Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.
At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy. “Where’s the rice?” an engineer from Palo Alto, Calif., Yajun Liu, said. “You should be able to buy something like rice. This is ridiculous.” The bustling store in the heart of Silicon Valley usually sells four or five varieties of rice to a clientele largely of Asian immigrants, but only about half a pallet of Indian-grown Basmati rice was left in stock. A 20-pound bag was selling for $15.99.
“You can’t eat this every day. It’s too heavy,” a health care executive from Palo Alto, Sharad Patel, grumbled as his son loaded two sacks of the Basmati into a shopping cart. “We only need one bag but I’m getting two in case a neighbor or a friend needs it,” the elder man said.
The Patels seemed headed for disappointment, as most Costco members were being allowed to buy only one bag. Moments earlier, a clerk dropped two sacks back on the stack after taking them from another customer who tried to exceed the one-bag cap.
An employee at the Costco store in Queens said there were no restrictions on rice buying, but limits were being imposed on purchases of oil and flour. Internet postings attributed some of the shortage at the retail level to bakery owners who flocked to warehouse stores when the price of flour from commercial suppliers doubled.
The curbs and shortages are being tracked with concern by survivalists who view the phenomenon as a harbinger of more serious trouble to come. “The number of reports I’ve been getting from readers who have seen signs posted with limits has increased almost exponentially, I’d say in the last three to five weeks.”
Spiking food prices have led to riots in recent weeks in Haiti, Indonesia, and several African nations. India recently banned export of all but the highest quality rice, and Vietnam blocked the signing of new contract for foreign rice sales.
Forbes reports the price of oil at $117.00 / barrel today.
Update:Japan’s hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations
According to one government poll, 80% of Japanese are frightened about what the future holds for their food supply.
Last week, as the prices of wheat and barley continued their relentless climb, the Japanese Government discovered it had exhausted its ¥230 billion ($A2.37 billion) budget for the grains with two months remaining. It was forced to call on an emergency ¥55 billion reserve to ensure it could continue feeding the nation.”This was the first time the Government has had to take such drastic action since the war,” said Akio Shibata, an expert on food imports, who warned the Agriculture Ministry two years ago that Japan would have to cut back drastically on its sophisticated diet if it did not become more self-sufficient
#60. When all is done, Bush will make a good host for “Deal or no Deal”.
#61–McCullough==THATS an insult to condom on head wearing insult comics everywhere, and as such, not low enough.
We can do better. Something with Jimmy Swaggart in it?
#45, he’s talking about the EPA study that said second-hand smoke caused cancer.
The basic timeline was they decided to form a task-force on smoking. They decided that the threat of second-hand smoke would be the way to galvanize the public. So they commissioned a review of the science and also started creating action items in response to the threat. Then the review showed no correlation between second-hand smoking and cancer. Then they manipulated the science so they could go ahead with their action items. What they had was some studies that showed no correlation, more studies that showed a small but negligible correlation, and 2 studies that showed the opposite(not implausible that second-hand might create an immunity). So the EPA then changed the definition of statistically-significant and said the studies showed a correlation between second-hand smoke and cancer. Classic case of manipulating science for politics.
>>he’s talking about the EPA study that
>>said second-hand smoke caused cancer.
Well, he said UN, you said EPA, who knows what he’s talking about better, you or him?
In any case, what’s it matter? The EPA study reported that second-hand smoke cause >3000 deaths per year, the UN report showed pretty much the same thing, with even worse mortality figures.
So, when Pmitchell in Message #43 talks about “the UN,the people … who quashed the study showing 2nd hand smoke didn’t cause more cancer because it didn’t have the results they wanted”, just what the fuck is he talking about? And what the fuck are you talking about? Start making sense!!!
#64 “>3000 deaths per year, the UN report showed pretty much the same thing, with even worse mortality figures.”
And yet, where are all the autopsy reports to back it up?
#63, OK, I never read Pmitchell’s post. I just know about the EPA study from the 90s. I gave you the details. Suppose you had 100 people in your control group and 5 got cancer, and 100 people in your group that ate fruit loops and 6 got cancer. Well you can’t just state that cancer goes up by 20%. There is a certain level of sampling required and a certain level of increase required before you can say there is a correlation. The EPA ignored those basic rules to get the result they were looking for.
This story is COMPLETE AND UTTER BS. I doubt that it ever even happened. The NY Sun is a Neocon Propagandist rag. Why this site would even bother to quote one of their useless stories is beyond me.
This is entirely about the Oil Companies, and their Neocon buddies, trying to scare people off from further use of biofuels.
Again, the stupid idiotic American Sheeple fall for more BS. Some things NEVER change.
No… just like Global Warming …95% hype! Makes a good political issue now that the market is simply “in a normal slow down” due to the sub-prime debacle and we are NOT in a recession.
The more we use Biofuels, the greater our food shortages will be. Food that once was being used for feeding people now are being used to fuel our cars.
69,
no…
That would only happen if we KEPT selling food to the other nations. WE SUPPLY over 1/3 of the worlds food.