Food Crisis Could Hit Canada

[farmers_son]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080423/world_vision_AM_080424/20080424?hub=TopStories

Food crisis could hit Canada, expert warns
Updated Thu. Apr. 24 2008 8:38 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The growing worldwide food crisis could hit Canada, warns one of the country's top consumer advocates.


Mel Fruitman, of the Consumers' Association of Canada, said that while food costs in Canada are currently among the lowest in the world, that will change.


"We are going to continue to be somewhat insulated for the next little while, but then the bubble is going to burst," Fruitman told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.


"Competition between the retailers helps us as consumers keep the price of our food basket down, but it also puts increasing pressure on the farms, on farmers, and that can't continue. Somewhere along the way the dam is going to burst."


For Canadians, the rising cost of fuel will have particular impact on the cost of food, particularly when consumers have come to expect a year-round supply of fresh fruits and vegetables in their grocery stores, Fruitman said.


"Anything that is trucked in, flown in, that comes from farther away than our normal hundred kilometres, say, is going to cost that much more to get to us," Fruitman said.


"And of course, the cost of fuel affects the cost of production of that food, it affects the cost of feed for the various animals. So, we are on a rising curve, there's no question about it."


In the meantime, Canadians can expect it to be business as usual when they shop for groceries. Retailers, so far, aren't putting limits on the sale of any food items.


Wal-Mart Canada issued a statement on Wednesday that it will not follow the lead of U.S. retailer Sam's Club, which recently put restrictions on large purchases of some types of specialty rice.


Meanwhile, there are fears in India that the domestic supply of rice will dry up, and riots have broken out in Haiti among residents who are already feeling the food crunch.

CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from India, told Canada AM on Thursday that India has cut back on its rice exports in order to keep the cost of rice down within the country. However, the move will have far-reaching consequences.

[per]

Every time I fly over the city in the summer and look down at all the land that is in Kentucky blue grass I wonder how much food could be grown there. My estimate is that easily 20% of the fruit and veggies could be grown in back yard gardens. Those are foodstuffs that are currently being trucked in from California and points farther. Going back to the 100 mile diet would certainly help our local food supply. The general public needs to realize that they need to put some effort into their nutritional needs. Maybe if it was called recreation there would be more enthusiasm.

[smcgrath76]

While we will and are seeing the rise of a local food movement, I think a lot of the knowledge base for how to grow food/gardens, and the time to do it has evaporated. If you live in the city in a $500,000 house you are too busy working to make the payments to have a lot of time left over for growing food. Once you get on the treadmill, it is pretty hard to get off.
In the US, gas stations recorded a larger percentage of their income from sale of food items than from the sale of fuel.
It is a big shift to change from a Grab and Go economy.

[farmers_son]

The cities have long ago lost any ability to feed themselves and are, for all intents and purposes, 100% dependent upon agriculture and a dwindling population of primary producers to provide them with the necessities of life.

Some things about the article I thought interesting…in times of shortages countries will prohibit exports of commodities in short supply, for instance India and rice. Typically we saw barriers to trade focused on imports. Now what we see happening is progress on removing restrictions on imports at the same exact time as we are beginning to see restrictions on exports. That is a significant development which has the potential to dramatically change the agriculture scene.

It is very interesting to see someone from a consumers group set the stage for higher food prices in Canada. Such things have a way of becoming self fulfilling prophecies. I thought this statement was particularly apt "Competition between the retailers helps us as consumers keep the price of our food basket down, but it also puts increasing pressure on the farms, on farmers, and that can't continue. Somewhere along the way the dam is going to burst."

I think the potential for much better times for the primary producer cannot be overlooked. We are seeing the beginnings of a competitive shift away from the consumer and retailer toward the primary producer. The next decade or two could be truly great times to be a farmer or rancher as long as governments can resist the urge to implement wage and price controls in order to maintain the status quo.

[farmers_son]

For anyone interested there is a very good article on Canada's farm land and the urban use of dependable farm land at:

http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/21-006-XIE/21-006-XIE2005001.pdf