By James O'Toole - October 14, 2011: 3:58 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - Brace yourselves, peanut butter lovers - prices are set to spike following one of the worst peanut harvest seasons growers have seen in years.
Prices for a ton of runner peanuts, commonly used to make peanut butter, hit nearly $1,200 this week, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's up from just $450 per ton a year ago. It won't be long before consumers see this price increase reflected on store shelves. Kraft (KFT, Fortune 500) will raise prices for its Planters brand peanut butter by 40% starting Oct. 31, while ConAgra (CAG, Fortune 500) expects increases of more than 20% for its Peter Pan brand. A spokesperson for Unilever (UL), which makes Skippy, would say only that it's watching the situation "very closely." Representatives for J.M. Smucker (SJM, Fortune 500), which makes Jif, did not respond to a request for comment, though the Associated Press reported that Jif's wholesale prices are set to rise 30% in November. What's to blame for this sticky situation? The intense heat and drought that hit the southern U.S. this year, said John Beasley, a professor of crop physiology and management at the University of Georgia. "It was just unmerciful, and we had a lot of problems setting the crop," he said. "I literally walked some fields that had zero yield."
Safe havens? Gold, the yen and peanut butter.
In addition, Beasley said, high prices last year for other crops, such as cotton, corn and soy beans, led farmers who might otherwise have grown peanuts to focus their efforts elsewhere. Overall, U.S. peanut production will hit 3.6 billion pounds this year, down 13% from last year, according to a Department of Agriculture report released this week. Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter and consume more than six pounds of peanut products each year, according to The National Peanut Board, a farmer-funded research group. Sales may not be so smooth during the looming price crunch. In any case, though, a shift in peanut butter consumption shouldn't make a huge difference to the nutritional quality of most Americans' diets, said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University. "For the average person in America," she said, "it would be a good idea to eat less of almost everything."
First Published: October 14, 2011: 2:44 PM ET
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
"If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear"
"We live in a most exciting and challenging period in human history. As technology sweeps through every facet of our lives, changes are occurring so rapidly that it can be difficult for us to keep our lives in balance. To maintain some semblance of stability in our lives, it is essential that we plan for our future. I believe it is time, and perhaps with some urgency, to review the counsel we have received in dealing with our personal and family preparedness. We want to be found with oil in our lamps sufficient to endure to the end."
Elder L. Tom Perry,
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Elder L. Tom Perry,
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
5 Surprising Things about Basic Food Storage Recipes
Published: Friday, Oct. 7, 2011 5:00 a.m. MDT
By Leslie Probert, For the Deseret News
When I first started cooking with basic food storage I was astounded by some discoveries. It’s been fun to share those surprises with others.
Speed
I expected food storage recipes would take a long time to prepare. I was surprised to discover they are fast. Even bean recipes are fast, if beans are cooked ahead of time, drained and stored in fridge until dinnertime, or if canned beans are used.
Sometimes when giving a presentation I have asked three volunteers to come out of the audience and put together three basic food storage recipes they have never seen before.
Recipes are made with only stored foods. They don’t have to hurry and they are not in competition with each other, but I time them. The longest time ever clocked was three minutes. That’s surprising to people.
The recipes put together are whisked off to the kitchen and cooked ready to serve as samples to everyone within 35 minutes. That’s a second surprise.
Flavor
I was amazed that food storage recipes made with only stored foods could taste good. But people rarely believe it. In presentations when the good recipes assembled in front of everyone are returned for sampling, people say, "Oh, I would eat this. My family would enjoy this. That’s surprising."
Keeping track of and using stored food
I was amazed that rotating food storage is simple. Did you know that if you have a pool of good tasting recipes and you eat food storage meals two days a week, you can rotate a whole year’s supply of food in just 3½ years? All the fresh and fabulous foods we love can be eaten the other five days. That’s surprising.
Basic foods make a big difference
The list of recommended foods to reduce heart disease, one of the top killers in America, and also to reduce cancer includes oatmeal, whole grains, beans, lentils, and split peas. When I realized these are the very inexpensive basic foods I was storing, I was surprised. It seemed crazy to leave them in my basement instead of eating them.
Cost of food storage
I store dried vegetables and other foods purchased in No. 10 cans, which at first seemed a little expensive. I also store canned beans and some canned meats, which are more expensive than dry beans.
When I began to figure the cost of my food storage meals in comparison to regular meals, food storage meals were less expensive. I could actually save money eating them. I was surprised.
A friend recently confided that her family has a $3,000 hospital bill hanging over their heads. By serving an increased number of delicious food storage recipes that her family likes, she can save $150-200 a month to pay off that bill.
Don’t put food storage recipes on a shelf or in a file for use one day in an emergency. Important ingredients needed for delicious recipes may not have been stored.
Why try unfamiliar recipes in a time of stress? We have everything to gain by including delicious food storage meals in our everyday diets. It’s really not that hard. That is surprising.
By Leslie Probert, For the Deseret News
When I first started cooking with basic food storage I was astounded by some discoveries. It’s been fun to share those surprises with others.
Speed
I expected food storage recipes would take a long time to prepare. I was surprised to discover they are fast. Even bean recipes are fast, if beans are cooked ahead of time, drained and stored in fridge until dinnertime, or if canned beans are used.
Sometimes when giving a presentation I have asked three volunteers to come out of the audience and put together three basic food storage recipes they have never seen before.
Recipes are made with only stored foods. They don’t have to hurry and they are not in competition with each other, but I time them. The longest time ever clocked was three minutes. That’s surprising to people.
The recipes put together are whisked off to the kitchen and cooked ready to serve as samples to everyone within 35 minutes. That’s a second surprise.
Flavor
I was amazed that food storage recipes made with only stored foods could taste good. But people rarely believe it. In presentations when the good recipes assembled in front of everyone are returned for sampling, people say, "Oh, I would eat this. My family would enjoy this. That’s surprising."
Keeping track of and using stored food
I was amazed that rotating food storage is simple. Did you know that if you have a pool of good tasting recipes and you eat food storage meals two days a week, you can rotate a whole year’s supply of food in just 3½ years? All the fresh and fabulous foods we love can be eaten the other five days. That’s surprising.
Basic foods make a big difference
The list of recommended foods to reduce heart disease, one of the top killers in America, and also to reduce cancer includes oatmeal, whole grains, beans, lentils, and split peas. When I realized these are the very inexpensive basic foods I was storing, I was surprised. It seemed crazy to leave them in my basement instead of eating them.
Cost of food storage
I store dried vegetables and other foods purchased in No. 10 cans, which at first seemed a little expensive. I also store canned beans and some canned meats, which are more expensive than dry beans.
When I began to figure the cost of my food storage meals in comparison to regular meals, food storage meals were less expensive. I could actually save money eating them. I was surprised.
A friend recently confided that her family has a $3,000 hospital bill hanging over their heads. By serving an increased number of delicious food storage recipes that her family likes, she can save $150-200 a month to pay off that bill.
Don’t put food storage recipes on a shelf or in a file for use one day in an emergency. Important ingredients needed for delicious recipes may not have been stored.
Why try unfamiliar recipes in a time of stress? We have everything to gain by including delicious food storage meals in our everyday diets. It’s really not that hard. That is surprising.
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