Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Will troubles near and far affect my grocery bills? Likely

Perhaps the recent summer-like weather will alleviate food production problems some local farmers are complaining about.

[Note: I didn’t say ‘summer weather’ because, thanks to climate instability, summer hasn’t really arrived yet. Yes, my cherry tomatoes are coming along well but my peas are lagging behind. Sorry, I digress. Back to more pressing problems.]

The big three crops in SW Ontario - corn, soy and winter wheat for cattle and human consumption - need typical summer weather to do well, and areas farmers are hoping August won’t be a repeat of July.

If we don’t get hot weather, we’ll likely experience higher bread and beef prices in the fall and winter.

However, worse still will be the affects of the very low water levels in California.


["Heads up": photo link]

Though our region is fairly well known for its bread and beef, California is world famous for its fruit and vegetable production, and if crops and employment stumble or fall there, the negative ripple affects will be felt across North America.

Higher grocery bills are one thing. We can just reduce our food intake, excessive to the extreme in many U.S. and Canadian homes.

But can we handle an even bigger and farther reaching recession if and when water resources begin to fail?

Link to Drought update.

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