World now has only a 10 WEEK wheat supply

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http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle3423734.ece

"THE world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies after stocks fell to their lowest levels for 50 years.

The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high and could lead to further hikes in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods.

It could also exacerbate serious food shortages in developing countries especially in Africa.

The crisis comes after two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests, which saw production fall from 624m to 600m tonnes, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)."

**

There's more, but we've been following the flood/drought, etc news right along. I'm surprised to see the 10 week number. Then what?
....................................................benny ....p.s...and a man will work a days wages for a loaf of bread.

This will not help matters... http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/ma...layer3415.shtml An aspirin company laced the government with nicotine to help sustain profit at the expense of our Constitution. Business as usual has stricken the bees and a new price for us to pay. Just ask the French if there efforts to stop this assault has produced a recovery, no one accepting money from pharmacia will, they are too happy with the power of the bottom line and the empty belly of the poor that sustains their cause. If you see your Representative on the Hill, check their heel, you will see the bruise... from kicking the bottom line.

Good thing I quit drinking beer!

When the king of France adopted John Law's fiat money plan, it ended up crashing the economy. A half century later the effects were still with them. The people had little food. Some years of severe weather exacerbated the situation.

Marie Antoinette never said, "Let them eat cake." She was still a teenager in Austria at the time she was supposed to have said it. But if she had, it would have been good advice, in government-think. It would have been, "Let them eat brioche."

Brioche is a rich, cake-like bread, made with butter and eggs. Under French law at the time, if a baker ran out of regular bread to sell, he had to sell more expensive breads at the same price.

Naturally, not much brioche was available. Why would a baker make something on which he would lose money? If there were brioche, the people could eat it. But there wasn't. The government "solved a problem" by passing a law that did nothing to alleviate hunger.

The conditions were a major impetus to the French revolution.

And God defeated Napoleon.

By the way: 10 weeks wheat will surely be enough, if we fast.

But he dd strut his hour on the stage, as did Robespierre before him.

Bonaparte did institute the metric system, Egyptian archaeology, and a few other things.

The revolutionary French discovered that people couldn't live without faith, so they built a temple to Reason and funded its priests, trying to supplant Christianity. It was a colossal flop.

Do ya think maybe God knows what He's doing?
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/hines/060824

Yes, we need to feed those Hybrid cars and that jet that ran off of hybrid fuel. Do you think that God is going to make it so we can operate off of air?

Excellent post... The same beast is now treading down our Constitution, raising up NEO fascism, socialism, communism... as people educated by their degrees and consume as a lie... by the same New World Order Law' Fiat, every time a party vote casts a Dollar upon the feet of it's image. We have no defense against New World Order fascism, if we accept this beast. People know not what they do and the ones that do are sustained by delusion, the offering by which the Grand Chessboard players pawn out people, nations and tongues. This offer of time, given by the Grace of God in Christ, is at an end. Strong delusion is defined by the nature of their game. Lucifer gains nothing from the alter and knows time is short. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrZ1B38TH6k God has defeated the offer, the Lamb of God in Christ is defined . The Love of God in Christ shall burn up the mark of the beast, defining the risen Bride. The wilderness of pain and it's conductors shall receive inversion, sustained inside consuming flames where their acts, their ceremonial procession, final curtain call closes the door on their game play. Their rate of return, the inversion, shall cast their works into the lake of fire... by Heavens power and glory, the Word of God in Christ. The judgment of these self proclaimed wise men, men of old, men of renown, will know the company of angels that have the Word of God in Christ. No more... shall the evil men in high office cast flesh into the fire but, shall receive their work, their testimony. Woe to any man that accepts the number of the beast and the murder suicide inflamed upon the alter. Woe to all the nations of the Earth, for the prophetic Word of God in Christ has defined what has now come upon this Earth as we stand united with God in Christ, inflamed by the desire of a man and as marked targets, a meal for the beast... sealed inside the ballot box of the fallen, the furnace by which principalities sin, tax and error. As Daniel stood, we are now ready to receive our reward, the King of Heaven, the gift of God, Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! We shall not consume the unclean beast, the body and blood of Christ sustains the call of the Bride. The marriage supper of the Lamb is upon the table. Rejoice! Rejoice! Hallelujah!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aGcGIiIwHQ1g

Famines May Occur Without Record Crops This Year, Potash Says

By Christopher Donville
Enlarge Image/Details

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Grain farmers will need to harvest record crops every year to meet increasing global food demand and avoid famine, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. Chief Executive Officer William Doyle said.

People and livestock are consuming more grain than ever, draining world inventories and increasing the likelihood of shortages, Doyle said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Global grain stockpiles fell to about 53 days of supply last year, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1960, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

``If you had any major upset where you didn't have a crop in a major growing agricultural region this year, I believe you'd see famine,'' Doyle, 57, said in New York.

Potash, the world's largest maker of crop nutrients, has more than doubled in market value in the past year as record crop prices allowed farmers to spend more on fertilizer to boost yields. The company has more than doubled net income in the past two years to $1.1 billion and expects gross profit from potash to expand to $8 billion within five years from $912 million in 2007. Potash is a form of potassium that helps plants grow.

Potash, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, rose C$7.90, or 5.3 percent, to a record C$157.25 yesterday in Toronto Stock Exchange trading.

Mosaic Co., the world's largest producer of phosphate fertilizer, rose $6.18, or 6 percent, to $109.55 in New York. Agrium Inc., the largest retailer of crop nutrients in the U.S., rose C$3.22, or 4.9 percent, to C$69 in Toronto.

China and India

Crop prices have soared as much as fourfold this decade because of increased demand for food in India and China, where hundreds of millions of people are moving up to the middle class and can afford to eat more meat from animals raised on grain- based feeds, Doyle said.

Soybean futures rose to a record $14.2875 a bushel yesterday on the Chicago Board of Trade, capping an 85 percent gain in the past 12 months. Wheat prices, which have more than doubled in the past year in Chicago, reached a record on Feb. 11, and corn climbed to a record on Feb. 6.

