Food Rationing Hits U.S.

[touchring]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

should things get out of control, this will be useful - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJBxd...eature=related

[ax]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Miker -

Well, at least we don't have to eat that wretched steak and kidney pie you fellows chow down with warm beer. Warm beer with steak and kidney pie is for barbarians - anybody who's even vaguely civilized knows that. And fried liver for breakfast with fried tomatoes? Englishmen are just plain barmy.

2 things:

1. Scary article on our own farmers having to watch futures of their own crops to guess at future demand http://www.cnbc.com/id/24243612/site/14081545 and

2. Mike, was shocked on my honeymoon in Spain that what qualified as the "healthy European" was apparently being overtanned, having a COPD/beer gut, and smoking a minimum of 2 packs a day. But you guys have a glass of wine with dinner, so it's ok.

[Andreuccio]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

I shudder when I imagine Landscape America two years into the future.


1. “Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks….”
http://www2.nysun.com/pf.php?id=74994&v=1272088021

Costco responds:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of Costco Wholesale Corp said on Tuesday that the warehouse club operator has seen some unusual demand for certain items like rice and flour as customers, worried over global food shortages, look to stock up on basic items.


James Sinegal, Costco's chief executive officer, told Reuters in an interview that the retailer had seen increased demand in the past week and a half, and some of its stores, including certain locations in California's Bay Area, had put limits on the sales of these items.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domes...BrandChannel=0

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I drove over to a Costco today, to one of their stores in the suburbs of Miami.

I know one visit does not make a trend but I was struck by how empty the store was. Not sure what that means but maybe a topic for a different thread.

Anyway, in the food aisles, they had rice, flour and sugar stacked to the ceiling. And even though there wasn't a soul in sight on that aisle, there was a sign limiting purchases of imported rice to 20 bags per customer. US domestic rice had no such restriction.

[Andreuccio]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I drove over to a Costco today, to one of their stores in the suburbs of Miami.

I know one visit does not make a trend but I was struck by how empty the store was. Not sure what that means but maybe a topic for a different thread.

Anyway, in the food aisles, they had rice, flour and sugar stacked to the ceiling. And even though there wasn't a soul in sight on that aisle, there was a sign limiting purchases of imported rice to 20 bags per customer. US domestic rice had no such restriction.

And try to keep your purchases of flat screen TV's to under 5 per customer.

I live in Southern California, and I've noticed our local Costco has been empty since Valentine's Day. Weekends are still hectic, but shopping on weeknights is now a much more solitary experience. I asked a couple of managers I know about it on different days. One said retail is down all over. The other said sales are steady, no real changes.

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Yes, no shortages of TV's or other junk one really does not need. It is only the staples needed for basic living that are getting more dear.

[ocelotl]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

I shudder when I imagine Landscape America two years into the future.


1. “Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks….”
http://www2.nysun.com/pf.php?id=74994&v=1272088021

Hoarding. That's the key word in the cited paragraph.

I had almost forgot about it, but it raised today in the daily phone conversation with my parents and sister.

After the Mexican Default, and while the price increases were constant, the hoarding by the big retailers appeared. The idea behind it is that given that people is no longer trusting circulating money, and expecting future price hikes, panic shopping began appearing. The retailers answer to it was rationing so they could, first, avoid that the outflow of merchandise turned higher than the inflow from producers; second, to try to keep inventories the most through the next hike, that they applied, while leaving a time buffer until the hike were applied to retailers by producers.

I remember that inside stores, the place where normally rice, beans, cane sugar, flour and other groceries are placed was almost empty, and the stores announced the amount of each that would be sold per costumer, usually distributing them from an access to the back warehouse. Normally we used to go all family members and each one picked the per costumer amount of what we need, paid separately in different cashiers and joined all of it at the car. The only good point at that time was that since gas was subsidized, we used to go to two or three different stores to get the best prices on the different products we needed.

Recently, when talking to work partners, the ones that were at a better economical position said that they weren't aware of the costs of all their toys until they began to buy them for their sons. Those of us that were at a more humble condition at the time were of the opinion that since there was not much money back then, wishes were not part of the equation.

