Where”s the bacon?
High corn prices have sliced into the hog business.
What”s up with the price of Georgia pecans?
The Chinese have developed a taste for Southern pecans.
Why”s your caffeine habit getting so expensive?
The coffee craze has gone global.
While prices at the pump are already up due to increased global demand, some of our favorite staples are following suit for the same reason.
These days, it seems we”re pumping more corn into our tanks — in the form of ethanol — than we are using as food.
The many faces of corn are driving its cost up to record levels and, consequently, the cost to fill the hogs” bellies. So the price of those pork bellies, where we get our sizzling slices of bacon, has jumped to $130 per 100 pounds from $94 per 100 pounds this time last year.
Locally, the price increases haven”t hit restaurants yet, but they”ve made their way to the grocery stores.
And while the pork predicament may be our own fault, in a struggle for fuel independence, we can point the finger at our friends in China for our pricey pecans.
In 2005, China took in about 1 percent of the U.S.”s 280 million pounds of exported pecans. They got hooked.
In 2009, China took a whopping 28 percent of the pecan pie.
This Thanksgiving, we may have to revert to the sweet potato pie sans that pecan topping. OK, maybe we”ll be less affected locally, where we have an abundance of backyard pecan trees.
Meanwhile, we”re all to blame for the coffee prices. Higher fuel costs play a part, but mostly it”s the high demand for the black stuff. The price for a pound of raw coffee beans has nearly doubled in the past year. And we can”t get enough.
Demand has increased by 23 percent over the last decade, worldwide. And where specialty roasters used to be the only ones demanding the highest-quality beans, even the traditional household brands are getting in on the select roasts.
Next time you notice a spike in the price of your favorite foods, just think, it might be a craving from the other side of the world driving it up. How”s that for thinking globally?
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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