``There is a dietary shift occurring in China today, particularly amongst the young,'' Hugh Grant, chief executive officer of Monsanto Co., the world's biggest seed producer, said in a Feb. 6 interview. ``As protein consumption increases, as they move from fish to chicken, chicken to pork, and pork to beef, the demand for commodities increases almost by an order of magnitude.''

`Enormous Pressure'

``We keep going to the cupboard without replacing and so there is enormous pressure on agriculture to have a record crop every year,'' Doyle said. ``We need to have a record crop in 2008 just to stay even with this very low inventory situation.''

Planting more crop land in Brazil and boosting yields from existing fields in China and Russia, where agricultural productivity has lagged behind the U.S. and Canada, may be needed to avoid food shortages, Doyle said.

``The agriculture fertilizer sector offers tremendous fundamentals that will prove unique in an otherwise challenging and eroding macroeconomic environment,'' Robert Koort, a New York-based analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in a Feb. 13 report. He recommends buying Potash shares.

Potash Corp. is expanding output of potash by about 7 million metric tons a year in the next eight years as farmers seek to boost crop yields. The company currently can produce about 10 million tons.

``You won't have a global shortage of food because you don't have enough potash,'' said Doyle, whose company also makes phosphates and nitrogen-based nutrients.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Donville in New York at cjdonville@bloomberg.net
...................................................benny

Monsonto is the absolute embodiment of evil. They would have me believe that they are feeding the world when they are killing it.

UN World Food Program to institute food rationing
Surging food prices are causing food riots around the world.



It will be no surprise to the regular readers of this web site that there's a real emergency going on in the world, and I'm not referring to the fad "emergencies" like climate change.

Food prices around the world continue to surge uncontrollably. Overall, prices of food are up 40% in the last year. This may not mean much to most Americans, since food is a relatively small part of the American budget. But in places where average earnings are less than a dollar a day, this throws more people into starvation.

UPDATE: After this article was posted, wheat prices have hit fresh highs. Wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose the maximum 90 cents allowed to $11.99 a bushel. (The 30 cent limit that I mentioned recently has been increased to 90 cents.) And Financial Times reports that prices of top-quality wheat jumped 25 per cent on Monday in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country that's one of the world's largest exporters of wheat. (This paragraph added on Feb 26.)

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is responsible for distributing food to world regions hit by war, natural disaster, or poverty.

However, food prices have been rising so rapidly, that the WFP's budget requirements have been rising by tens of millions of dollars PER WEEK.

According to the WFP's Josette Sheeran, we're "seeing a new face of hunger in which people are being priced out of the food market" with hunger now "affecting a wide range of countries", pointing to Indonesia, Yemen and Mexico in particular.

According to news reports, food riots have broken out in Morocco, Yemen, Mexico, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and Uzbekistan. Pakistan has reintroduced rationing for the first time in two decades. Russia has frozen the price of milk, bread, eggs and cooking oil for six months. Thailand is also planning a freeze on food staples. After protests around Indonesia, Jakarta has increased public food subsidies. India has banned the export of rice except the high-quality basmati variety.

There's little doubt that this can go on much longer. One of the features of the modern world is the success of modern medicine, and the reduction of the infant mortality rate, from 40-50% in the early 1800s to 1-2% today. This has created huge masses of young people around the world, often packed into huge "megacities," each containing tens of millions of people with no access to farmland. Families in poverty in those cities often survive by foraging in large garbage dumps for scraps of food left over by people who can afford to buy food. With the worldwide price of wheat doubling in the last year, and other food prices increasing as well, there are probably tens of millions more people in the world each month who have to forage through garbage dumps. Each month, more and more men are unable to feed themselves and their families, and their only choice for survival will be either mass rebellion or to join the army and go to war.

What never ceases to amaze me is how little attention this problem gets. We've just spent the weekend listening to the most bilious nonsense about whether it's plagiarism to quote someone who quoted the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Can you think of a more moronic and fatuous debate?

But not a word about what is undoubtedly the greatest emergency in the world today -- the increasing starvation of millions of people, and the resulting instability.

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, the world is headed for a "clash of civilizations" world war, with absolutely certainty, and it's just possible that it will be launched somewhere because a "tipping point" was passed in the growing price of food.


http://www.generationaldynamics.com/...0226b#e080226b
........................................................benny

Wheat shortage gets bakers right in the bread basket


(Published: Sunday, February 24, 2008

Formica Brothers Bakery has been in the bread business for more than 90 years, but now a nationwide wheat shortage has the Atlantic City bakery's owner questioning whether it will last another five.

"I always figured that at this stage of my life I would be planning my retirement. Instead, I'm in panic mode and getting ready to put up the fight of my life," said Frank Formica, 56, who has been the sole proprietor of the bakery for 36 years.

Like flour-dependent businesses all over the country, Formica Brothers has been hit hard by the drastically rising price of flour, which has increased by about 250 percent in just six months.

"In August, a 100-pound bag of flour cost about $15. Today it's over $50," said Formica, of Margate. "For us, that means we went from paying $7,500 a week for a shipment of 500 pounds of flour to now paying over $25,000."

Lee Sanders, the senior vice president of government relations and public affairs for the American Bakers Association, said this increase has forced many bakeries to raise their prices just to stay in business.

According to the ABA, the cost of flour per loaf of bread was about 10 cents in February 2007. Today it is about 36 cents per loaf.

"Bakers have no choice but to raise the prices of their products, and we're not happy about it. Because at some point your market is going to meet resistance," Formica said. "We've already lost a few customers, and we're seeing some of our others a lot less frequently."

The ABA has planned a "Band of Bakers" march on Washington for March 12, Sanders said, in which the bakers will meet with representatives from the White House, Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sanders said the wheat crisis was the result of a perfect storm of three separate issues all happening at the same time:

A national push for ethanol fuel, which is enticing farmers to grow corn instead of wheat.

The proposed conservation of more than 39 million acres of land that was once used for farming in the Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007.

The nation's exporting of wheat is at a record high, which is driving up the cost of the product for domestic consumption.

Consequently, Sanders said, the nation currently only has a one-month surplus of wheat, instead of the typical three-month supply it usually has on hand.

