Food prices

[Straight Shooter]

Nobody seems to be talking about the cost of food or the increases that are taking place on a regular basis ! It’s as though people are just excepting that prices will go up and we simply have to stump up or go without ? ....food banks have increased capacity and are starting to fall short of the ever increasing demand ......inflation will morph into hyper inflation .....so what can we do ? To counter these costs being thrust upon us .....grow your own food ! Do something ! To provide for you and yours become proactive , be in control .....it may be small or large containers to start with .....but you can grow something , anything will help ! The thing NOT to do is sit on your arse and complain and do nothing .

[bigpaul]

it always used to be "back in the day" that in Britain housing was cheap and food was expensive-when I first got married you only had a roast joint once a week, nowadays housing is expensive and food is relatively cheap, of course where prices are concerned "the only way is up"!
as far as growing your own food most people dont have the time, or the knowledge or the inclination, better to just bitch and moan "when are the govt going to sort "IT"-whatever IT is.
it is possible to grow a lot of your own food in containers or even just in growbags on a balcony, but apart from preppers who does??

[Straight Shooter]

While food prices continue rise along with utility costs …..in fact everything is becoming more expensive no matter what you are purchasing ….it’s getting harder by the week ! ………Yet you would not think so here in South Wales …we have gone shopping on different days of the week and in many locations ……..people are shopping and filling their carts full , ok I appreciate Christmas is only weeks away but food shopping seems to be early this year , people are stocking up and putting food aside waiting on harder times ahead , at least that’s my take on things right now! .

The main media are pumping out a hard winter is coming , strike action is hitting most all areas disruptions will follow trains,nhs, power supply you name it ! Plus they are openly warning of power outages .

Empty shelves ? …..not really …..any gaps or shortage is filled with chocolates , mince pies , Christmas cakes , Christmas puddings and Christmas wrapping paper …..there are no gaps at all ! The feeling is a land of plenty ! What’s all the fuss about ? All that’s required is money to buy ! In any available form cash or card they could not care less ….but they love credit cards best ! Where people use credit and get into debt in double quick time…….giving the users plenty of time to figure out how the hell they will be able to pay it all back later not realising the hole they are digging for themselves …..taking and robbing themselves of any future .

Meanwhile many seem to be oblivious as to what’s coming down the track or just bury their heads in the sand hoping things will get better or go away ? Some even think it’s going to go back to normal very soon !

This is just the start the beginning ….we have seen nothing yet ! I keep on saying it , time will tell everything is only now starting to unfold ! ……..prep as though your life depends on it .

[iaaems]

I seem to recall the phrase "Live now - Pay later" as it appears to be how "we" live just now.
Perhaps it should be re-phrased as "Save now - Live later". I appreciate that may be regarded as "Boring" - but it does work - for me at least.
Saving has been part of my life for a very long time - I am not wealthy but I am not broke or under any sort of financial strain at the moment. To a certain extent this is a part of "prepping" that cannot be ignored.
Increases in food and basic essentials have been noted - but if you have 'planned ahead' these increases are just part of what it is all about.
To see folks cramming their shopping trolleys full of 'luxury items' fills me with a certain amount of 'disturbance' as I really hope these people will be able to pay their way next year. If they cannot then that is very definitely 'their problem'.

[bigpaul]

I can certainly see house reposessions in the new year, also evictions for rent arrears.
food has been too cheap for far too long, mostly down to the supermarkets not paying the farmers properly.

[harryhotspur]

(3 December 2022, 12:53)bigpaul Wrote: I can certainly see house reposessions in the new year, also evictions for rent arrears.
food has been too cheap for far too long, mostly down to the supermarkets not paying the farmers properly.

I think these increases have a lot to do with the record supermarket profits as much as anything.

[Mortblanc]

What's the suggestion?
What's the answer?

Is this just a "we are so much better than them!" thread?

Should the media not warn of shortages, labor actions and lack of fuel? What is that difference between news and propaganda, truth?

Do you NOT want to be warned, or to warn others?

Should the store hold stock in the warehouse and present empty shelves to crate fear and panic buying? Should they refuse to sell luxury goods if they have them? The regional/national rep would fire a manager that did so!

Are "WE" now in charge of telling the population how to shop "properly"? Is buying chocolates and mince pie now a crime? They do have a pretty good shelf life and should last until spring!

Are we now telling people to NOT PREP. Are we telling them to shop for daily needs at daily inflated prices? I can point to dozens of posts on the forum telling people to purchase as much as they can while they can! Anything they can get their hands on. Are we not doing that any more?

Are we telling them to "save" their money at 1% interest while inflation hikes to 15%?

For God sake do some math! If the card rate is lower than the inflation rate??????

