World's poor pay price as crop research is cut

[krbe 193]

Sam's Club, the members-only warehouses run by Walmart, are beginning to ration rice: Each member may now only buy 4 9-kg / 20-lbs bags of rice. While the amount is far higher than war-time rationing, it is deemed necessary in order to provide rice to all members. Sam's Club stresses that they do not experience a rice shortage.

Still, rice rose above USD 1000 for one tonne of rice for the first time the 18^th of this month, partly as millions of Asians are moving from one daily meal to two. Governments of rice producing nations such as Vietnam and the Phillipines are encouaring rice producers to speed up the tempo, including banning the conversion of arable land to other uses as an effort to combat rising prices. The price hikes, which exceeded ten percent in one week last week, has led to riots in countries such as Bangladesh, Haiti, and Côte d'Ivoire. Rice is the most important grain for half the world's population, most in some of the poorest countries of Asia and Africa.

[patriots_1228 51]

Americans should stop eating rice altogether then. We have plenty of other foods, but there are other countries where the poor and starving rely on rice everyday to live. Besides, its not like anyone is going to go into withdrawel from a lack of rice.

[Micah 16]

Originally posted by: patriots_1228 Americans should stop eating rice altogether then. We have plenty of other foods, but there are other countries where the poor and starving rely on rice everyday to live. Besides, its not like anyone is going to go into withdrawel from a lack of rice.quote>

 

Exactly. Why eat rice when we have a wide variety to pick from?

[frdrcklim 139]

Yeah. It's bad. I live in the Philippines. We're now actually the world's largest importer of rice. That was not the case before. Even the cost pandesal (it's the people's bread) is rising. Government tries to make it cheaper by mixing ingredients of squash. I think it's genius since they say it's more nutritious and it doesn't change the taste of the bread. Today, I heard that the government is making an alternative for rice by telling consumers to buy root crops which is more nutritious than rice they say.

[Callbat 8]

This isn't going to affect Spanish rice I hope......

because without Paella I would go absolutely mad..........

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: krbe Sam's Club, the members-only warehouses run by Walmart, are beginning to ration rice: Each member may now only buy 4 9-kg / 20-lbs bags of rice. While the amount is far higher than war-time rationing, it is deemed necessary in order to provide rice to all members. Sam's Club stresses that they do not experience a rice shortage.

Still, rice rose above USD 1000 for one tonne of rice for the first time the 18^th of this month, partly as millions of Asians are moving from one daily meal to two. Governments of rice producing nations such as Vietnam and the Phillipines are encouaring rice producers to speed up the tempo, including banning the conversion of arable land to other uses as an effort to combat rising prices. The price hikes, which exceeded ten percent in one week last week, has led to riots in countries such as Bangladesh, Haiti, and Côte d'Ivoire. Rice is the most important grain for half the world's population, most in some of the poorest countries of Asia and Africa.quote>

 

Were rationing but were not experciencing a rice shortage.

Hmmm

[krbe 193]

Originally posted by: Easy BakesWere rationing but were not experciencing a rice shortage.

Hmmmquote>

It may sound a bit weird to be rationing while having enough, and indeed capping it at four bags

[saltandsauce 0]

nothing wrong with rationing people in WW2 had rationed food and nobody starved it stops some greedy pig from buying endless mountains of the stuff

[Haljackey 17,440]

Well, this should help encourage people to buy locally grown foods.

-Why ship food halfway around the world when there is already food here?  It is a total waste of resources. 

Of course, this will never happen because there is a market for it. Chinese food will never be the same without rice, same with sushi.

This just goes to show you that even though we have enough food to feed our population many times over, we still import more of the stuff from places that need it.  If anything, the cycle should be reversed, but no one is going to make money that way.

Just my thoughts on the issue.  It isn't just rice that is increasing, all grains are.  Here in Ontario a loaf of bread is $2.00 CAD minimum, when it was just $0.60 a decade ago.  Talk about a price hike!

Best,

-Haljackey

[krbe 193]

That actually equals to a 12,8% rise in the cost of bread every year in ten years. I'll agree that that seems a bit steep; however, you'll have to look at other factors too, e.g. how many minutes you'll have to work to get that bread today compared to then.

[DuskTrooper 316]

Bugger. We knew something was up when the price of a large bag of rice at our Asian grocery store doubled in the past couple of months.

[hamsterTK 93]

Some of my family's land had once been used for rice farming but isn't anymore. I wonder if the US could really push up production if it became a crisis.

[MrCinatit 30]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

Were rationing but were not experciencing a rice shortage.

Hmmmquote>

Something a little Orwellian about that, isn't it?

[Odainsaker 2,137]

The Ministry of Plenty announces a 10 percent increase in surplus supply.

Coincidently, citizen rations are to be reduced by 10 percent.

But, oh no, the great Zojirushi God whose idol dominates the kitchen counter requires a daily offering of rice. Of course, I don't tell it that Nishiki brand rice is actually grown in California, and that we don't always first wash the rice anymore.

[Meg 368]

Being gluten-intolerant, I probably eat more rice than the average American (since I can't eat wheat or any wheat products).  But people do have a point here:  I could certainly eat less and be just fine.

As I understand Sam's Club's decision, they saw people buying rice by the pallet, trying to stock up and they wanted to make sure everyone got some.  On the news they interviewed the owner of a local Chinese restaurant.  His stockpile was usually 50 pounds of rice and he was down to 24.

Most Chinese restaurants I've been in routinely supply a soup cup full of rice with each entree.  and most Americans don't eat all of the rice.  I see no reason why that soup cup couldn't be cut in half.  It would save a lot of waste.  Like how some restaurants used to give everyone a glass of water and now only do that upon request.   It doesn't hurt anyone and it reduces waste considerably.