"This presents a very dangerous situation for both the economy and national security. Because you never want to be in a situation where you are without domestic supply and have to rely on foreign suppliers," said Sanders, who added one stretch of bad weather could eliminate the remaining surplus.

A prominent sign on the counter of Valenti's Italian Bakery in Egg Harbor Township informs the bakery's customers why a recent price increase was necessary.

"I tried as long as I could to hold off raising the prices. I went line by line looking for ways to cut cost, including tightening up payroll hours and being more careful with purchases," said Donna McGlynn, the bakery's owner. "It was like a juggling act. But eventually it became an absolute necessity to do it."

Because about 85 percent of Valenti's business is wholesale, McGlynn also had to make adjustments to her delivery services to offset the high price of fuel.

"Between the flour and the gas, it surely makes me think harder about every step I take," said McGlynn, who had to find a way to fit more bread into the delivery trucks to cut down on trips and is contemplating buying a larger truck to condense two or three delivery trips into one.

While Sanders said many bakeries across the country have been forced to make tough decisions due to the wheat shortage, including layoffs and even closings, McGlynn is optimistic her small bakery will be able to weather the storm.

"I don't intend to lay off any employees, but we will continue to tighten things up and raise prices, if need be," said McGlynn, who said most of the price increases for the retail portion of her business were between 5 and 10 cents. "People are still going to need bread; they are just going to shop around to see where they can get it the cheapest. We've already seen examples of that. So if we are able to keep our prices competitive, I'm hopeful that we will be ok."

Formica, however, doesn't see how it will be possible for any bakery to go unscathed if prices continue to increase.

"As long as the voodoo priestess who is controlling the prices keeps making them go up, there really are only two options - increase the size of my operations to cover our expenses or scale the operations back to save money," said Formica, who is planning to expand his Atlantic City bakery and open a second location in Northfield. "If the market was fairly stable for 30 years, you'd be able to map out a business plan to make either of these decisions work. But that's not the case. We're under the gun, and there is no end in sight."

To e-mail Robert Spahr at The Press:


http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/1...ory/89600.html
.........................................................benny

http://uk.reuters.com/article/newsOn...080225?sp=true

Commodities Boom Sends French Food Prices Rocketing

PARIS (Reuters) - Prices of grain and milk-based food products have surged in France in recent months due to booming commodities prices, a French consumer group said in a report.

A monitoring of over 1,000 products between the end of November and early January in five supermarkets showed that yoghurt, milk and pasta had most suffered from the surge in many agricultural commodities that started last year.

"They're not rising, they've caught fire," monthly 60 Millions de Consommateurs said in its March report, circulated ahead of publication on Tuesday.

"Everywhere since the start of the year, spaghetti, yoghurt, camembert cheeses, have seen staggering rises in prices," it said, stressing that the surge had hit all types of products, famous brands as well as supermarket own-brands.

Two hundred products saw a rise of more than 10 percent over six weeks, with the packs of spaghetti reviewed rising between 31 and 45 percent, plain yoghurts between 17 and 40 pct and bottled milk between 20 and 37 pct.

Prices of agriculture products have surged across the board this year, hitting everything from cereals to milk and meat. Some economists have labeled the rise "agflation," attributing it to tight stocks and surging demand from emerging countries.

(snip)
French Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs Luc Chatel said the surge in global farm commodities could explain dearer food prices but added it was too often used as an alibi to pass on "totally unjustified" rises.

"Distributors and manufacturers are carving up the cake between themselves to the detriment of consumers," he told France 3 television.

French inflation rose to its highest annual level in at least 11 years in January, reinforcing public concern about rising living costs that have damaged President Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity.

Prices paid by consumers in the euro zone's second biggest economy were flat month on month but rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier on an EU harmonised basis, driven by surging energy and food prices, statistics office INSEE said last week.
...................................................benny

The Coming Starvation In America

By James P. Wickstrom


The government of the United States, by Law was to always maintain a three year mixed- grain survival storage for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
Like most Laws of the land, the politicians never took heed as to why our wise ancestors had this reserve requirement established. It was to make sure, that, in the time of a National Emergency, the people had the most important mainstay needed for survival individually and as a Nation.

Remember, the people make the Nation, the Nation does not make the people.

In the 1960's and 1970's the different political administrations of Washington, D.C. walked away from sanity and started to give the surplus grains which where in elevator storage all over the country, to other nations, such as the Soviet Union, India, etc.. This continued over two decades, until the elevators were empty and the reserve of grains that were in reserve as per a national crisis....were gone. Of course this was done as to inhance international "friendship" with other nations, even if those other nations were self-admitted enemies of the United States.

Remember, there was enough grain in storage, paid for by the American tax-payer, to last the masses inside the United States for three full years, if need be. But now it all is but gone!

By 1996, the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) claimed that there was enough food in ware-house storage to last every man, woman and child in the cities a 3 day supply and a 5 day supply for every man, woman, and child in the countryside, should a great national emergency occur. In other words, if food trucks stopped running, the food supplies for the masses would be 3 days in the cities and 5 days in the countryside.

In 2003, the U.S.D.A. stopped measuring for "days in reserve" of food for every man, woman, and child in the United States because the amount of food in storage in the United States dropped under a 1 day food supply for every man, woman, and child in the United States. Thus, the U.S.D.A. started to measure in individual pounds as to how much food was in the food-chain per person in the United States as per 300 million people.

In 2003, there was 77 pounds of food per person in the warehouse food-chain in the United States. What this means, is that during a national emergency, only 77 pounds of food per person is available before all food is TOTALLY GONE in the United States.

By September of 2005, there is now only 15.7 pounds of reserved foodstuffs in the food-chain for every man, woman, and child in the United States. This means that there has been an 80% decrease in the past two years. That decrease is becoming greater with every passing day in the United States. Of the 15.7 pounds of warehoused reserved food-stuffs, 11.0 pounds of the 15.7 pounds consists of unprocessed wheat. The rest of the 15.7 pounds of survival foods in storage for every man, woman, and child, totaling 4.7 pounds, consists of the following foods:

1. Non-fat dry milk 2. Cheese 3. Corn by the bushel 4. Peanuts by the pound 5. Lentils by the pound

That's it folks ! . . . This is what the District of Columbia has set aside representing the 15.7 pounds in the survival food-chain for every man, woman, and child to stay alive on. This is not a daily supply, this amount represents the total food everyone will get for ....how long, who knows!

