The Era of CHEAP Food is Over

The big news outlets are reporting on it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41311106/ns/business-retail/
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeremybogaisky/2011/01/24/so-long-to-the-era-of-cheap-food/

This article has some good background as to why. http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-09-why-world-food-prices-may-keep-climbing

My man Tom Philpot comes with..... http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-10-debunking-myth-that-only-industrial-agriculture-can-feed-world . The following is interesting for the RAS Farms community........
"That same year, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a report [PDF] that echoed those conclusions. Entitled "Mitigating Climate Change, Providing Food Security and Self-Reliance for Rural Livelihoods," the report points to the Tigray area of Ethiopia, "previously known as one of the most degraded Regions of Ethiopia." There, more than 20,000 farming families saw yields of major cereals and pulses nearly double "using ecological agricultural practices such as composting, water and soil conservation activities, agroforestry, and crop diversification" -- even as "the use of chemical fertilizers ... steadily decreased." The phaseout of synthetic and mined fertilizers was key, because "most poor farmers, particularly in degraded lands and in market-marginalized areas, are not able to afford external inputs," the report states."

One way to prepare for this potential issue is to lock your food prices in NOW by investing in something like a Community Supported Agriculture program. By purchasing a "share" early in the season, one is essentially paying a set price for the rest of the 2011 growing season. This could combat a potential rise in prices at local Farmers' Markets as well. The RAS Farms CSA info is here- http://rasfarms.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-ras-farms-csa-program-launch.html