The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted substantial price increases for numerous food items in 2013, if not sooner, due to the devastating impact of the current drought on farms across the country. According to its latest Food Price Outlook, the agency expects prices to go up substantially, especially for meat and poultry because of reduced inventory and higher feed expenses.
Average beef prices are already 6.9 percent above last years. Steaks cost 8.1 percent and ground beef 7.3 percent more than 12 months ago. The price of chicken is now 4.2 percent higher, and turkey is a whopping 8.3 percent more expensive. Consumers will also have to pay more for eggs and dairy products. Even fats and oils are becoming more costly due to surging corn and soybean prices.
There has already been some speculation whether the impending sticker shock will cause Americans to change their food preferences from a mostly meat-centered to a more plant-based diet. Since prices for fresh fruit and vegetables have steadily been climbing over the last few years and are unaffordable as they are now for many families on a tight budget, it is not likely that we are going to see a mass conversion to vegetarianism, not even close. If anything, Americans will look even harder for the biggest bang for their buck, and that, in many cases, means fast food, pizza, snacks and other low-cost eats.
Most Americans are aware, to various degrees, that their eating habits are less than ideal and may cause many serious health problems, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to one study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association), only about 20 percent of Americans who were asked why they ate fast food said they thought it was healthy and nutritious. Still, the popularity of fast food remains as high as ever. Its an attractive choice compared to other kinds of food, including home cooked meals, because its convenient, inexpensive, tasty and fun.
In any case, changing deeply ingrained habits such as our food preferences is extremely hard to do. People form their likes and dislikes early in life and they stick to them unless they are forced to make changes for compelling reasons such as bad health. Thats why the fast food industry spends so much money on marketing to children to turn them into lifetime customers, said Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (HarperCollins, 2002), in an interview with CBS News.
Also, many of the ingredients in fast food (as in almost all processed foods) have been identified as addictive. Salt, fat and sugar are hard to wean oneself from once a taste for them has been established. For many of us, undoing all that would require changing our entire food environment, according to Dr. Simone French, director of the Obesity Prevention Center at the University of Minnesota. That has consequences not only for what we eat but also how much we eat. Weve gotten desensitized about supersized portions, said Dr. French in an interview with the Star Tribune. There is no moderation in our food environment.
At least, not yet, one might say. Perhaps there will be one positive aspect to rising prices, namely a chance to rethink our attitude toward the value of food, real food that is, and a commitment to quality over quantity and convenience.
Timi Gustafson R.D. is a clinical dietitian and author of the book The Healthy Diner How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun, which is available on her blog, Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D. A fat loss review can help you establish a clear describe of what you demand to focus on to complete your fat burning goal if you're a beginner; or serve as a reminder for these who are at an intermediate or more boost level of their weightloss strategy. Applying are seven steps that can serve as methods for your special weight loss system. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not exactly the same thing. Many weight loss programs have fooled people into considering that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss programs only work by leading to a person's body to reduce more muscle cells and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. (http://www.timigustafson.com), and at amazon.com. You can follow Timi on Twitter and on Facebook.
200708 world food price crisis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20072008_world_food_price_crisisWorld food prices increased dramatically in 2007 and the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2008 creating a global crisis and causing political and economical instability and ...
Factory Farming Facts & the Food Industry - Important Policy
www.takepart.com/foodincLooking for easy ways to make better food choices when it comes to ethical eating? If youre looking to cut down on meat consumption, check out our Meatless Monday ...
USDA ERS - America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences
www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib-agricultural-information...America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences by Elizabeth Frazao. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. (AIB-750) 494 pp, May 1999. Individual chapters in this ...
USDA ERS - Prior Issues (through 2003)
www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/prior-issues-(through-2003).aspx2010 through 2003 issues of Amber Waves. ... Prior Issues (through 2003) 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
The Food Movement, Rising by Michael Pollan The New York
www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/food-movement-rising/...It might sound odd to say this about something people deal with at least three times a day, but food in America has been more or less invisible, politically speaking ...
Ran Prieur
www.ranprieur.comRan Prieur "The bigger you build the bonfire, the more darkness is revealed." - Terence McKenna
Food - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FoodFood is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as ...
Eating Habits - food, nutrition, body, diet, health
www.faqs.org Nutrition and Well-Being A to Z Diab-EmThe term eating habits (or food habits ) refers to why and how people eat, which foods they eat, and with whom they eat, as well as the ...
Healthy Eating and Food Safety Tips
bcuwexhealthyliving.blogspot.com
Welcome to my blog on healthy eating and food safety. I look forward to your comments and feedback regarding use of this tool to disseminate
Food News - Topix
www.topix.com/foodNews on Food continually updated from thousands of sources around the net.
0 comments:
Post a Comment