I've heard this bandied about lately and don't know if I buy it. Maybe I haven't connected the dots.

Isn't most food, including luxury food items, largely regionally based? In other words, local?

Especially in the States?

What the hell does supply and demand for food in China have to do with our national food supply?

most food stuffs. once they a grown can be processed into powders or concentrated into liquids. which are shipped around the world. meats get frozen and shipped around the world.milk gets dehydrated and shipped around the world.

A good chunk of our exports is food. why do you think much of the world is starting to have the obesity problems the U.S. does

I wonder if we are going to see a movement towards sustainability at a more local level. In other words, doing the opposite of globalization and retreating into insular communities.

The argument is that the days of cheap abundance are over. So I'm guessing people are going to find ways to combat high prices.

There will be both. Already there is a growth of farmers markets providing local produce. With more and more people working from home. They have this free time stuff that people didn't have when working for other people . They are doing stuff like gardening and eating what they grow. Or being small business owners trading it to friends or selling it.

People with money are using it to buy better quality local products. In some places even the milk man is making a come back.

Remember this world we are going into isn't an either/or world most people will consume lines. local products,national product, and imported products. I think a third of the food in supermarkets is imported. Though the processed food are probable made with the powedered stuff we exported.

High prices combat high prices. All commodities are supply and demand driven. The days of cheap abundance are far from over.

Wouldn't the farmer providing for the locals be hard pressed to continue if a Chinese truck pulled up and bought everything at twice the price? He'd be kinda crazy to say no.

This would be me. If this keeps up, I'm going to start a pig farm.

ok....this sounds theoretical. But if true, hey.... great!

When's the predicted 50% off date?

this scenario makes no sense to me, costwise. Unless severe conditions caused China to have a drought-- or some other agricultural disaster. Otherwise...why can't they grow their own bloody food?


So is it true? Is the emergence of a strong middle class in two of the most populous nations causing food prices to soar?

China and India are driving up more then just our food cost.

I used to do construction. My friends that that still do have construction companies tell me, china is driving up the cost of concrete, steel, copper, pvc and other building materials. Almost everything sold in stores like walmart comes from china. Seems like the only thing we will continue to make are cupcakes, twinkies and potato chips.

That's nice for China and India that their economies are growing at 10 times our rate, but I don't feel like paying for it.

We need to work on, and develope our own economy. We have the resources and people to be independant of everyone else.