When I recently read that the global food chain was stretched to the limit, and the food index is higher than it’s ever been, I thought to myself “wow I wonder what this means to us”, (as in here in the United States)?

And apparently, its a lot.

Look at all the weather disasters we've had lately, not to mention the world over.  Floods, wild fires, blizzards, ice storms, torrential rains, hail, higher than usual heat indexes.  It’s all there – and all affects the food harvests.

A while back, there were reports, as a result of hard freezes in Florida and Mexico wiping out the pepper, tomato, and green bean crops, and that thieves were actually robbing cargo trucks and stealing hauls of produce because of the spike in prices of the vegetables; some they say, the thefts were on a par with flat-screen TVs.

Then came spring, and meteorologists were expecting the Midwest to be cooler than normal, even into the summer months which would mean a stunt in the growth of the harvest and a diminished crop yield.

Sorry all you vegetarians, that would be bad news for you. Oh wait, that would be bad news for all of us. Food prices would be higher than ever.

Corn is another that has been on the rise.  And in turn, this means meat is on the rise.  Yep. Think about it. We have to feed the chickens, cows and pigs … and all those other meat animals with stuff made of corn too; which by the way has doubled.  Oh and then there’s the fact that the lions-share of our nation’s corn is used to produce ethanol not food. And there ya have it. *Sigh*

Potatoes that used to be $1.50 for 10 lbs, today are selling for more like $6. But the good news is, you can do something about potatoes. Cut up one or two potatoes (where you see a little ‘eye’ – or the part that grows when you've forgotten about them for several months) and, plant these pieces in your backyard (yes you can even use those "science project" potatoes I was referring to and plant). And, in no time you will have your 10 lbs of potatoes at the cost of one or two potatoes.

These rising prices have a lot to do with businesses too.  Not just dinner on the table. Think about it, everyone from agricultural food producers down to our favorite little restaurant can  be affected.  And we aren't even gonna touch the sky rocketing gas prices - which is made with the use of corn too.

We need to start shopping smarter, buy things and load up on them when they're on sale. 

Think about it, the more you spend on a loaf of bread or some hamburger meat, the less you have to spend on everything else …like, say shoes?  Nah, just kidding, I was just trying to get your attention. 

Oh, and here’s a thought!  Instead of buying that crappy (I said that with love by the way) processed food.  Maybe you wanna start r-e-a-l-l-y thinking about planting that garden?  With all those yummy and fresh herbs and spices that you can use to dress-up a boring piece of chicken and make something spectacular.  You know, the same ones you grab off your spice rack in those cute little jars and pay a fortune for?  And the great news is, most of them are perennials (they grow back every year) so you have fresh goodies all year!  Just make a little area in your backyard – we all know the kids don’t play back there any how - throw some seeds out of your favorites.  And that’s it.  Soon enough you’ll have wonderful aromas waffling though the yard of flowering herbs.

So get to digging - only a little.

Well save the raising chickens and goats topics for another time.

- Survivor Jane

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