Love cereal? Well, then you and Jerry Seinfeld may soon be paying a lot more for the stuff (though I'm sure the increased cost won't bother Jerry too much).
Because of unfavorable weather conditions in key areas (who knew one of the places we get our wheat for cereal from was the Black Sea region of the Ukraine??), the cost of wheat is going up, and if those prices continue to be high then companies like Kellogg and General Mills will have to raise prices on their boxes of cereal.
If that wasn't enough bad news? The price of milk is also going up! Milk prices in the U.S. are up 3% this year, and could skyrocket towards the end of the year.
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-07-2007 @ 12:05AM
dave said...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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6-07-2007 @ 2:25AM
GhaleonQ said...
"who knew one of the places we get our wheat for cereal from was the Black Sea region of the Ukraine?"
Was that a joke?
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6-07-2007 @ 5:40AM
janetsara said...
No this is not a joke Ukraine used to be called the "Bread basket of the USSR" when it was still behind the iron curtain, it has some of the most fertile land in Europe, this possible had something to do with the Russians nabbing it for themselves.
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6-07-2007 @ 7:33AM
dan said...
The reason?? ... ethanol production. As FOOD crops are used for energy almost everything that involves grain is going to go up in price... MILK, MEAT, CEREALS....
My opinion-- energy production is a very poor use for food except in certain regional areas due to the poor e-ROI, energy-return on investment--answering the question, how much energy does it take to make a usable energy source, birth to death; ethanol has a poor ratio of energy in and energy out due to growing, harvesting, production and finally transportation--all use up more energy than just getting oil out of the ground, and this analysis does not take into account the water required or the impact of corn's greater needs for pest control)
No, biodiesel won't help either, as croplands are rededicated to energy production crops--other FOOD crops are displaced. Kansas in 2007 and 2008 will become a NET IMPORTER of corn. North America is one of the breadbaskets of the world. We need to find other alternatives to using food crops for energy!
Here's a link to a starting point for these discussions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EROI
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6-07-2007 @ 1:05PM
Mark said...
Cereal is not a healthy breakfast food anyway. But then, that's my opinion!
Here's an interesting piece on global food web consequences:
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=1798
(My blog: http://www.marksdailyapple.com)
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6-07-2007 @ 1:05PM
Aunti'Em' said...
This is just another reason globalization is bad for America.The USA used to pride itself on taking care of our own needs, i.e. food, good jobs with sucurity and good infrastructure. Now our roads, sewer and energy systems are in dire need of repair. Schools no longer give accurate grades because it might hurt Jonnies feelings. Now jobs are outsourced and we get our wheat from the Ukraine.
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6-07-2007 @ 1:53PM
Anthony said...
So once again the price of gas is undermining my life. Nice.
$6+ for a box of Wheaties or $3.50+ for a gallon of gas????
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6-07-2007 @ 10:19PM
Nivedita said...
I've been reading Michael Pollan's 'The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals'. I can't recommend this enough to anyone who is interested in the economics of food and sustainability. Actually, everyone who eats should read this.
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6-08-2007 @ 11:01AM
Adriane said...
I have never understood why cereal is sooo expensive-- get the store brand or the kinds sans boxes and it's about 50% cheaper. What the heck?
Aunti'Em'-- Globalization leads to teachers giving inaccurate grades? [Which, in my opinion, is a vast overstatement/stereotype in the first place, nevermind the two being pretty much completely unrelated].
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