For those that think ‘Greedflation’ is the source of high food prices, read this.
There are significant changes occurring in our global food systems that need some serious thought and innovation. There are some hopeful signs, but more needs to be done. Much more than simplistic slogans around taxation and complete inaction by the current Government.
‘Worldwide, wholesale food prices, adjusted for inflation, have grown about 50 percent since 1999, and those prices have also grown considerably more volatile, making not just markets but the whole agricultural Rube Goldberg network less reliable. Overall, American grocery prices have grown by almost 21 percent since President Biden took office, a phenomenon central to the widespread perception that the cost of living has exploded on his watch. Between 2020 and 2023, the wholesale price of olive oil tripled; the price of cocoa delivered to American ports jumped by even more in less than two years.’
Before, growing conditions were reasonably predictable, allowing farmers to plan their seasons. For the past decade, however, conditions are almost completely unpredictable, leading to shorter or longer seasons, fluctuating temperatures and either too little, or too much, rainfall. For farmers, every growing season is a crap shoot.