[Andreuccio]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Hoarding. That's the key word in the cited paragraph.

I had almost forgot about it, but it raised today in the daily phone conversation with my parents and sister.

After the Mexican Default, and while the price increases were constant, the hoarding by the big retailers appeared. The idea behind it is that given that people is no longer trusting circulating money, and expecting future price hikes, panic shopping began appearing. The retailers answer to it was rationing so they could, first, avoid that the outflow of merchandise turned higher than the inflow from producers; second, to try to keep inventories the most through the next hike, that they applied, while leaving a time buffer until the hike were applied to retailers by producers.

I remember that inside stores, the place where normally rice, beans, cane sugar, flour and other groceries are placed was almost empty, and the stores announced the amount of each that would be sold per costumer, usually distributing them from an access to the back warehouse. Normally we used to go all family members and each one picked the per costumer amount of what we need, paid separately in different cashiers and joined all of it at the car. The only good point at that time was that since gas was subsidized, we used to go to two or three different stores to get the best prices on the different products we needed.

Recently, when talking to work partners, the ones that were at a better economical position said that they weren't aware of the costs of all their toys until they began to buy them for their sons. Those of us that were at a more humble condition at the time were of the opinion that since there was not much money back then, wishes were not part of the equation.

Thanks for sharing this, ocelotl. I'm really interested in how things played out in other countries during economic downturns. There's a lot to learn from the Argentinians, Cubans, Mexicans, and a host of others.

Nice name, btw. Jaguar in Nahuat?

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

From what i seen of Americans, Frankly if you lost a little weight it wouldn't do you any harm.
Mega

No kidding. We could drastically cut down on our wheat/rice consumption and be much better off for it.

I buy organic (usually local) fruits/vegetables. That's really the way to go for your diet. This doesn't faze me in the slightest, and I frankly find it amusing.

[ocelotl]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Thanks for sharing this, ocelotl. I'm really interested in how things played out in other countries during economic downturns. There's a lot to learn from the Argentinians, Cubans, Mexicans, and a host of others.

Nice name, btw. Jaguar in Nahuatl?

Of course! Still haven't uploaded the adequate avatar, is from a photo I took from a mural by Miguel Covarrubias that is at the Popular Art Museum here in Mexico City.

Today we were checking, still no rationing, neither another figure that can raise on actual condition: Conditioned Selling.

The figure of Conditioned Selling appears when some product that is subsidized or where profit margins are very tight. Usually the salesman only sells out the low profit product if you buy a high profit product. At the late 70's and early 80's, since wheat flour and byproducts, specially "Bolillos" and "Teleras" (WIKI) were subsidized and had officially fixed prices, suddenly the bakers began to restrict the sale of them without selling also milk or costlier sweet bread. Nowadays is more common in the grocery section the sudden appearance of "packages" that have as end sell something that barely sells with something else of main need, such as tuna cans with those small 50 gram mayonnaise jugs where the cost is in the jug, rather than in the content, or plastic molds with jelly powder, or some unknown liquor with your preferred Vodka, Tequila or Rum, or any other combination.

Combinations as these serve not only to hide price hikes, but also to get rid of unsold inventories, in order to recover or reduce storing costs or to get rid of discontinued products. In normal times they may represent a saving and an opportunity, but at inflation times can be a way to rise prices before public notes it.

While it keeps happening, and after speaking of food, if somebody feels the need to ponder with something to eat, get yourselves a torta... ;)

[vcif]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Is it just me or is the rationing of food by a store completely bizarre?

1)one might think that if someone came into a store and offered to buy alot of some item, then the store would be happy, take the money, and restock. this would allow the store to make more money by selling more.

2)one might also think that if the demand for a certain item were higher(for whatever reason), then the store would raise prices and make more money.

Isn't the price system suppose to be used to 'ration' goods? I find it bizarre and scary that a food store would take it upon themselves to ration an item by fiat with some unclear moral justification lurking in the background.

[Jayhawk]

Re: Food Rationing Hits U.S.

Having just spent some time at the local Walmart, I can confirm:

1. Americans are still fat.
2. Americans are not starving.
3. Food is being shoveling into pie holes nation wide.

That is all.