The U.S.D.A. Crop Production Report per September 12, 2005, contained said information, and this information was brought forth by Alan Guebert of the Farm & Food Report.

Collective communist farming failed in the Soviet Union and communist China, and the present form of Collective Farming (paying the farmers not to grow food) has totally failed in the United States.

Mr. Guebert also stated, that one more disaster as the likes of the hurricanes Katrina or Rita against the United States, or anything to compare to such in whatever way, would create such a food panic, it would make the New Orleans rioting look like the Mardi Gras.

The United States Government for the past 75 years has been driving the United States deeper and deeper into the realm of communism. The United States is financially broke, the farms are broken down, the Nation has been de-industrialized, and the outsourcing of jobs continues to this day. Both corrupt federal administrations, the Democrat and Republican eat off the same plate. They have labeled that plate; "Screw the taxpayer, each and every one of them."

Our European ancestors were very wise, honest and full of common sense. They had food cellars where they had food canned, that could last themwell over a year, insuring them that they would be able to plant a crop the following summer, and still be able to survive waiting for crops to mature and harvest. They did not rely on the corrupt politicans who are liars and thieves.

But as I said, time passed by and the people put a false trust in their elected and appointed public servants thinking that these same people were looking out for their personal interests. How sadly wrong the people were then, and still are.

In conclusion, I highly suggest that you pull your head out of the sand, check your food supplies, and if you do not have 6 months to a years food in reserve, then you had best sell something or do whatever you have to do, to immediately prepare yourself and your loved ones for safety. If you can store two years at this time: DO IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Remember, the 15.7 pounds of food in reserve is becoming less by the day, and at the present rate of speed, the United States is heading to what is called.... meal to meal. One more major disaster will drive the United States to its knees.

The federal government, for itself, has millions of tons of preserved foods stashed away in underground storages, but this food is not for the masses, unless they surrender their firearms, and then they will get a food coupon from the *feds* to buy out of the federal government food warehouse wherever it is set up in your area.

............. has always subjected and controlled the masses using FOOD. Remember, FOOD CONTROL IS PEOPLE CONTROL, and this same plan is being laid out laid out against the masses in the United States by COMMUNISTS in both the Republican and Democratic parties of the United States. New Orleans was your cue: Now prepare! You have been warned.

Your blood is off my hands!


http://www.rense.com/general67/starve.htm
.................................................benny

http://www.luckeyfarmers.com/index.a...32428&fpstid=1

Seeds May be in Short Supply

Compiled By Staff
February 26, 2008


With record crop prices, producers are trying to plant as much acreage as they can this spring, but according to North Dakota State University economist Cole Gustafson finding the seed to plant those acres may not be easy.

"Last year many people who raise commodities for seed production ended up selling it for grain rather than cleaning and processing it and making it available to seed growers this year," Gustafson says. Because of that some areas may face seed shortages.

"It's obviously going to be a concern because this year we are looking at expanded acreage for many of the national crops," Gustafson says. "As a consequence demand for seed is rising just from the perspective of increased acreage. To the extent that we have a lower supply along with that is kind of a double-whammy situation."

In addition to seed being high-priced, analysts expect overall inputs for producers to increase by 9% with a jump of 18% in the cost of fertilizer.
....................................................benny

Wheat Tops $12 a Bushel for First Time
By STEVENSON JACOBS – 54 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Wheat futures vaulted above $12 a bushel for the first time Tuesday as investors bet that a shortage of high-quality milling wheat will keep prices high for the grain used in bread, pasta and other foods.

Other commodities traded mostly higher, with crude oil surpassing $100 a barrel and silver hitting its highest level since 1980.

Wheat prices have surged 34 percent since the start of year, pushed higher by growing world demand, tight supplies and bad weather that has pummeled crops in Canada, Argentina and India. U.S. exporters are selling wheat a record pace to meet demand, rapidly depleting stockpiles. The Department of Agriculture expects U.S. wheat inventories will total 272 million bushels by the end of May — the lowest level in more than five decades.

"Everybody is coming to the realization that the shortage of wheat is not going away," said Elaine Kub, a commodities market analyst at DTN. "There's no relief coming from anywhere in the world until June," when the U.S. wheat harvest begins.

Wheat for May delivery jumped the 90-cent daily trading limit to settle at $12.145 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest ever.

Other agriculture futures traded mixed. Soybeans for May delivery added 15 cents to settle at $14.8425 a bushel on the CBOT, while March corn declined 2.75 cents to settle at $5.305 a bushel.

Unprecedented demand for agricultural products from fast-growing countries including China and India has exacerbated the supply crunch for wheat, which has more than doubled in price since last year.

The higher wheat prices may not immediately affect U.S. consumers since big food companies like Kellogg Co., General Mills Inc., and Kraft Foods Inc. typically protect themselves from price volatility with long-term supply contracts. But analysts say some consumers are already feeling the pinch — from smaller cereal boxes to having to ask for bread at restaurants — and should expect higher prices to eventually work their way into the grocery aisle.

Also affecting the cost of food is the high price of crude, which surged back above $100 Tuesday as investors ignored reports of more U.S. economic turmoil and bet that oil will extend its advance.

Prices had eased overnight as traders anticipated a government report due out Wednesday that is expected to show U.S. crude stocks rose for the seventh week in a row. But oil has risen over the past week amid an increase in speculative buying fed by expectations of a spike in demand.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery jumped $1.65 to settle at $100.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, crude hit a new trading record of $101.15 a barrel.

Other energy futures also rose. March gasoline futures inched 0.86 cent higher to settle at $2.5505 a gallon on the Nymex, while March heating oil gained 2.97 cents to settle at $2.8150 a gallon.

