Food Prices Climb Four-Times Faster Than Crop Prices

The Government Accountability Office reports that supermarket prices for food have climbed by 128-percent since 1982. That’s four times the increase in crop prices for farmers. The GAO report found that during the time period - farmers have generally received higher monthly prices for their commodities - but these prices have increased less than food prices and inflation in the broader economy. Tom Buis - CEO of Growth Energy - says last year the Grocery Manufacturers Association developed a multimillion dollar misinformation campaign to blame American farmers and ethanol producers for higher food prices. He says this is another study that shines the light of truth on the whole food-versus-fuel fiction that Big Food was peddling. Buis adds that whatever is driving up grocery prices won’t be found on the farm - and he says it merits further investigation by Congress. Specifically - farmers saw prices for beef, pork, dairy, grains and other commodities increase by 34-percent from January 1982 to April 2009. For the same period - food prices rose by 128-percent and prices in the general economy rose 102-percent. The study was requested by Senators Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa.