• argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Pasta lovers must brace to pay even higher prices for their favorite dish, as megacorporate greed reduces supplies

    Fixed that for you.

    • cecilkorik@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Yeah even the article admits they’re not even trying to produce as much durum wheat as they have been in the past, yeah, there’s some drought and stuff but it’s not really to blame for this because our agriculture system knows the risks of drought and should be able to compensate. What’s happening is artificial scarcity. Our whole agricultural system is broken. Its priorities are fucked by quotas and subsidies and its in large companies interests to keep things fucked so they can profit. The days of the family farmer are gone, the whole food supply chain has just turned into yet another oligopoly that wants to bleed everyone of as much money as they possibly can.

          • cecilkorik@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            “Welcome to moon city! Please ensure your oxygen regulator is fully loaded with credits at all times, we are not responsible for any respiratory failure caused by lack of payment. Consult your residency permit terms and conditions if you have any questions about this policy, Breathe Easy™ and enjoy your stay!”

      • Auli@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        The drought has screwed a lot of things. Expect meat prices to skyrocket next year. Hay crops have been really bad I have been hearing 50% and lower for hay yeilds. I imagine other crops are similar, I know the wheat was insanely short this year.

      • Rocket@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        even the article admits they’re not even trying to produce as much durum wheat as they have been in the past

        Who is supposed to try? Durum is quite picky about climate. Western Canada has the right climate, at least historically, but yields have plummeted (perhaps because the climate is changing). That’s how we got into this situation.

        Our whole agricultural system is broken.

        Or perhaps it is the consumer demand is broken? As the article notes, you can use softer wheats in durum’s place. It’s doesn’t quite give the same texture, but it’s still pasta at the end of the day. Softer wheats are far less picky about climate, and have been crashing in price of late. The traditional hard and soft wheats are down in price by ~25% in just the last month!

  • Pxtl@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Well it’s a good thing we have the government-run wheat board to manage supply OH WAIT

    • Rocket@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      The CWB (and the Ontario Wheat Board, for that matter) never operated as a supply management system. Only dairy, poultry, eggs, and tobacco were ever supply managed (the first three still are). The CWB/OWB operated as a single desk.

  • dpunked@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    great, after Rice, Olive oil, sun flower oil we can add wheat to the list of expensive food. Potatoes next?

    • Dearche@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      The quality of potatoes feel like it’s dropped quite a bit this year.

      On top of that, corn’s been pretty expensive lately too due to the US redirecting so much of it into biofuel.

      On the other hand, mushrooms, vegetables, and fruits have been reasonably cheap, though a lot of the fruit haven’t tasted very good.

      • Swim@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Ya I usually only eat seeded watermelon because it actually has flavor,but this year they’ve tasted like seedless watermelon,aka flavorless.

        • dubyakay@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          Where do you even get those? I can never find them in Montreal.

          Years ago they had some at NoFrills in Toronto, but when I brought one home, it was just another seedless shit. I’ve complained the next day and asked them to open one up in front of me from the seeded bin and sure enough it was seedless as well.

        • Pxtl@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          I had some mini ones last week. Seedless and still excellent. Maybe try the minis?

      • Rocket@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        On top of that, corn’s been pretty expensive lately too

        Corn was expensive when it was looking like the drought in the corn belt was going to destroy the crop, but the rains came at the right time and the price came tumbling down after. Local cash bids were up to $9.80 just last month. Now we’re looking at $6.38. That’s a huge drop. The Chicago price isn’t even $5 anymore.

        due to the US redirecting so much of it into biofuel.

        Not really. Biofuels shy away pretty quickly when the price goes up. There isn’t much inelasticity there like there is among food buyers. Corn has been driven by that derecho a couple years back wiping out a lot the crop, coupled with European fertilizer plant shutdowns just before Russia invaded Ukraine – which also impacted access to Russian fertilizer, along with those drought fears this year.

        That said, given the rest of the comment, I get the feeling that you are actually talking about sweet corn rather than corn? Sweet corn is not directed to biofuel. It’s more like $30 per bushel instead of $5. Biofuel flat out couldn’t afford it, even if it wanted.

      • Wahots@pawb.social
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        1 year ago

        I dunno where everyone is, but potatoes grow like a weed in pacific northwestern climates. Plant them one year and you will get potatoes for years and years afterwards. And they are good too, you can get big ones. Just throw some water on them occasionally.

        Apparently, raspberry bushes also grow like weeds, even in 3b regions (Montana, in this case)

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yes, literally all foods will become more expensive. That’s what happens when you destroy the ecosystem for profit.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    PARIS/WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 30 - Pasta lovers must brace to pay even higher prices for their favorite dish, as drought in Canada and bad weather in Europe damages crops of durum wheat and reduces supplies available to flour millers and food companies.

    With global production of durum wheat headed for a 22-year low, Italy’s famed pasta makers have had to turn to unusual suppliers such as Turkey for their main ingredient.

    Family-owned Continental, which sells fettuccine and ravioli to Whole Foods and the general public, is also paying more for tomatoes used in sauce after crop setbacks in Spain and India.

    One of Continental’s owners, Vincent Liberatore, fears prices will rise even more now that farmers in top durum exporter Canada have seen their harvest devastated by drought.

    The United States is also expected to harvest a smaller crop due to dryness, while drought has cut production in Spain and severe weather has produced mixed quality in Italy and France.

    Turkish exports have cooled Mediterranean and North American durum prices, but they should resume their climb when Turkey runs out in a month or two, said Philip Werle, partner at Spain-based Northstar Brokerage.


    The original article contains 774 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 75%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

    • Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      This is a Canadian instance, so the concern is rising prices in Canada.

      900g of spaghetti is $3.75 (US$2.77) at the closest major grocery store to me

      • A_A@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Last i bought was $1.71 CAD / kg
        (made in Canada www.italpasta.com )

        @anotherlemmyuser 's is $1.06 us$ / 750g so … $1.41 us$ / kg … , so … $1.90 CAD / kg

        The price has I’ve got in Canada, is about 10% lower than that one in Malaysia.