On The Rise: Chicken and Pork

           With the steady increase in food prices, analysts predict that food inflation could possibly double this year due to the skyrocketing price of gas and corn.  Next in line for inflation are chicken and pork.  Producers are now trying to decrease their supply so they can raise their prices.  According to the Democrat and Chronicle, “chicken and pig producers  who have been losing money, are now slaughtering more animals to decrease the supply and raise the prices they can charge.”

          As frustrating and upsetting as all of this is, the part of the story which really caught my eye was a quote from Jim Hertel, a consultant of Willard Bishop food retail consultants.  He feels that “high commodity and fuel prices, along with high demand from India and China, could push food inflation anywhere from 7 to 10 percent.”

          So why is demand for products on the other side of the world hurting people in our country — where the products are produce?  This is the same Communist China that has no child worker laws.  This is the same Communist China that has supported genocide in Darfur?  And what about the Dali Lama and Tibet?

         We need to starting thinking more about the needs of our own citizens.  Let the Chinese produce their own food.  It’s bad enough they are stealing our jobs but now we are providing diner? Government leaders should limit the amount of food that can be exported.  They must address the growing cost of food quickly.  Working class people are really being squeezed.         

2 Responses to “On The Rise: Chicken and Pork”

  1. Think about the fact that in America we have never really needed to worry about food. This is not true throughout history. Many immigrants have come to America from Europe to escape famine. The Irish are the prime examples. If we are not careful we could see food shortages right here.

    One issue is the law of unintended consequences, we use our food for energy and that has created food shortages.

  2. Sherman,

    Opened the notebook for first time since Saturday only for the NC & IN results. I did see the thematic D&C articles, including your first paragraph quote from them, which puzzles me, “chicken and pig producers who have been losing money, are now slaughtering more animals to decrease the supply and raise the prices they can charge.” I guess i’m just being stupid, but doesn’t that mean an INCREASE of supply? I did see, I believe it was Sunday D&C, a cartoon dipicting Chucky Cheese Shumer ‘if we drill now we won’t see results in 10 years and it will save us a penny a gallon.’ Supply and demand seems to elude my two state senators, as well as the D&C. Not that Republicans are adverse to wage and price controls but , they don’t work. How could some stupid, fashoinable, sub prime lending in the US (do you know anyone that used that?) lead a Swiss bank to write off 12 Billion $ loss? Something stinks there too.

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