Flour Costs

[SpringJim]

Take a look at the graphic in this thread!

Professional flour: King Arthur Flour

Like everything, expect the cost to go up! More corn (for subsidized ethanol?), less wheat production?? Fuzzy economics???

[Ed_]

Well, it may be economics that saves us too. If wheat prices are going up so much, that's an incentive to plant more wheat. In theory, at least, that ought to bring the supply and demand back into balance and go some way toward moderating the price.

Of course, if there are government subsidies to plant more corn, that's a problem. The political and ethical issues surrounding biofuels are tricky, but I think there's a growing awareness that we need to come up with a fuel solution that doesn't endanger the food supply. (The scientific issues are, from what I understand, less tricky--but nobody seems to care about that.)

This all leads naturally into larger questions about our industrialized food system. Personally, I find that system distasteful in many ways, but nearly impossible to escape. Michael Pollan wrote an interesting book on the topic, which I'm sure many of you have read:

Amazon.com: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals: Michael Pollan: Books

He's not pushing an agenda--at least, I don't think he is--but reading the book really brings to light the number of ethical questions we gloss over or completely ignore in the interest of convenient and (until now) cheap food.

I'd better quit before I really start to ramble.

[n2iko]

Townhall.com::What the 2008 Farm Bill Means for American Family::By Sabrina L. Schaeffer

Go figure.

--mr.jim

[sarah h]

Here's a really interesting article on where some North American communities are turning for grain & flour. I am thinking of trying to make this happen in my area. Good for consumers, good for farmers and cut out the large corporations & middle guys who drive up prices, not to mention quite possibly accessing a superior product in the process!

globeandmail.com: Growing against the grain

[Frances]

That's so cool! Strikes me that's the way to go, rather than all this streamlined globalisation stuff.

A lot of farmers around here sell certain products directly from their farms. Eggs, potatoes, fresh fruit and veg... but no grain so far. Maybe I should ask?