I've heard...
For months now about the rising cost of food and the latest reports are that the costs will continue to go up. Actually, for a long time we have been feeling the effects of the rising cost of food.
I saw...
This story in the first of a series by the BBC, The Cost of Food and the focus was on rice.
Right here in our own backyard in the Caribbean, the people of Haiti, already a poor nation have been on the streets rioting.
I fear...
For us here in the Region because we are very small nations and import a lot of our food. Barbados alone imports more than 80% of its food.
What's on your 2-cents on the topic?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
How much is your grocery bill?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
as long as food production is skewed in favour of some crops, as long as some people and nations continue to consume mindlessly and plunder resources, things will not get better. there were 150 plus indigenous grains in india a few centuries ago. now everyone eats white rice and wheat, which require more intensive farming. hat's part of the problem.
Haiti has caught my attention this week. I feel guilty at times blogging about food and such when I see this. We are by no means rich , but when when you put things in perspective...I also find to eat well and healthy costs more. Thats explains the obesity among the poor in the US .The abundance of proccesed foods, etc.
If this is just a passing phase which improves with better weather and good crops, be assured that people will stop thinking about it till the next crisis. What did the G7 do when they met - nothing much unless you count taking potshots at the US for diverting crops towards bio-fuel as "action"
And what do we do as laymen in this scenario when our governments don't seem to care?
Stop thinking about it as "not our problem" and start thinking of ways in which we can make a difference.
Eat seasonal and local
Take baby steps towards growing what you can in your own place - even if its just herbs in pots.
Write to your MLAs to encourage less exports and imports and instead encourage people to eat locally grown produce - Alphonso mangoes instead of kiwis anyone??!
Miri
how about putting some brakes on the biofuel madness in the usa...which have been shown to be worse for the environment and have diverted grains from foodcrops to biofuel...no attention to conservation. meanwhile, rice and wheat aren't being used in biofuels, but increasingly are more expensive to grow with the hybrids, use of petro-based pesticides, fertilizers, etc. and people in bangladesh are told to eat more potatoes: bharta-mash, chops, curries, chips and so forth.
check out your farmers' markets and sustainably produced food....and use them in some of cythnia's fine recipes!
kbw
"Eat seasonal and Local" ... Yes, I agree.
I also agree that to take a food source ... corn ... to put into a gas tank is insane !!
Here in the US we have paved over our farmland in our quest to live in the boonies ... I fear this will come back to bite us.
What a nice blog :)
I agree too!
1. Eat seasonal and local!
2. Grow your own!
3. Stop wastage!
4.. I myself keep a meal planning spreadsheet which I update every Friday. I decide the meals for the following week and shop for those ingredients on Saturday at the Farmers Market. This way I have significantly cut down on the cost and wastage. In fact, Jai & Bee's post which showed a picture of a starving child in Sudan being stalked by a vulture, was the reason I actually stepped up to take control of the situation starting at my home.
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the OLED, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://oled-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
I love rice... and today when I went to the market to purchase a bag of rice, I was dismayed when I saw the price of 25 lb. Jasmine Rice. It went up by 45%!! I decided not to buy any.. at least not today. I am sad that the price of food has gone totally out of control all over the world.
Last week, I read an article that a tempeh (soy bean cake) maker in Bali, Indonesia committed suicide because he could only make 0.85 USD per day, since the cost of soy beans kept increasing. He was too depressed and embarrassed that he could not support his family. What a tragic story...
Unfortunately my grocery bill and my gas bill are almost equal now.
:(
I think I've stopped looking at the prices. It's just too depressing. If I really want something and can afford to get it then I just go for it.
I often wonder, though, how people earning minimum wage afford to feed their families.
Comparison and check list will never match and thereis no such solutions..........great to meet you here, though this is my first visit to yoru blog, dear.
Post a Comment