Grocery Prices!

[hummingbird]

Is anyone else as concerned about the price of groceries this year? We went to the store to get our Thanksgiving haul and it was outrageous! I think I'm going to increase the amount of garden that I grow next year. I've learned my lesson. I'm turning 2 acres of ground next year and growing stuff in my flower beds. I'm thinking of making some raised beds too. I already have a strawberry pyramid.

 

[OldSole]

We were just talking about that. I need to dig out the root cellar so it's a bit bigger. We already store our canned goods, onions, potatoes, carrots, and turnips. But we could use a bit more space to store more.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Blame a lot of it on the government subsidies and requirements for ethanol in fuel. It ran the price of corn up, and caused the price of feed to rise. This took a while to echo through the farm economy, but now we see the result.

I can't believe we have people stupid enough to believe that burning food is a good idea. Ethanol from corn is a net energy loser. It just enriches rich corporate donors like Cargill and ADM.

 

[Lamebeaver]

We still pay a lower percentage of our income on food than just about any other country in the world. As fuel prices increase, it's just going to get worse.

 

[MountainMan22]

I don't think that grocery prices are that outrageous. Our local grocery stores compete against eachother and each have their own deals they offer. Often we get free items because they do a lot of buy one get one free type marketing. My wife clips coupons so we save there too.

 

[Grandpa]

Another trick is to overload on the weekly sale leader items. Buying a case of something may seem extravagent but case by case and you can build a good reserve at a lower price. And as food inflates (and it will) next month you will be eating at this months rates.

Another thing, no matter how much you like your favorite grocery store, comparison shop with the others. They all have different sale items and you can save a lot by driving a little.

Caution, don't buy anything in bulk unless you have tried and like it. No sense having a case of chili that no one in the family likes.

 

[dinosaur]

I always buy beer by the case.

 

[Lorax]

Square foot gardening. Been doing it for almost twenty years.
Today's veggies are made to freeze well.

 

[ejdixon]

My girlfriend and I have started growing a few veggies in our apartment to try to lower our grocery expenses. We've also started buying things by the bulk. That way, don't have to go to the grocery every week. So far, it's working.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Square foot gardening works really well! I'm fortunate to own a vacant lot behind the house so I can put in a reasonable sized garden. I did a few veggies last summer, but have plans for more this coming one.

 

[ppine]

I agree with Lamebeaver. We have had cheap food prices for decades. The US is now a net importer of food products and wood products. The US Forest Service operates at a loss. We need to change the way we regulate primary economic activity and make it work in our favor.

Biofuels are definiteley viable, but corn based enthanol is an inefficient choice. It only produces about 1 1/2 times the energy it takes to process it. The Brazilians have embraced sugar cane for biofuels and have become fuel exporters, partly because 1 unit of cane produces 8 units of energy. We need to pursue algae based biofuels and nat gas impregated diesel fuel.

Increasing energy costs are a large driver of food cost increases, especially since food production is a global issue. Buy local crops whenever you can.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Biofuels are generally inefficient and expensive and only viable due to large subsidies (both direct and via tax) and by fuel blending mandates, as in the case of ethanol. With the huge natural gas discoveries in the Marcellus shale (and the even larger and deeper Utica shale) it would make more sense to do natural gas-to-liquids via Fisher-Tropsch plants.

 

[Fox38]

We started bigger gardens last year. You are right, groceries are going up and it's only going to get worse. I also use coupons - I try to use a coupon for everything I buy.

 

[ppine]

wvbream,

I completely disagree about biofuels in general. Corn-based ethanol is not the answer specifically. We suffer from technilogical inertia in this country and are used to cheap dino fuels. The people in power for a long time have had relationships with big oil.

I am a huge fan of diesel technology which can easily take advantage of all sorts of biofuels. Here in Carson Valley of all places, we have 99% biodiesel for sale for less than dino based diesel. It is not suitable for winter use however without some precautions. I am very optimistic about the future of diesel in this country. It will take many new sources of energy to eliminate our imports of oil. Most people do not realize that we now import most of our oil from Canada and Mexico, not the middle East.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Ppine- I don't know about the Carson Valley in particular, but in general, biodiesel is only price competitive because of tax subsidies. It also has significant transportation problems because it is not transportable in pipelines for a number of reasons, mostly due to contamination of biodiesel in jet fuel. Of course, the methanol used to make the biodiesel (Methyl ester of various fatty acids) is overwhelmingly made from petrochemicals.

I tend to agree with the potential for diesel engines in general, as they can be considerable more fuel efficient, but based on my reading, and conversations with people at one of the largest biofuels companies (Future Fuel, Batesville, AR), I believe that biodiesel will remain a niche fuel that will require permanent subsidies to be viable.

I know of a lot of very smart people that have worked hard on a lot of different potential biofuel sources. Barring a major break thru, I can't see how they can ever get past the serious problems involved in scaling them up to replace a significant amount of petroleum.

Just my $0.02 based on 30+ years experience in the chemical industry.

 

[jason]

I've turned my wife into a coupon monster. She gets some really good deals sometimes. However, fresh veggies rarely go on sale here so we have a 3,000 square foot garden. I'm also looking into chickens for both meat and eggs, turkey's because I love turkey meat, and goats. They would be more for fun, but milk and meat too. I really wanted to do meat rabbits, but that has caused some bad feelings in the family.

 

[ppine]

Bream,

Diesel powered cars are now winning the 24 hours of LeMans. We have only scratched the surface. My Ford F-350 now produces 350 hp and gets 24 mpg. I have made a few mods on it to get to this position. Biofuels are one of the solutions to energy independence. Then we don't have to fight wars with other countries over oil.

Food prices relflect increased costs of petro fuel. Fertilizer prices have doubled recently due to fuel costs. Increased fuel costs affect the cost to run machinery for tillage, harvesting and processing. Then we have transportation costs. Gov't subsidies are a small part of the problem.

Our food production is too centralized and even global in nature. That makes it very vulnerable to rapid price increases. As long as we are net importers of food, with our natural resource base, we are in trouble.

 

[rockytibby]

I know what you mean about food prices. For the last 6 months I have noticed that my grocery bill is around 50 to 60 dollars more than it has been in the past. I have never had a garden, but I think come spring I will start a small one, plus I absolutely love home grown tomatoes.

 

[dinosaur]

Golly, you fellas shure know a lot about that there bio-whatsits fuel! Out chere on the farm we just use corn squeezins in our cars. Makes 'em run like a raped ape! 'Course the car needs a valve job ever so often but that ain't no problem.

We got us a diesel tractor but we ain't bought no fuel for it since before grandpa died. We just shoot some of the corn licker into ten gallons of peanut oil, wait a while and skim the solid stuff offn' the top of it, then pour the rest into the tank. Tractor runs fine on it.

 

[Michelle]

My kids are getting used to generic snacks. It was either that or they could go without, thankfully the generic products are a lot better than they used to be.