FINAL DRAFT: Where did all the food go?

Jorge A. PerezENC 1101   Core II October 18, 2007Where did all the food go?Would you ever pay twenty-five dollars for an ounce of turkey? Of course not, right? Now you must be wondering how that would ever happen. If you haven’t noticed, food prices have increased in the past few years. Slowly, but surely, they have. If we don’t start trying to reduce our abuse towards the environment, and global warming, this might someday become a sad reality. This “misfortune” can hit us all in many different ways. Some people might not mind paying those “few” extra dollars at the grocery store. However, others will struggle to buy that loaf of bread for their children’s school lunch. But what is truly tragic is when parents have to explain to their children why they have to skip lunch.Even though America is taking steps towards improving the situation towards global warming, we still have a lot of work to do. Some steps that we are taking include the production of ethanol based fuel, and increasing the use of it, such as Flex Fuel.  However, there are negative consequences to this positive move towards reducing the environmental abuse. With the production of ethanol having tripled since 1998, the price of foods has also increased (Philpott par. 1). It might not be at a significant change, but the increase is still there. Such as the 1.6% increase on chicken since March 2007 or that one extra penny more we have to pay for eggs (Laws, par. 4). But according to ABC News’ report, Sky High Restaurant Prices, milk has increased in price by 75% since last year.  From that same report, restaurants nationwide have also increased prices by 3.6%.  Meat products have also experienced elevated prices since late summer 2006 — 6.7%for ground beef and 6.9% for chicken breasts according to the Labor Department (MSNBC, par. 5). Getting worried yet?According to LECG, a company that provides professional information from experiments that they conduct, the high demand of corn to produce ethanol is not the only reason for higher food prices. LECG claims that the demand might have a slight change, but not a noticeable one. They blame that the energy it takes to produce agricultural products is the main reason for higher food prices. Not to say LECG is wrong, but focus on the concept. Ethanol is an agricultural product. It takes 20% of corn production to make ethanol (National Corn Growers Association pg 2). See a pattern? So we aren’t just paying for expensive corn but also for expensive alternative gas. Wasn’t it one of the main objectives of ethanol gas to reduce gas prices and foreign oil dependency? So indirectly we do pay extra for that uneaten corn. Not to say that ethanol gas is a bad thing but it is costing us a few more dollars.With this monetary increase in corn, a domino effect is at risk, and so is America. With the increase in corn prices leads to other increases. Since farmers also use corn to feed the cattle and poultry, and with the substantial amount of corn being taking to produce ethanol, farmers now have to pay extra for that same amount of corn to feed their livestock. But how will the farmers pay for this costly feed? Farmers then look to their consumers, us, to pay for that pricier bushel of corn. The farmers then raise the price of meat and poultry at your nearest market place. So now we are paying extra for corn, the energy it takes to produce ethanol, meat, and oh, don’t forget about those high gas prices we already pay for. This situation is not going to blow over any time soon.  We need to realize that what we have done to the environment is a deciding factor for many things such as higher food prices. But if we don’t change our attitude, food prices aren’t the only things we’ll need to worry about. If global warming gets worse a domino effect of destruction is at risk. From the rising of sea level due to melting ice caps to the destruction of animal habitats. If the temperature rises too high, animals will be forced to make unnatural migrations to find conditions that are suitable for them. And it’s not like it hasn’t happened yet. Many fish species are moving northward in search of cooler waters (Than sec. 3). The problem with this is that they are put in a different environment and different diet. With a different diet, the animals must either go by Darwin’s rules of survival or say good bye to planet Earth.  Consequently, this will affect the bill at the market. With a scarcity of animals, inflation is a threat as well. Prices of food won’t just increase by 1.6%. Now think of the poor. What will they do when they can’t afford food? They will have to resort to government support. And who better to help the government feed the poor than ourselves. And it won’t be long until the middle class joins in with the poor. What will we do as a nation that half or maybe more of its citizens won’t be able to feed themselves? At an extreme view at this situation, we will eventually run out of food due to the extinction of animals and humanity itself will end.There has been a challenge placed in front of us. It doesn’t matter if you have participated in the destruction or you have done nothing to it. If those of you that just sit there and say I haven’t done nothing to it, but don’t do nothing about it, you are guilty as well.  If we succeed, and reduce the amount of abuse we are contributing to the environment, things will get better. If not, life as we know it will end. Not today or tomorrow but our great grandchildren will be victims to our crime. Not one person or group will be able to tackle this issue. We all need to be active participants in this action. I know I don’t want to pay twenty-five dollars for that ounce of turkey or be the reason why my great grand children starve. Do you? 

Work citied

Associated Press. “Ethanol alone doesn’t fuel food price increase.”  MSNBC

         8 October 2007:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21195869/    

Laws, Forrest. ”Ethanol falsely accused for higher food prices.”  16 May 2007

         http://deltafarmpress.com/corn/070516-ethanol-food/    

Phillpott, Tom. “Feeding the Beast.” 13 December 2006:

        http://www.grist.org/comments/food/2006/12/13/fuel_vs_food/

Than, Ker. “How Global Warming is Changing the Wild Kingdom.” 21 June         2005:http://www.livescience.com/environment/050621_warming_cha

         nges.html

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