[Easy Bakes 253]

From what i read in the article its the imported specialty rices that are getring out of control.

Regular long and short grain white is still cheap.

Doh  forget i said that...........................................

[belfastuniguy 18]

Americans should stop eating rice altogether then. We have plenty of other foods, but there are other countries where the poor and starving rely on rice everyday to live. Besides, its not like anyone is going to go into withdrawel from a lack of rice.quote>

Not they won't die but I still want a choice to eat rice or a choice to choose an Indian or Chinese restaurant. So fail to see the point in just having Americans stop eating rice.

Wholesalers in the UK are also introducing rice rations to commercial and private customers. Its just to prevent stockpiling, there's not really a terrible shortage of rice in the UK or I'm sure America. Preventative steps to make sure that remains the case.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

We also have limited rice-growing capacity here in the US, to help satisfy domestic demand. If the price stays up, we will grow a lot more next season, I'm sure.

But seriously, get used to it. This kind of thing is only going to happen more in the future.

[zzazzmatazz 3]

Originally posted by: manticorefan We also have limited rice-growing capacity here in the US, to help satisfy domestic demand. If the price stays up, we will grow a lot more next season, I'm sure.

But seriously, get used to it. This kind of thing is only going to happen more in the future.quote>

 

That is very true.

[Simfan34 11]

Doesn't this scare anyone a bit? Rationing in peacetime? I don't think that this is the right time to be investing in or farming ethanol. We need to stop having what we want when we want it, and go back to seasonal eating.  Think about it. The Hatian PM was ousted because of food.

We're on the edge of a BIG, HUGE shift here... I can just feel it.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Doesn't this scare anyone a bit? Rationing in peacetime? I don't think that this is the right time to be investing in or farming ethanol. We need to stop having what we want when we want it, and go back to seasonal eating. Think about it. The Hatian PM was ousted because of food.

We're on the edge of a BIG, HUGE shift here... I can just feel it.quote>

No...

Its a simple supply issue created by high demand for a crop that has failed for several seasons in a row in many countries. Nothing to get too excited over really.

[Danlikebooks 6]

Just adding this in:  It takes roughly twice as much energy (probably supplied by coal) to transform corn into ethanol.  However, prairie grass gives off five times as much energy than needed to make it into ethanol.

So go back into making corn for food.  Another reason that there is a rice shortage is because more farmers are growing corn for the ethanol subsidies.

Think about it.

[skyliner22 16]

Well the thing is with Asian oriented families, rice is an everyday part of a meal. Like in my family, we have rice almost everyday instead of bread. Most Americans don't eat that much rice altogether but when a lot of your cultural dishes involve rice, like i sometimes have riceballs for lunch and such changing is kinda hard. The rice shortage would be a real problem in California or Bay Area in general since so many Asian families have used rice as a staple part of meals for years.....the rice shortage on its own though will cause bread and grain product prices to surge and lead to greater inflation. Econ really pays off here!

Also the major source of these shortages is the world wide drought happening in tropical areas due to climate change. Southeast Asia and India used to get slammed by monsoons annually but due to climate change, the monsoons have shifted northward to Japan which is why so many Typhoons have hit the area. Crop failures abroad leads to less supply. If the US had some sense we should start faming rice and exporting, that would lower the inflation rates....

[yoshikoroyimara 5]

Like in my family, we have rice almost everyday instead of bread.quote>

Ditto!

The rice shortage would be a real problem in California or Bay Area in general since so many Asian families have used rice as a staple part of meals for years.....the rice shortage on its own though will cause bread and grain product prices to surge and lead to greater inflation.quote>

I think we have enough rice here. Skyliner, you'd be surprised of how much rice we still have stockpiled in warehouses/distribution centers for Asian supermarkets (Ranch 99, etc.)

EDIT: and also in our homes! 

oh, yeah...a cause of the Rice shortage: drought in Australia...actually, I would have never guessed, I never knew Australia grew so much rice...

I fear that once rice prices rise dramatically, producers/distributors will continue to keep the price high...after all, people are still buying...

[skyliner22 16]

Well I wasn't referring to Australia, I meant in the tropics, since rice requires lots of water, the dry spell they have had hasn't helped to ease the pain. Yea true theres still lots of rice stockpiled, I think Japan doesn't have much of a problem with rice, its more of the South East Asian countries except Thailand.

[krbe 193]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguyNo...

Its a simple supply issue created by high demand for a crop that has failed for several seasons in a row in many countries. Nothing to get too excited over really.quote>

Actually, some suppliers are reporting cutomers doubling their orders, just to be sure that they at least would get some rices. Also, rice is many places the sole ingredient in much of their diet, and though you might be able to pay double for the little rice you use, many Asian and African families will have problems to pay double for their food.

[un1 41]

I don't eat rice, luckily for me... I eat some thing else though that is pretty much the same as rice.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: un1

I don't eat rice, luckily for me... I eat some thing else though that is pretty much the same as rice.quote>

What's that?    There are other grains that can grow in conditions that rice can't.    Perhaps more of us need to change our diets.

 

 

[Gridlock 9]

This is just the beginning of things to come. Just has the world has past the stage of peak oil , the world actualy demands more food than it produces , this demand will continue to increase as the human population is to reach 8 billion in the comming years . Coupled with the ever increasing cost of oil ,i fear that ,this could turn into a very rough ride for many over the comming years .

In the commodities market if corn prices rise  wheat ,rice prices rise also .

We are aware the cost of corn has risen due to  present world speculation regarding future oil supplies and price increases . Just wait until oil reaches $300 a barrel and beyond ,it could get realy tough even for the middle class.

[Easy Bakes 253]

But speculation on foodstuffs is what causes the high prices in the 1st place, if that colapses who knows