In “Amber Waves to Ivory Bolls“, the NY Times describes the general rush of farmers to plant fields of cotton in the U.S., Brazil, and other countries to take advantage of the high prices of cotton despite the high prices of other food crops. This wave could place further upward pressure on the prices of food as clothing makers win the battle for acreage.
The NYT includes a particularly poignant quote from Webb Wallace, executive director of the Cotton and Grain Producers of the Lower Rio Grande Valley:
“It’s good for the farmer, but from a humanitarian perspective it’s kind of scary…Those people in poor countries that have a hard time affording food, they’re going to be even less able to afford it now.”
It could be another year of discontent for those people whose budgets are largely consumed by the costs of food.