Meanwhile, precious metals prices advanced broadly Tuesday, with silver hitting a 28-year high after the dollar weakened against the euro. Silver for March delivery added 63.5 cents to settle at $18.720 an ounce on the Nymex. In aftermarket trading, the metal later hit a new record of $18.865 an ounce.

Other metals also rose. Gold for April delivery gained $8.40 to settle at $948.90 an ounce on the Nymex, while March copper added 3.95 cents to settle at $3.7790 a pound.


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...PIP8gD8V27IVO1
..........................................................benny

we are, and will yet be, witnesses to what is written. for it is written. "a quart of wheat for a denaruis (a day's wage)." -revelation

and so it must be.

keep your faith. raise up your heads in hope and faith and keep your hearts in peace, in love.

earthquakes. food shortages. war. pestilence.

Jesus spoke what is the Truth. for he IS the TRUTH.

do not fear, or become fearful for your souls as to what you will eat or what you will put on.

for your Father in heaven knows you need all these things.

Keep on then, seeking first the Kingdom and his righteousness. all other things will be added to you.

but you are to expect and to anticipate persecution.

for no student is greater than his teacher.

and if they persecuted Jesus and his apostles, then if you follow Jesus, you too will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of his name.

prepare your hearts in prayer. and rely on the One that gives us strength to endure.

for Here is where it will require endurance on the part of the holy ones.

but the reward is great. and do not fear the loss of your life-- from men. speak of Jesus and the Good News.

He promises to "cut short the days", or no flesh would survive. but on account of his chosen ones, he will cut short the days.

No longer hidden hidden... the call for justice consumes the air as the revelation seal is broken... The New World Order beast real estate commerce tax of strong delusion and the burdensome stone that grinds the wheat under the hoof in the mouth of the bottom line market price... which tags the beast with the number of a man... consuming a delusion, is open for business. Uncle Sam eats Uncle Ben as Uncle Ben eats Uncle Sam... a seedless venture cropped up like a Werewolf making a withdraw at a London Bank, on it's way to a Chinese restaurant... Silver bullets will not do the trick, only God in Christ can over come the diseased beast... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhSc8qVMjKM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalitis http://www.mad-cow.org/ http://kcfoodcircle.smn-rab.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=318 http://www.saynotogmos.org/ud2007/ujul07.php The image of the beast sings a familiar song without a bride... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMub1_CdOrQ

Who is Monsanto? It is a US corporation which made Agent Orange, PCBs , nuclear weapons components, pesticides, ... With that diverse background in death, it is now "doing" food.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

http://www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/aspartame.shtml

In 1985, Monsanto bought G.D. Searle — and the aspartame business became a separate Monsanto subsidiary, the NutraSweet Company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

Clinton's Connection to Monsanto's Aspartame

http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2008/02/...-monsantos.html

The UN is warning of a food shortage crisis and drawing up plans for food rations which will hit even middle-class suburban populations as inflation and economic uncertainty causes the prices of staple food commodities to skyrocket.

http://salonesoterica.wordpress.com/2008/0...tions-warns-un/

I have a rather peculiar testimony that may some up what we are dealing with. When I was working at ABC National News in D.C. one day, I was up on the Hill when I saw this strange man. I recognized him from a report on the TV I saw. I was stunned to see this guy on the Hill but, what I am about to tell you should shock you even more, as it did me. This guy, dressed in a ridiculous Star Trek, Judo looking outfit, was there to testify before congress!!! Yes that's right, a lunatic was called before our Representatives so they could hear the testimony of a French race car driver who spoke with a UFO on a mountain. David Koresh, Luis Farrah Kan etc.. all have this in common and even the Dali Lama makes the Maitreya claim. In case you don't know, the UFO's and Maitreya are the fallen angels that this guy communed with on the mountain... This guy and the congressional bone heads that called upon him to testify, were playing there part in the play being made to clone humans... Last year, I had another strange run in with one of these space cadets. It was a strange day. I was ridding a Vespa around the Convention Center in D.C. as the President spoke to airline executives inside. The job was part of an ad campaign to attract convention attendees to Vegas. At the end of the day, I gave the people I worked with a little ride tour. I guided them to the White House. We arrive on the street next to the Washington Hotel, across from the Treasury Building, when I saw another space cadet. I was stunned to see him and I actually did some personal investigating to find out about him. I did not come up with much but, he was in town lobbying our government, on behalf of the UFO's, for stem cell research. Let me tell you how strange this guy looked. He was all dressed in the same crazy white but, he had a Hebrew Letter H on his robe. I looked it up and found out all kinds of things. It meant that he is a master and it also means window. The kind of window a possessed person, median, that conjures up Maitreya or what they call the UFO's, Elohim. Funny how the fallen angels have a legion of names... This guy also had a huge wand with a ball on it. He was not using it as a cane, he just carried it with him but, it was the size of a cane... Here is the guy I first saw on the Hill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InjgkhwpzJQ Let this be a lesson to anyone out there who thinks that they are being represented well on the Hill or that Lucifer does not have locusts in the wheat field right now. If you wish to read more about these space cadets and their relationships with governments, the net has all kinds of info on them but, having already done the research, I can tell you, don't waste your time. Just get out there and make the call. Christ is coming and these space cadets are just part of the deception that is trying to draw people into the fire.

What deception awaits the population of Earth. Most will never see through it. Their churches will promote the idea that we must all unite together as one, in unity under ONE RELIGION... and they will obey. This is the great falling away:

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." -2Thessalonians 2:3-12

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?searc...&version=9;

He probably works for Monsanto!

