June 25, 2008

Paying More at The Pump – Paying More At The Table?

Rising Cost Of Gas - Affecting Everything and Everyone

Now, unless you live in a cave that doesn't require oil heat, you may have noticed that gas prices are going up. You've probably also noticed that the price of food has gone up, although that maybe a good thing since because when you can't buy food anymore you can afford to fill up at the pump.

It seems obvious that increasing gas prices would increase food prices. After all, food has to be moved from place to place, and if that costs more, you can bet that it's going to be the consumer that ponies up the difference. The more gas prices go up, the more food goes up.

What you might not expect is that attempts to save some money at the gas pumps may be costing you at the dinner table. No, they haven't found a way to tap the raw power of a Twinkie. At least, not yet, although they're surely working on it. No, according to some, part of the rise in food prices is related to two of the most popular ways to save on gas prices.

Biodiesel and ethanol.

Biodiesel is a kind of vegetable oil that can be used in diesel vehicles. Biodiesel is made from a number of plants, but most of what we use is a made from soybeans. Ethanol is an alcohol that can be used in many cars, and is made from corn.

Right now, 15 percent of US corn production goes towards ethanol, and a somewhat smaller percentage of soybeans goes towards biodiesel. This creates an increased demand for the plants, which causes higher food prices.

You're probably thinking that you don't eat all that much corn or soybeans, unless you eat a lot of tofu tortillas, in which case this will directly affect you. The problem for the rest of us is that both of these are used as livestock feed.

As prices go up, so does the cost of feeding animals, which causes meats, dairy, and poultry to rise in prices. This is compounded by the fact that planting more corn causes fewer soybeans and other plants to be cultivated, which again causes the costs of food as a whole to rise.

What can you do about this? Well, you support your local farmers, who are less likely to start growing plants for this purpose if you buy from them. The place to look will be your local farmer's market.

An even better way is to increase the fuel efficiency of your car. By taking efforts to use less gas, you'll not only save money but you'll help lessen demand for gas and alternative fuels, which will help lessen both the cost of gas and food. By increasing your fuel efficiency you can save at the pump and the supermarket.