honky food 1 of 2

HONKY FOOD

I keep wanting to talk about the White Foods again ( white flour, white rice, white flour pasta, white potato starch, white sugar and white shortening ).  I don’t REALLY have much more to say on it that could by any stretch of the imagination be considered new, exciting or worth sending a link to your friend ( you know, the usual, talking about how I am as a god and my wisdom must be hastily chiseled in stone so as not to lose it to the sands of time ).  But now is a critical time for pricing, so I shall proceed despite the cat calls.

*

I’m not like certain people living in Idaho that are running for Congress and have 37 web sites, each with like 72 pop-up video ads per page that lists every single news headline as proof that We Are All Going To Die Tomorrow ( I won’t mention any names-cough, cough, The Economic Collapse cough, cough ).  Just because more puppies are in the county animal shelter does NOT mean that is a sign from Baby Jesus the rapture is about to start.  But speaking of my Dawg, he must be experiencing some kind of anal leakage over the aforementioned site.

*

So, yes, doom right around the corner and all that, blah, blah.  Sure, the stock market COULD be imploding, but it did that at the beginning of the year.  We COULD start an Ice Age in two years, but they did say that in the 1970’s.  Nostradamus COULD be right this time, but I saw the movie in theaters ( the one with Orson Wells ) as a kid, it scared the crap out of me, and nothing happened.  We COULD have the system finally collapse any day, but that day could be tomorrow OR a tomorrow ten years from now.

*

I don’t think now is a great time to run out and procure more food stocks for any of the normal Panicked Prepper reasons.  I already know the sky is falling, but I also know you cannot time the event.  I can give you 472 reasons to panic, and you should be, but no reasons why I can time the final curtain better than anyone else.  I didn’t think we would recover from the severe weather nearly a decade ago, with all the crop failures, but we did, thankfully.

*

But, again, Trends.  You can only profit if you are the first one in or out.  I’m seeing a trend with food increasing in price.  And you can surely see the trend in overpopulation ( hell, let in a few more Caravans Of Diversity, why don’t you? ).  And the fracking fuel industry is facing increasing interest rates as well as everyone else ( like the precious metal producers ).  My timing could very well be off, but to me this seems like a good time to bet on beating the trend in inflation, especially food.

*

They were practically giving away food for the last year.  Perhaps two ( you know how it is, you age and time speeds up exponentially ).  You KNOW that cannot continue.  And what can’t, won’t.  My guess is that since the Federal Reserve started raising rates, more and more businesses have had to cut prices to attract business, or they would have already gone OUT of business.  And with the stock market bubble, they would sometimes sell BELOW cost to jack up their stock price so they could cash out as they bankrupted the company.  As interest goes up quarterly, more businesses fail.

*

I just read the perfect analogy ( sorry, original content dude, I can’t remember where I saw you ).  An adjustable rate mortgage.  You only assume the debt because the interest is so low.  Then, when the interest is raised, you quickly lose the house.  That is our entire economy, right there.  The adjustable rate is unaffordable.  And while Bezos can in theory sell at no profit for twenty years, very few other companies can get away with that.  Amazon stocks rose DESPITE the promise of no profits.  Anyone else doing it goes bankrupt.  And are.

*

My favorite grocery store, Kroger, has seen prices rising.  I’m sure it was just coincidence, but that started right about the time after they remodeled.  I know it cost Albertson’s over a million just to PARTIALLY remodel ONE store ( Albertson’s is a cruel joke, having been acquired and mergered so often their prices are about at industry record highs ).  So I’m paying for the cost of that every time I buy groceries, which does NOT please me.  Then, another coincidence, as Kroger’s prices are going up, Wally starts going DOWN ( on commodity items only ).  But this isn’t your trend.