... as an actor in a sponsored role http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1NFdDG_GsA If you suffered the indignation of researching these space cadets, Maitreya is the name they claim as Christ. This false Christ is defined as a spirit that acts out through the body of a man, speaking blasphemy to all the world. The principle is portrayed in the movie Star Gate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s1BiL8GPqc . Let me tell you another strange and peculiar observation I made one day while at work for ABC National News. President Bush had just seized office for the first time and I was at Andrews waiting for him to land and get off the plane. I was sitting in the lobby where Air force One is received when I picked up the Andrews Air Force Base paper. I was shock as I began to read this article about the current acting Chief of the Air force. The article was all about his roll on the TV show SG-1. He actually played himself, while on active duty, in Uniform as the real Air Force Chief!!! I was blown away. In the article, I recall him saying why he chose to play his part for the show. He said the show is not so far fetched! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_City_(Stargate_SG-1) The basic principle Lucifer is offering is, that you will not die. People and animals etc... are possessed by demons, fallen angels that have no flesh of their own and they speak through the graven image of a man. The war being fought by the principalities of the New World Order is in the air and possessing the conduit, people... leaping around like a frog and attacking the wheat in the valley of the shadow of death. They are seeking Total Information Awareness and control of the field, marking people as beast, beast that offer them a secure home land inside the image of God, a man. They are able to restructure flesh as a New World Order genetic play on what God has made. They don't need consent from cloned bodies, they are now attempting to establish through chemical, biological warfare. The Earth is their crypt, a temple where they stand, entombed, as a marked beast and as a man... There is way too much to tell you but, it's all in the Word of God. Most people just get subjected to direct assaults by these demons with out having a clue. Next time you speak with some one, ask them if they think the demons that Christ cast into the pigs are real? Most people just don't think about what this means or the full extent to the lie they are experiencing in the world. Truth is more amazing than fiction and the Bible is the most amazing fact there is. Take care my friends, the Love of God will not allow the poison of these scorpions to hurt for long. Hallelujah! Kinda makes you wonder how I seem to see such things from such a peculiar perspective, doesn't it? I can assure you, as a witness, it's been an amazing ride so far and I can't wait until the end.

These crooks think they can bully the world into fear with misinformation (or: outright lies).
It is funny though, that apparently I am not hungry at all, while I am fasting and praying.
Very cool not to be dependent on Monsanto's toxins. You should try it also perhaps?

When demand falls, lets see how quick the response is. The time that I was bullied is over.

US Wheat Review: MGE March Surges To Record $25/Bushel (25% rise in a single day)
INO ^ | 02/25/08 | Tom Polansek

Posted on 02/27/2008 4:49:46 AM CST by TigerLikesRooster

US Wheat Review: MGE March Surges To Record $25/Bushel

37 hours, 29 minutes ago

CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Supply fears sparked a jaw-dropping rally in U.S. wheat futures Monday, with Minneapolis Grain Exchange March wheat climbing nearly 25% on the day, trader said.

MGE March wheat hit a record high of $25 per bushel before closing up $4.75 at $24. Supplies of high-protein spring wheat, traded at the MGE, are low and demand remains strong, traders said.

Chicago Board of Trade May wheat closed limit up, 60 cents higher, at $11.75. Kansas City Board of Trade May wheat was limit up, 60 cents higher, at $11.75. MGE May wheat was limit up, 90 cents higher, at $17.08 1/4.

News that Kazakhstan plans to curb grain exports starting March 1 helped kick off the rally in wheat, analysts said. Kazakhstan typically produces high-quality wheat and has been a strong competitor for export sales to Egypt, an analyst said.

The restriction of exports from Kazakhstan, through export tariffs, reminds traders that there are not many sources of wheat left in the world, an analyst said. Neighboring Russia has already imposed a wheat export tax of 40%.

Mostly CBOT wheat was following along with the MGE rally, traders said. CBOT May wheat was synthetically trading around $12.55 at the close, while new-crop CBOT July wheat was trading around $10.95, a floor trader said. Commodity funds bought an estimated 1,000 contracts.

The CBOT, KCBT and MGE on Tuesday will increase their daily trading limits for wheat futures, the exchanges said Monday. The daily limit for CBOT and KCBT wheat will rise to 90 cents from 60 cents. The limit for MGE wheat will jump to $1.35 from 90 cents. The three exchanges earlier this month increased their base daily limits to 60 cents from 30 cents and said they would increase limits by another 50% if at least two contract months within a crop year closed at limit bid or offer. Spot-month MGE March wheat is now trading without any limits, while the exchange's deferred contracts climbed their pre-existing 90-cent limit.

KCBT May wheat was synthetically trading 40 to 60 cents higher heading into the close, a KCBT trader said. New-crop KCBT July wheat closed limit up, 60 cents higher, at $11.25 3/4 and was synthetically trading 10 to 20 cents above that level at the close, he said.

Many KCBT contract ended limit up amid spillover from the rally at the MGE, traders said. Reports of drought damage in China also reignited concerns about tight global wheat supplies, a KCBT floor trader said.

A spring drought had affected 11.07 million hectares of farming acreage in China as of Saturday, said the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters over the weekend. Of that amount, about 317,333 hectares of crops were affected by a drought, which started from last winter, in northern part of the country, it said in a statement published on its Web site. Meanwhile, some 1.33 million hectares of winter wheat in east China face a water shortage, it said. Northern China's spring planting of major crops such as soybean and corn, will start from April.

"We're back to trading the tight supplies," the KCBT floor trader said.

MGE March wheat was the leader of the wheat rally, traders said. The contract surged nearly 25% Monday and is up nearly 132% on the year.

There were wide price swings in MGE March wheat, with the contract at time jumping by 50 cents and $1, as open interest is low, a MGE floor trader said. As of the close Friday, open interest in the March future was 2,021 contracts, according to the MGE. It probably dropped to about 1,000 contracts Monday, a MGE floor trader said.

"There just wasn't a lot out there in the March," the trader said.

The Kazakhstan news was construed as bullish, with some analysts saying export quotas in the country reminded traders about tight world supplies. However, the market's main focus continues to be on tight U.S. supplies of high-protein spring wheat, traded at the MGE, a floor trader said.

"It seems like right now spring wheat is just the story," the trader said. "Spring wheat doesn't compete very much with wheat out of Kazakhstan."

MGE May wheat was synthetically trading about $2.50 higher at the close, the trader said.