No one saves money during an inflation cycle! It is not logical behavior.

Are the markets not allowed to show a profit? When did Labor take over? Lets just shutter them all and put everyone on benefits because someone made a profit!

Not paying the farmers? When 80% of your staple goods are imported from 3rd world nations and 100% of your local farming is subsidized by the government, then their products exported as luxury goods? What did you last eat that was grown, processed and packaged inside your borders? Even the meat at the butcher shop was imported from Brazil!

Evictions? Foreclosures? That is generally not due to high prices at the supermarket. That is due to loss of income, which is another situation entirely and when it happens massively and nationwide, usually results in the government banning such court actions. They just did that during the pandemic.

It is now December and things have been mild. The people are stocking up due to the warnings. They are buying food now so they can pay fuel prices latter, and because they see labor disputes coming that will slow transport and availability. In many cases they are charging this expense on cards.

It is their choice it they wish to pay 8% interest now compared to 15% inflated price in February. They have that choice now on food but may not have it in 3 months on fuel. At least they will not be roaming with torches and pitchforks, looting and burning the castle.

[CharlesHarris]

Do they still sell Dundee cake? If I recall Sir Winzto. Likes Dundee cake with his Harvey's Shooting Sherry, chocolate and cigars. I prefer Admiralty rum myself, but could make sacrifices for the greater good...

[iaaems]

My apologies if I gave the impression that "I am better than everyone else".
That was not my point, and I am not so.
The point that I was trying to make was that my observation on other folks activities was that there seemed to be a great deal of "excess" taking place, in my opinion. I hope that the celebration of Christmas will be an enjoyable experience for everybody and that next year will be an enjoyable experience also.
I just hope that the scale of enjoyment does not put folks into a 'problem area' later on.
As a youngster I was led to believe that saving was a good thing - this advice came from a grandparent who had survived a world war and had been able to pay bills due to the fact that enough 'flexible asset' was available most of the time. The advice given was taken on board and has stood me in good stead to this day. It is a way of life.

[bigpaul]

(4 December 2022, 01:39)Mortblanc Wrote: What's the suggestion?
What's the answer?

Is this just a "we are so much better than them!" thread?

Should the media not warn of shortages, labor actions and lack of fuel? What is that difference between news and propaganda, truth?

Do you NOT want to be warned, or to warn others?

Should the store hold stock in the warehouse and present empty shelves to crate fear and panic buying? Should they refuse to sell luxury goods if they have them? The regional/national rep would fire a manager that did so!

Are "WE" now in charge of telling the population how to shop "properly"? Is buying chocolates and mince pie now a crime? They do have a pretty good shelf life and should last until spring!

Are we now telling people to NOT PREP. Are we telling them to shop for daily needs at daily inflated prices? I can point to dozens of posts on the forum telling people to purchase as much as they can while they can! Anything they can get their hands on. Are we not doing that any more?

Are we telling them to "save" their money at 1% interest while inflation hikes to 15%?

For God sake do some math! If the card rate is lower than the inflation rate??????

No one saves money during an inflation cycle! It is not logical behavior.

Are the markets not allowed to show a profit? When did Labor take over? Lets just shutter them all and put everyone on benefits because someone made a profit!

Not paying the farmers? When 80% of your staple goods are imported from 3rd world nations and 100% of your local farming is subsidized by the government, then their products exported as luxury goods? What did you last eat that was grown, processed and packaged inside your borders? Even the meat at the butcher shop was imported from Brazil!

Evictions? Foreclosures? That is generally not due to high prices at the supermarket. That is due to loss of income, which is another situation entirely and when it happens massively and nationwide, usually results in the government banning such court actions. They just did that during the pandemic.

It is now December and things have been mild. The people are stocking up due to the warnings. They are buying food now so they can pay fuel prices latter, and because they see labor disputes coming that will slow transport and availability. In many cases they are charging this expense on cards.

It is their choice it they wish to pay 8% interest now compared to 15% inflated price in February. They have that choice now on food but may not have it in 3 months on fuel. At least they will not be roaming with torches and pitchforks, looting and burning the castle.

someone has a strange view of Britain, 80% importation? what rubbish, the UK is 60% self sufficient in food, the rest is imported, half from Europe the remainder from the rest of the world.
the meat we buy personally does NOT come from Brazil, it comes from a Devon farm not far away and is better quality than anything you find in a supermarket.
the ordinary person does NOT prep, they use the supermarket as their larder, they are only stocking up at the moment because we have this stupid festival of gluttony at the end of this month, and a lot of that will be thrown away because it will go off before they have chance to eat it, its always the same at this time of year, people are stupid most of the year but they just go nuts during this month.