*

Well, it is the trend of competition and eventual bankruptcy in an oversaturated market, but that is a decades long trend ( most grocery stores make the profit in the luxury items like cut fruit bowls, the deli meals and etc. ).  As far as general food prices, I don’t base that on those two stores dueling it out.  I still shop Kroger for being Less Evil than Wal-Mart, but I do cherry-pick Wal-Mart for the super low deals ( they rape you on Dorito’s-which I can’t eat any more-and sell seemingly below cost on the White Foods ).

*

I’m not looking at the White Foods for the food price trend.  When they go on case sale prices or holiday sale, it is usually only a 5-10% discount.  I think those commodities are as close to no profit as possible ( which is why I think Wally sells below cost.  Kroger is cheaper in most other foods-or, they were-yet Wally is like 25% under in the flour and sugar and shortening and etc. ).  But all of the rest of the foods IN GENERAL seem to be increasing in price.  Not counting meat, because of the recent glut, but all the Value Added foods.

*

Whole kernel wheat is going down in price ( and it shouldn’t, with recent weather events-telling me of lowered consumer demand which forces prices down anyway ), as is flour.  Bread is going UP.  Perhaps not the 99 cent loaf which can be pumped with water and sawdust, but a generally healthy loaf of bread.  Crackers are going up.  Pasta is its own dynamic due to the different type of wheat ( with a bit of shortage from Italy in supply added to the equation ).  Nothing drastic, just a reversal.

*

Food is not like oil, per se.  It usually doesn’t sharply rise, as a whole.  Individual items may, but not across the board except such as say when oil jumps in price so much it effects transportation and processing beyond what can be absorbed.  But in general, firms have contracted prices out into the future, to smooth down cost fluctuations.  There is a time delay in retail prices, up or down.  So if we are seeing a general trend UP, those are just preliminary.  They are baby steps.  The big price swings are not yet reflected.  Sure, I could be wrong.

*

But if I am, does it matter?  White Foods have an almost indefinite shelf life.  At a minimum, you get at least five years before the taste is effected, and they last far longer than that, still being edible.  If you panic now to avoid the rush, and buy now, you most likely avoid inflation.  If prices go lower, you just buy more.  If they rise, you beat the trend ( this is applicable to EVERY prepper item, say guns and ammo ).  I see prices starting to rise in food.  If it is a long term trend, you’ll be happy you acted today.

*

I’m way over on word count and haven’t finished on this subject, nor even got into storage, so obviously this continues tomorrow.

( .Y. )

( today's related link here )

*
note: a cold cloudy day with a low in the low teens, so I went ahead and canned the last of my non-frozen butter to help heat the place.  Now officially at 92 cans, or 138 pounds ( an additional fifty are frozen ).  I won't stop there because nothing is ever enough for prepping, but I will take a break for a time and await surplus funds rather than dipping further into savings.  An aside, I see everyone placing the lid on the jar, then the ring.  I kept having an issue with all the jars failing to seal immediately.  When I started placing the lid into the ring and then placing that on the jar, I seemed to get better seals.  They both get the 20 minute simmering water bath, so both are sterile.  I just thought it was a bit weird and I should mention it.
*
note: free books.  YA PA here .  PA here .  X-Mas zombies here .  Nuke war here .  
*

Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon ad graphics at the top of the page ( or from www.bisonbulk.blogspot.com ). Or PayPal www.paypal.me/jimd303 

*** Unless you are in extreme poverty, spend a buck a month here, by the above donation methods ( I get 4% of the Amazon sale, so you need to buy $25 worth for me to get my $1 ) or mail me some cash/check/money order or buy a book ( web site for free books, Amazon to pay just as a donation vehicle ).
*** My e-mail is: jimd303@reagan.com  My address is: James M Dakin, 181 W Bullion Rd #12, Elko NV 89801-4184 ***E-Mail me if you want your name added to the weekly e-newsletter subscriber list.

*** Pay your author-no one works for free.  I’m nice enough to publish for barely above Mere Book Money, so do your part.*** junk land under a grand *  Lord Bison* my bio & biblio*   my web site is www.bisonprepper.com *** Wal-Mart wheat***Amazon Author Page
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there