Food prices are going up - what to do

You surely have noticed that food prices are starting to go up rapidly. Most noticeable are fish and meat prices. Have you bought salmon or steak lately?

With the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing this week, hedge funds, banks and other investors are rushing into commodities. Prices worldwide are now climbing on speculation. Soy, wheat, milk, beef, coffee, sugar, cotton and other staples are all going up, along with oil and precious metals, which affect transportation. We last saw this in 2008 before the crash. Back then, consumers traded down to generics and private labels to save their budgets and, during the recession, food sellers avoided passing along most costs to consumers, at supermarkets, groceries and restaurants. That is now changing and we are in for another inflationary wild ride. Will we see the speculative bubble lead to another crash or will prices stabilize?

I am one of those who believe that when too much wealth is concentrated in too few hands, economic distress follows. That wealth has to go somewhere and right now it’s going into commodities speculation. Commodities speculation is driven by investors’ awareness of growing supply problems – massive fish stock depletion, water shortages in breadbaskets like California and the Southeast, steady environmental degradation from over-use and pesticides, increasing species die-off and regional climate disasters, which matter more in a global economy than they once did. The root cause is global population growth, which no one talks about and instead there is grumbling about the rapidly growing economies of China, India and Brazil.

So what to do? Here are 5 suggestions for how to save money.

- Grow fruit and vegetables to insulate yourself economically. Fruit trees are easiest. Growing vegetables isn’t worth the cost or the effort unless you know what you’re doing.
- Reduce meat consumption, especially beef, and aim for at least one vegetarian meal a week. Research the fish you buy.
- Experiment with eating legumes, which are high in protein and nutrients. They have huge variety and are versatile, they are good meat substitutes and inexpensive.
- Eat better, eat less and definitely eat at home more.
- Eat leftovers and waste less food.
- Learn where the best deals in Encino are – you may want to start checking out the ethnic markets, where prices are lower and produce is often fresher. Valley produce, Q Market, etc.
- Look into water/energy conservation and gas-saving measures because they are going way up in the next few years.