Consumers Face Unprecedented Increase in Food Costs

It’s no illusion that you’ve recently been paying more for a loaf of bread, and the USDA reports that the trend will continue. Industry insiders predict that the rising cost of food will outpace the general rate of inflation over the next two years, affecting the shopping and eating habits of a huge segment of Americans. As the price of corn and other grains has surged, livestock farmers have been forced to increase prices in order to absorb feeding costs. The USDA’s chief economist attributes this rapid inflation in part to the biofuel industry’s demand for corn, which has monopolized a portion of that market. To combat this tension between the demands for fuel and food, agricultural companies are funding new research in the hope of producing new high-yield corn seeds.