THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 71, March 11, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
AMERICA'S BAKERS MARCH ON WASHINGTON
By Alan Caruba
U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY & THE PRICE OF FOOD: AMERICAN BAKERS CALL ON CONGRESS TO CORRECT
GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES THAT HAVE LED TO SOARING FOOD & OIL PRICES -- THE BAKERS
DEMAND RECONSIDERATION OF DEVALUATION OF THE U.S. DOLLAR AGAINST FOREIGN CURRENCIES, ETHANOL POLICIES
INVOLVING CORN, THE VERY LARGE NUMBER OF ACRES OF FARM LAND CURRENTLY BEING KEPT IN THE CONSERVATION
RESERVE PROGRAM, & ALL POLICIES BASED THE UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS OF GLOBAL WARMING THEORY -- AT
STAKE: THE ABILITY OF AMERICANS TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE
FULL STORY:
On March 12, 2008, the American Baking Association, representing 85% of the total baking industry, will lead a “Band
of Bakers March on Washington.” Representatives from more than 50% of the nation’s largest baking companies will
call on Congress to correct the policies it has created over the years that have led to soaring food and oil prices.
Not since the days of the Depression, when World War I veterans marched on Washington to get their overdue
benefits, have we seen such an event. At stake is the ability of all Americans to afford to put food on the table.
Everyone knows that food prices have increased along with oil prices, but few people know that it is government
policies that have brought the nation to a point where we are facing a wheat shortage.
Despite record-breaking wheat prices, the devaluation of the U.S. dollar has made the import of wheat extremely
attractive to foreign nations. Wheat exports are up more than 60% over last year. The result is creating a very tight
supply situation, which, in turn, is driving up the cost of flour and wheat to American consumers.
The owner of a local pizzeria recently lamented to me about the cost of this staple of American fast food. From the flour
to make the crust to the cost of the cheese, prices are requiring him to charge more and more. Now multiply his problem
by every food product producer that uses wheat, starting with bread.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the price of a bushel of wheat went from $4.71 in February, 2007, to
$10.40 this year. That’s a 220% increase. Your pasta dishes will cost more too. Made from durum wheat, prices went
from $5.16 per bushel to $16.40 by February, 2008, a 317% increase. The nation’s supply of rye is exhausted and bakers
are importing it from Germany and the Netherlands.
Around the world, global demand for wheat is outpacing global production. The bakers will demand a policy that
balances domestic supplies of wheat with export demands. They will call for a “rethink” of ethanol policies involving
corn because wheat farmers, seeing the price of corn rise, are tempted to plant corn, rather than wheat.
Ethanol is the single greatest scam perpetrated on Americans in modern memory. It literally burns food to provide a
gasoline additive that drives up the cost of a gallon, while reducing its mileage. The consumer is robbed in two ways at
the pump. The energy bill recently passed by Congress increased the amount of ethanol to be used.
The bakers want the USDA to take some acres out of the Conservation Reserve Program, one that pays farmers to leave
idle some 35 million acres at a time when they are needed for the production of wheat to meet domestic needs.
When it comes to food and oil prices, Americans are looking at a perfect storm created by those in Congress who keep
telling us that global warming is the threat, when the real threat is the bankrupting of American consumers with policies
totally unconnected to real science.
We have arrived at this point, thanks to the alarmism of the environmentalist movement, led by people like Al Gore, and
perpetrated in Congress by the global warming cabal that includes Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Joe
Lieberman, John Warner, and even John McCain.
The likelihood is that the nation’s bakers are going to be joined by many more marchers in the weeks and months to come,
if this economic horror story is not put right.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Agriculture, the Economy, & Human Welfare:
Policy Issues Relating to Food Production
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity