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To: Les H who wrote (119853)	5/1/2008 11:11:59 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Food inflation hits families hard - Congress Hearing focuses on impact of skyrocketing grocery prices on middle-class families. money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A joint committee of Congress on Thursday started scrutinizing the impact of rising food costs on middle-class families already stung by rising gas prices

To: Les H who wrote (119853)	5/1/2008 11:46:51 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 306849

Screw that I'm loaded up on seeds, including soybeans. Garden and sprouts are well under way. Water, dirt, sun and a little elbow grease/EXERCISE are free.

To: Les H who wrote (119853)	5/1/2008 11:59:20 AM
From: bentway	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

"cheaper food alternatives" I bought a case of Ramen noodles yesterday. Unbelievably cheap.

To: Les H who wrote (119853)	5/1/2008 12:09:35 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Bakers balk at changes to wheat futures contracts Concern about changes in wheat futures contracts that could further increase market volatility was voiced this week by baking industry representatives at a Commodity Futures Trading Commission agricultural forum in Washington. Under consideration by the C.F.T.C. are proposals to raise the speculative limits for agricultural commodities and to create a regulatory exemption from speculative limits for certain risk management purposes. John Popp, chairman of the Independent Bakers Association, urged the C.F.T.C. to drop the proposal to increase limits in the number of contracts held by a single entity to 14,500 contracts. bakingbusiness.com Baker in Washington: Commodity situation 'perilous' A fourth-generation retail baker of pies, bread and cookies as well as birthday and wedding cakes, Mr. Reinwald represented the Retail Bakers of America, McLean, Va., and the American Bakers Association, Washington. His remarks were supplemented with supporting comments prepared by the baking groups for the J.E.C. Elaborating on the "perilous" situation, Mr. Reinwald told the committee that the cost of a 100-lb bag of flour has risen to $52 from $17 in 2006 and that soybean oil and egg prices have doubled in the past year. "Our bowl cost, or the cost of dough coming out of the mixing bowl, went from 22c per lb to 51c per lb for rye bread," Mr. Reinwald said. "Rye flour, used to make the best part of a deli rye sandwich, has not only doubled but is now in short supply, and we are beginning to import rye from Europe as long as it is available." Mr. Reinwald described a manageable situation in 2007 in which bakers employed a "classic business response" to rising costs of raising prices, cutting costs, eliminating waste and pressuring suppliers. He said the strategy worked through December but that prices reached new highs in January. "In February, we were forced to institute dramatic price increases across the board," he said. "Prices on bread items in particular increased significantly. A 1-lb loaf of rye that sold for $2.65 in April 2007 today costs $3.45. In talking with bakers across the country, these kinds of increases are fairly common." The price hikes have resulted in a volume decline of 5% to 7%, Mr. Reinwald said. "While this may not sound like much, it is the difference between profit and loss, staying in business or closing the door," he said. He said he knew of a baker in Tampa, Fla., who experienced an 18% volume drop since October. Mr. Reinwald described for the committee the March Band of Bakers gathering in Washington in response to the higher prices. He added that the baking industry understands that many factors have contributed to the high food prices, including expanding world demand, the weak U.S. dollar and poor weather. He added, though, that the ethanol program and "other government programs that pay farmers not to farm their land" also have contributed to the current farm crisis. He continued, "Why are we putting food in our gas tanks instead of our stomachs? As bakers we have no gripe with the farmer — they are trying to make a living like everyone else. But it is difficult to explain to my customers that flour prices are increasing because farmers are choosing to grow crops for fuel and not for food — that the government is incentivizing farmers through subsidies to grow corn for ethanol and not corn for feed and food uses. Wheat acreage continues to dwindle because farmers can make more money growing government subsidized fuel than they can growing food. Even with current record prices for flour, the response to grow wheat is greatly diminished because of mandates for ethanol production. The U.S. has a finite number of acres to use for farming, and fuel crops have taken over many acres that were previously used to grow food. Where will the land come from to grow more crops to meet new ethanol mandates? U.S. cropland is already stretched to its limit." Calling for congressional steps, Mr. Reinwald urged to "take necessary steps to waive the renewable fuel standards passed in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007." In their supporting comments, the A.B.A. and R.B.A. offered a broader picture both of the effects of the rising commodity prices and offered a more comprehensive description of potential remedies. Food inflation in 2007, at 4.9%, was 2 percentage points above the recent average, and prices rose another 5.3% in January-March 2008m the groups said. Grain-based foods in particular have climbed 15.7% during this period, they added. The surge likely has not yet run its course, they warned. "The prices of many food products, including baked goods, do not yet reflect the impact of increased ingredient and other input costs," the groups said. "For example, a bakery may enter into a contract to purchase wheat flour for $50 per 100-lb bag, but may not pay for the flour until it is delivered, which could be three to four months from the date of contract. This means that baked goods purchased today may reflect input prices from three months ago; higher wheat prices today will translate into higher bread prices three months from now." bakingbusiness.com