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Wal-Mart Rations Rice
Shoot! You were planning a rice-and-beans dinner party for 100, and you thought for sure your local Wal-Mart would meet all your bulk rice needs.
Think again. Because of rising rice prices around the globe and worries about shortages, the biggest big box has announced that it will ration long grain, jasmine, and basmati rice, allowing customers to purchase only four bags per visit.
Since the beginning of 2008, rice prices have risen 68 percent worldwide. This is one of the main reasons that food riots have broken out recently all over the developing world.
Saint Louis Meriska's children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, "They look at me and say, 'Papa, I'm hungry,' and I have to look away. It's humiliating and it makes you angry."
In light of this two-spoonfuls anecdote, Wal-Mart's four-bag limit sounds downright decadent, but rice rationing in the U.S. means that whatever is going on with supply and demand trends is not good. Once land-o'-plenty retailers start fretting about global food shortages, you can be sure it's time to worry.
I read an article recently that said GMO seed actually yielded 10% less than normal seed. I wonder if thats helping create a shortage.
Please add Costco and Sam's club to those who are willing to ration the rice. Are there so many people buying serious amounts of rice that these places are justified? I do know with gas prices food is going up like crazy and the third world is going to suffer far more than we would so what's the answer? OPEC has us and our autos are what we feel as a right to own and use. Our president isn't going to help us as his family has been too long best buds with these very same guys. Does make one wonder if OPEC was to be the one to benefit from the Iraq war...
This shortage is preplanned by the major players in the rice commodity market. They are playing the same games that are being played with gasoline.
Our fearless leaders in Washington are letting these players buy futures at 10 cents on the dollar. If the Feds would raise it to 50 cents on the dollar...end game.
Remember it takes the equivalent of 2 gallons of gasoline to make one gallon of ethanol...and the corn that is used will feed one person for a whole year.
All the rice and flour that are not being sold at the US stores will be sold at a larger profit overseas.
Marc...
We already found out the Japanese were sitting on 100s of tons of American rice. There is no shortage. I noticed that the article did not say what size of bags of rice that were being rationed. It is the 20 lb bag. So you could feed 100 people with 80 lbs. Plus it was only Sam's Club not the regular Wal-Mart stores
Rice uses more water to produce than wheat. We should eat wheat, not rice.