U.S. Food Scarcity

Your Favorite Foods Are About To Get A Whole Lot Pricier

While it’s no secret that not all of America eats well, a bunch of news pieces published over the last week indicate that many more may be tightening their belts in the near future.

The rough three-year drought sweeping the Prairies and West Coast might finally be catching up with our food supply. While the drought has afflicted much of America’s bread basket throughout the West and Midwest, by far the worst hit is California – where more than 80,000 farms and ranches produce nearly half of the country’s vegetables, fruits and nuts. Farming sucks up fully 80% of the state’s water supply, and after this year, the state’s driest, many food producers have been forced to let large swaths of field lie fallow. 

Avocados and lettuce are predicted to be the hardest-hit, but we’re due for price hikes in a lot of other Californian produce, including berries, broccoli, grapes, tomatoes, and melons, over the next few months. Meanwhile, an insect-borne disease called citrus greening has decimated Florida’s citrus crops, causing spikes in the price of oranges and grapefruits – and these, too, have only begun to catch up with us.

But there’s more. The drought has also affected the cattle, pork, poultry and dairy markets, as higher feed costs and smaller livestock drive up meat prices. The situation is worst in pork, as hog herds have been thinned by the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), which doesn’t harm humans but is sure knocking off a lot of piglets.

Meanwhile, droughts in Brazil have driven the price of coffee futures up by more than half; the Atlantic sea urchin industry was all but decimated by the winter’s harsh storm weather; and a new study shows that the Pacific bluefin tuna has been overfished to the point of endangerment, with about 96% of the popular sushi fish’s population wiped out.

Depressing? Definitely. While food commodities have always been susceptible to price fluctuation, average price hikes of 2.8% per year has been the norm since the ‘90s – now compare that to the 53% bump in the last four years alone in the price of bacon (thanks a lot, foodies)... and that’s before factoring in this year’s slump.

But, hey, maybe it’s just a matter of perspective: The other big scoops out of the food world this week include a bejewelled $1000 sundae, a $100 grilled cheese sandwich, and a new record for the world's most expensive tasting menu, at Spanish chef Paco Roncero’s soon-to-open Sublimotion in Ibiza – 20 courses for a mere 1,500 Euros (just over $2,000 USD) might just be enough to make you grateful for your (relatively) cheap eats.