Global Food Prices Hit Record High

[Mr Lee]

I personally do not feel that the people of the PHL would ever riot over food prices because for the most part they are easy going people, but if food becomes scarce as it has in the past, then I am not so sure. What do you think, might things ever get totally out of hand, and if so which regions would you feel foreigners would be the safest to be in? Food prices hit a record high last month, surpassing the levels seen during the 2007-08 crisis, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation said on Wednesday.The Rome-based organisation said the spike was not a crisis. But Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the FAO, acknowledged that the situation was "alarming". He added: "It will be foolish to assume this is the peak."The jump will increase fears about the repetition of the crisis of 2007-2008. However, poor countries have not so far seen the wave of food riots that rocked countries such as Haiti and Bangladesh two years ago, when agricultural commodities prices jumped.The increase in food costs will also hit developed economies, with companies from McDonalds to Kraft raising retail prices. Higher food prices are also boosting overall inflation, which is above the preferred targets of central banks in Europe.The whole story HERE

[Art2ro]

Yeah, just our weekly grocery budget alone is up there, because we mainly buy imported stuff and seldom purchase local products except for fresh vegetables, pork, fish and chicken! Local meats like beef just isn't to our liking due to the poor quality! So, everything else is imported stuff! We avoid low class/grade Filipino products, because one has to beware at times where their products came from and how it was made especially their local canned goods and snacks! And also, that's why we never never buy food from sidewalk street vendors no matter what it is, because one never knows how it was handled or processed and how long it has been sitting around! Your average poor Filipino in the side walk street food business just may ignore the shelf life of their products just to make a fast buck while poisoning their customers! I always hear about pooreigners bragging about their cuisine eating exploits of street foods and drinking beverages with local ice at an affordable price, but it will only be inevitable that one will get food poisoning eventually sooner or later! I'm sure everyone has heard about salmonella, e coli bacteria and typhoid etc! So beware, don't be one of those new naive pooreigner that just arrived, the Philippines is still a 3rd world country!

Edited January 6, 2011 by Fil/AmArt

[Jake]

Yeah, just our weekly grocery budget alone is up there, because we mainly buy imported stuff and seldom purchase local products except for fresh vegetables, pork, fish and chicken! Local meats like beef just isn't to our liking due to the poor quality! So, everything else is imported stuff! We avoid low class/grade Filipino products, because one has to beware at times where their products came from and how it was made especially their local canned goods and snacks! And also, that's why we never never buy food from sidewalk street vendors no matter what it is, because one never knows how it was handled or processed and how long it has been sitting around! Your average poor Filipino in the side walk street food business just may ignore the shelf life of their products just to make a fast buck while poisoning their customers! I always hear about pooreigners bragging about their cuisine eating exploits of street foods and drinking beverages with local ice at an affordable price, but it will only be inevitable that one will get food poisoning eventually sooner or later! I'm sure everyone has heard about salmonella, e coli bacteria and typhoid etc! So beware, don't be one of those new naive pooreigner that just arrived, the Philippines is still a 3rd world country!

Regarding the sidewalk street vendors -- how true, how true! If there is a wall nearby, you could bet your bottom peso that the male street vendor has visited that wall several times a day. Do they wash their hands after they urinate?? That nice fresh looking mango that he's slicing up for you may not be so appealing after all. But on rare occasion, when I'm stumbling around drunk and hungry, that barbecue "mystery meat" on a stick is a perfectafter midnight snack, as long as you chase it down with more San Magoo. Speaking of midnight snatch, the fish ain't too bad either (in most cases). The sailor's golden rule: if it doesn't taste good, well then, don't .......... it!Respectfully -- Fil/Am Art and EJ

[Old55]

I don’t know what could happen if the country were to collapse into total chaos it could become very ugly and one would be wise to have an effective exit strategy. The book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared M. Diamond talks about Philippines as a likely canadate for failure sometime in the near future. If I remember correctly the author said the mix of political corruption over population and environmental degradation is a recipe for an epic fail.We saw the rice panic two years ago… have Philippines done anything to increase rice production? Nope same old price controls and outmoded farming methods no interest in high yield strains.Potable water is an issue larger metro areas have polluted their aquifer and or drained it to the point of salt water inclusion. Lack of working infrastructure will continue to stifle economic opportunities and the poor people continue to have children they are unable to support.