-By Tom Polansek, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-341-5780; tom.polansek@dowjones.com

It makes you realize that we are running out of time quickly.............................................benny

Human bodies possessed by demons to a magnitude not seen until the present time. Religion, politics and the corporate world are being controlled by Satan. The deception is great. Because of their lack of knowledge, the people of the world defend them and rally behind them.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." -Hosea 4:6

UN World Food Program to institute food rationing
Surging food prices are causing food riots around the world.

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It will be no surprise to the regular readers of this web site that there's a real emergency going on in the world, and I'm not referring to the fad "emergencies" like climate change.

Food prices around the world continue to surge uncontrollably. Overall, prices of food are up 40% in the last year. This may not mean much to most Americans, since food is a relatively small part of the American budget. But in places where average earnings are less than a dollar a day, this throws more people into starvation.

UPDATE: After this article was posted, wheat prices have hit fresh highs. Wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose the maximum 90 cents allowed to $11.99 a bushel. (The 30 cent limit that I mentioned recently has been increased to 90 cents.) And Financial Times reports that prices of top-quality wheat jumped 25 per cent on Monday in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country that's one of the world's largest exporters of wheat. (This paragraph added on Feb 26.)

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is responsible for distributing food to world regions hit by war, natural disaster, or poverty.

However, food prices have been rising so rapidly, that the WFP's budget requirements have been rising by tens of millions of dollars PER WEEK.

According to the WFP's Josette Sheeran, we're "seeing a new face of hunger in which people are being priced out of the food market" with hunger now "affecting a wide range of countries", pointing to Indonesia, Yemen and Mexico in particular.

According to news reports, food riots have broken out in Morocco, Yemen, Mexico, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and Uzbekistan. Pakistan has reintroduced rationing for the first time in two decades. Russia has frozen the price of milk, bread, eggs and cooking oil for six months. Thailand is also planning a freeze on food staples. After protests around Indonesia, Jakarta has increased public food subsidies. India has banned the export of rice except the high-quality basmati variety.

There's little doubt that this can go on much longer. One of the features of the modern world is the success of modern medicine, and the reduction of the infant mortality rate, from 40-50% in the early 1800s to 1-2% today. This has created huge masses of young people around the world, often packed into huge "megacities," each containing tens of millions of people with no access to farmland. Families in poverty in those cities often survive by foraging in large garbage dumps for scraps of food left over by people who can afford to buy food. With the worldwide price of wheat doubling in the last year, and other food prices increasing as well, there are probably tens of millions more people in the world each month who have to forage through garbage dumps. Each month, more and more men are unable to feed themselves and their families, and their only choice for survival will be either mass rebellion or to join the army and go to war.

What never ceases to amaze me is how little attention this problem gets. We've just spent the weekend listening to the most bilious nonsense about whether it's plagiarism to quote someone who quoted the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Can you think of a more moronic and fatuous debate?

But not a word about what is undoubtedly the greatest emergency in the world today -- the increasing starvation of millions of people, and the resulting instability.

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, the world is headed for a "clash of civilizations" world war, with absolutely certainty, and it's just possible that it will be launched somewhere because a "tipping point" was passed in the growing price of food. (26-Feb-08) Permanent Link
...........................................benny

This scripture you have posted defines my tears and the fortune, lost treasure, in my eyes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=563xkXq4duw I hear the lie and see the trail of the serpent mocking every step. The Word of God in Christ is received as fiction from the Fallen and the world exposes truth with fiction as an inversion, a New World Order deception... as a familiar, entertaining spirit. The pirate ship is overflowing with the waters of life, covering vision with the darkness of the eye of Horus... which captains the ship, singing out loud... blasphemy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdeIZkZo2PM ... like a guy named Freddie Mercury Mack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irp8CNj9qBI singing homogenises, autistic, coal miner children songs... into every home inspired and bonded by Federal Reserve Notes... flooding the the air and into eggshell minds. When I try to describe the reality I am able to see or witness to people about my personal conversion experience, I feel the taught, influenced stock inside the field... stemming from the alter, upon the blade, the Word of God in Christ... I see and feel where the beast resides, inflamed. The master of the parable, God in Christ, perfectly deals with this. The plain truth is veiled by the strong delusion... born in the cup of indignation, which holds the mocking spirit inversion... possessing the field. The harvest is ripe and the last portion of good grain cries to rise up and out of the New World Order slaughter house... I asked a young man and heard the pirate song streaming in the river just the other day. He said, as long as it tastes good, he does not mind eating himself... That sums up the overwhelmed nature of my personal labor. God in Christ put me in the field and it really feels great when you see another laborer who knows. There are so few... they are so pronounced by the Word of God in Christ, scripture... the labor's I meet, are like a cup of cool water on a scorching summer day. Hallelujah! ...and for the scripture, in the name of Jesus, thank God for the cup and the water, as you are inspired my friend.

It begins with the fairy tales that the children are read as soon as our ears are able to hear. Truly a matrix of evil and deception everywhere: religions, organizations, holidays, Hollywood, .. "flooding the air and into eggshell minds" (very good!).

"The harvest is ripe and the last portion of good grain cries to rise up and out of the New World Order slaughter house"

And the rest are ignorantly being spoon fed lies because they have no wisdom or godly discernment of spirits.

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." -2Timothy 3:2-7

V008, thanks for uplifting words! God's blessings to you, brother.

http://econ.sdstate.edu/Extension/Wheat.htm

this is a USA WHEAT MARKET REVIEW
it helps farmers understand the wheat price situation, so they can plan their future plantings.

the wheat price is now about 10 to 17 dollars per bushel, as per this website............only 5 months ago, the price was about $4.50 per bushel.

this info may be a few days or weeks old.

I thank God in Christ for our agreement, scripture and our confirmation. I can't express in words, the joy I feel when I hear the call of God in Christ from among the numbered Saints. It's like finding a well in the sand of time. How rare... is the name of Jesus heard and confirmed in agreement in this dry land, this hour that begs to shatter the glass that holds the water of life. We must cast the rock we are given... upon the feet of the beast... to open the seal, shatter the glass that imprisons enternal reward, the treasure of Heaven... We must restore order and raise the name of God in Christ. Let the water cleans the weak... let it fill the lungs of the wicked. We must purge out the water with revival, and fill lungs with the breath of life, Jesus Christ... in the field. We must gather the elect from this desert, this dry land filled with enemy invaders. Your vision is given by the sound... the voice, the name of God in Christ. Hallelujah my friend... Hallelujah! I can see and hear his call in you.

