There will be food shortages

Consumers will need to get used to higher prices and shortages as the global economies are racked by pandemic-related labor shortages, a global energy crunch, and supply chain disruptions worldwide. In addition, weather-related issues are having devastating effects on food production across the globe.

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Here are some recent headlines:

1. In areas of California, the drought is so bad that many farmers haven't bothered to even plant crops this season.[1]  For example, almost all the leafy lettuce that is used in the US during the Fall and Winter comes from California.
2. Drought in grain-growing regions of the US is severely reducing the amount of wheat, corn, and other grains.[2]
3. Extreme cold has devastated Brazil's coffee crop this year.[3]
4. Australian and South American grain farmers have been hit hard with either drought or floods, and Australia had a mouse and rat plague![4]
5. European, Ukrainian, and Russian wheat production have been reduced by weather.[5]

Food prices have gone up all over the world.[6]  In the UK and Europe supply chain and natural gas shortages are reducing the amount of food showing up on store shelves.[7]  Shortages have caused an inflation in food prices in the US of 8 percent or more at the wholesale level.[8]

This is not going away anytime soon either.  According to Miguel Patricio, CEO of major food producer Kraft Heinz, they have had to either raise wholesale prices or decrease the size of their products to combat inflation. Then UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the cost of ingredients has climbed to a 10 year high.[9]

This is a multi-year event, and you need to prepare. The best way to prepare is to grow your own food.

In WWII, the US instituted Victory Gardens, a program that encouraged individuals to grow food in backyards.  By the end of the war, this effort accounted for almost 40% of the needed food production for the country.  Even if you only have a small balcony in an apartment, you can do this.  For those a little more adventuresome, you can join the millions worldwide doing aquaponics, an effective method of growing both indoors and outdoors.  With the cost of food going up, now is the time to grow your own.

At Eat and Grow Veg https://eatandgrowveg.com, we specialize in helping people start growing food themselves.  We focus on organic farming methods, and I share my successes and failures from my own urban homestead garden.  Come join us.

High Food Prices (oodlesoftraffic.com)

[1] DANIELA SIRTORI-CORTINA AND BRE BRADHAM, "California Farmers Facing Drought Choose Not to Plant Crops," Los Angeles Times2021, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-05-18/california-farmers-drought-dont-plant-crops#:~:text=California%20farmers%20facing%20drought%20choose%20not%20to%20plant,leave%20fields%20empty.%20%28Darryl%20Bush%20%2F%20Associated%20Press%29.

[2] Ron Sterk, "Drought, Heat Wreak Havoc on Western Crops," Food Business News2021, https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/19120-drought-heat-wreak-havoc-on-western-crops.

[3] Nayara Figueiredo and Marcelo Teixeira, "Freak Brazil Frost Hits Heart of Coffee Belt, Damaging Crops," Reuters2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/freak-brazil-frost-hits-heart-coffee-belt-damaging-crops-2021-07-21/.

[4] Angus Watson and Paul Devitt, "Millions of Mice Are Swarming Australian Towns. Now There's a Plan to End the Plague with Poison," CNN  (2021), https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/australia/australia-mouse-plague-dst-intl-hnk/index.html.

[5] D'Arce McMillan, "Assessing the Yield Impact of Severe Drought Is Grim Exercise," The Western Producer2021, https://www.producer.com/markets/assessing-the-yield-impact-of-severe-drought-is-grim-exercise/.

[6] RT Business, "High Food Prices Are Here to Stay – Kraft Heinz," RT2021, https://www.rt.com/business/537163-heinz-boss-food-prices-high/.

[7] Jack Slater, "Food Shortages Uk: Full List of Shops Hit by Delivery Issues," Metro2021, https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/03/food-shortages-uk-full-list-of-shops-hit-by-delivery-issues-15202901/.

[8] Laura Reiley and Alyssa Fowers, "Here’s Why Your Food Prices Keep Going Up," The Washington Post2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/15/food-inflation-faq/.

[9] Business.