of ours has like 30 or so chickens. they always have a bunch of eggs. we get 1-2 dozen a week.

even little things have gone up. butter, surger and flour..etc.

 

[doubledeluxe]

When I was in college I used to go to the ethnic grocery stores in the bad part of town and get groceries way cheaper. You can try that where you live and see how it goes.