...and in you. Indeed, Hallelujah!

I just heard some of the testimony from the Fed Chairman and from a former Fed banker. Ron Paul was grilling Ben about inflation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gldETRlhiXk and on CNBC the other, retired Fed Banker, was expressing http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=666882346&play=1# the fact that commodities are the prime indicator of inflation. The fact that these New World Order boys have exposed the World to a baseless system of debt... should not escape people... as the price, people consume themselves by, sustaining this lie... certainly will not. The inversion of the body and blood of Christ is now so complete... commodity now represents a, physical and literal reality base of cannibalism. The Luciferian offer, the image of the beast, is literally being offered like the inversion of the last supper. It's amazing just how strong the delusion, the plague is. The beast of the field, the mark and number of a man is... prophetic and now being offered. The seal has been opened and the Euphrates angels are flowing like valueless currencies, foul green eagles entombed in the air... Thank God in Christ, we are sealed by the name of Jesus. Hallelujah!

Yes. We are sealed. Praise God!

Demon, there is nothing you can say that makes me fear you and you KNOW IT.
Here is what everyone can do: start fasting with prayer, eyes fixed on God Jesus.
He will cover you with His Sanctified blood and you will NOT feel hunger.
Then the demon inside will quickly loose ground and retreat.
I have done it, I am doing it
and I hereby declare all people safe who are fasting and praying.
Prayer that calls upon God will be heard.

Bye bye demons.

Wheat Supplies, Already Tight, May Be Hurt by Global Drought

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Food_Water/080...at.drought.html

I lost 9 kilograms since I started fasting. No hunger feeling either. Only my birthday was an exception. (Almost every year my bday is in fasting period.)

Global Grain Supplies to Fall to Lowest Level Since 1978

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Food_Water/080...owest.1978.html

Riots

Archive photo Photo: Shaul Golan

Cairo grappling with bread crisis


At least two Egyptians killed in riots related to increasing demand for subsidized bread, especially in low-income areas

Rachelle Kliger Published: 03.17.08, 23:28 / Israel News




Egypt is looking for rapid solutions to a bread crisis that has generated riots in which at least two people have been killed.




Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appealed to the army on Sunday, asking for help in manufacturing and distributing bread to keep up with the demand. He also asked for help from the government's defense and social solidarity ministries.



The authorities are trying to increase production and distribution to make up for bread shortages. There has been an increasing demand for subsidized bread in Egypt, especially in low-income areas.



Two people were recently killed in a row that broke out in a congested queue of people waiting for bread. Other reports in the local press say as many as nine other Egyptians have been killed in similar incidents, where guns were pulled out in bread lines.



Heba Kandil, a spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP) Cairo office, told The Media Line the latest crisis in Egypt was part of the global food predicament.



'Egypt feeling the impact of rising food prices'
This has emerged from a number of factors, including the rise in oil and energy prices, the economic boom in nations like India and China which is increasing demand, climate and weather-related events such as droughts and floods, and competition between food and fuel, where more land and agricultural crops are being used for bio-fuels than for food.




The rise in commodities and wheat has made unsubsidized bread unaffordable for a large portion of the Egyptian population.



The poor people are the most vulnerable to price pressures, as nearly a fifth of the country's population is living below the lower poverty line on less than one dollar a day, Kandil said.



However, they are not the only ones to feel the heat of the crisis.

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"We're seeing middle income classes getting sucked into it," Kandil said. "The salary increases are not rising sufficiently to cope with the price increases."



"Egypt is feeling the impact of rising food prices even more because it imports a significant amount of its food requirements – including 12 million metric tons of cereals – annually. This is putting a lot of pressure on prices of commodities and utilities," he added.



The government is tightening its control over subsidized flour to ensure it does not reach the black market. Non-subsidized bread is sold for as much as five times the price of subsidized bread.



The Egyptian government has significantly boosted its spending on subsidies. The government is being cautious about the notion of putting up the price of bread, especially with the specter of the 1977 bread riots still in the public consciousness. Around 70 people were killed in those riots when the government tried to remove subsidies from basic commodities.

...................................................benny

AP
High Wheat Prices Raise Grocery Costs
Saturday March 15, 4:46 am ET
By Betsy Blaney, Associated Press Writer
Sticker Shock at the Grocery: Soaring Wheat Prices Mean More Expensive Food in Every Aisle

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- If you think the cost of gassing up your car is outrageous, wait until you need to restock your pantry.
The price of wheat has more than tripled during the past 10 months, making Americans' daily bread -- and bagels and pizza and pasta -- feel a little like luxury items. And baked goods aren't the only ones getting more expensive: Experts expect some 80 percent of grocery prices will spike, too, and could remain steep for years because wheat and other grains are used to feed cattle, poultry and dairy cows.

"It's going to affect everything ... impact on every section of the grocery store," said Michael Bittel, senior vice president of King Arthur Flour Co. in Norwich, Vt.

Consumers such as Maria Cardena feel trapped by the prices. She said the bread she buys has jumped from 69 cents a loaf to $1.09 in recent weeks.

"You have to buy it," said the 29-year-old mother from Lubbock, Texas. "You can't go without it. Everything has gone up."

The wheat market has been pushed higher by a combination of agricultural, financial and energy issues.

Poor wheat harvests in Australia and parts of Europe and the U.S. have caused China and other Asian countries to buy up more American crops, which are especially attractive because of the weak U.S. dollar.

At the same time, the American crop is shrinking because of federal incentives to grow corn for ethanol. And skyrocketing gas prices make it costlier to get any wheat to market. Those same pressures have also made it more expensive to supply feed grains for livestock.

At Bob's Red Mill flour company, wheat flour has typically been subject to retail price adjustments every five years. Now those increases are happening almost monthly.

"You look at the price and you say,