World food prices at record high

Cleaver

halight wrote: »

The old style bords on this site have some great tips on cooking and make your food and money last longer.

Yeah, I've had a look over there a couple of times and there are some great tips. Some of it is a bit hardcore for me I have to say, but if you're that passionate about it then that's great. I remember reading one thread about boiling a kettle first thing in the morning, then putting the water in a thermos to make your tea from during the day, thus saving the electricty for the kettle and the extra water. Which I guess makes sense, but I just can't be bothered to go to that level.

I think my attitute to food comes from just really enjoying cooking so I love making stuff from scratch. At the same time though I fully understand that cooking is hell for some people and the last thing they want to do when they come through the door from work is start pounding dough (not a metaphor) so each to their own!

lostinrates

Cleaver wrote: »

Not sure I really understand this LIR. The way I'm thinking, you either have access to cooking stuff (i.e. fridge, freezer, oven / grill) or you don't. For example, if you decide to eat a pizza then you're going to need an oven whether that's a frozen Iceland one or a homemade one.
[QUOTE/] Yeah...I was thinking with halfa brain...but if you have shared facilities for example...their is a difference between storae space and ''kitchen hogging''time in them. but you'reright...I was wrong:)

Do you know what, it's strange you've made that point as this very day we had one of these nPower electricty monitoring thingymabob. I hooked it up when I got in from work and I've spent the last few hours playing the fun game of working out how much stuff costs. The monitor shows you cost per hour and with pretty much everything in the house off (aside from fridge, freezer, radios on standby etc.) we appear to use 3p per hour. We've got two sets of spotlights in the kitchen, turn one set on and we move to 6p and hour and with both sets we go to 9p an hour! Then I tried the toaster and kettle and although they're obviously not on that often we appear to use a whopping 27p an hour to use them.

But where this relates back to the story, I made a loaf of bread this evening and the oven was probably on for a a about an hour. Now, I used about 600g of flour (about 60p worth), and a satchet of yeast which cost about 10p. So 70p for the loaf. But the oven cost me around 20p an hour to use, so that's around 90p for my loaf. Or in other words, the oven was 22% of the production costs! So your point about cooking lots of things at the same time is very valid.

If you are really struggling, and have a freezer on anyway (which works more cheaply when full) whoopsied bread can be as cheap as 30p. It does of course, have all the nutrition of cardboard. In fact my guess is it has inverse nutrients...sucking the health from you .

I'm ompressed everything in your house is so cheap! I'm putitng off buyng a digital radio because of the increased running cost. On borrowed ones what I noticed is the digitial one used all its batteries in 24 hours ish....the analogue one a couple of weeks.

We've made sure where we buy stuff we buy high efficiency rated stuff...but I'm positive ours is a lot more than 3 p an hour.

[STRIKE]we like[/STRIKE] I like and dh panders to a little game called ''through our fingers like it grows on trees'' :o where I insist we have only two electric things on at a time. E.g. tv and pc, or tv and light. Or radio and light. Each extra person gets an extra thing. so DH can watch tv while I use the pc and we have the light on. Yeah, I know, its crazy....and if you think thats bad....

Of course, the digibox scuppers this now.

lostinrates

Cleaver wrote: »

I think my attitute to food comes from just really enjoying cooking so I love making stuff from scratch.!

This, and as well as cooking we like good food. I'd rather eat nice food with the same or fewer calories but better flavour and better done than bad food that's worse for me. I love the ceremony of food, the seasons, the cultures, the religious observance sometimes, the subtext the accoutrements. But these are luxuries. Good, healthy nutrition is less luxurious and should be achievable.

Cleaver

lostinrates wrote: »

but you'reright...I was wrong:)

No right or wrong, just chat!

lostinrates wrote: »

If you are really struggling, and have a freezer on anyway (which works more cheaply when full) whoopsied bread can be as cheap as 30p. It does of course, have all the nutrition of cardboard. In fact my guess is it has inverse nutrients...sucking the health from you .

We still buy supermarket / bakery bread, just not that often anymore. I think you realise when you start making your own that they must put a lot of chemicals and preservatives in shop bread, as when we first started making bread it took me ages to get used to how un-salty it tasted and also that it didn't last as long as shop-bought stuff. But I guess that's because it's better for you (or at least that's what I convince myself of).

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm ompressed everything in your house is so cheap! I'm putitng off buyng a digital radio because of the increased running cost. On borrowed ones what I noticed is the digitial one used all its batteries in 24 hours ish....the analogue one a couple of weeks.

Ahh, we have a digital radio in the kitchen and it was part of my test. When I turned on the lights, or the toaster, or the oven there was an imediate increase in usage, but the digital radio had no effect on the price - it stayed at 3p per hour. Obviously it's using electricty, but doesn't seem to be a lot.

lostinrates wrote: »

We've made sure where we buy stuff we buy high efficiency rated stuff...but I'm positive ours is a lot more than 3 p an hour.

For the 3p an hour figure literally all that was on in the house was an upright fridge freezer, three steroes / radios that were off but on standby and the TV / skybox off but on standby. No lights or anything (I stood in the dark to test that, how sad am I?).

lostinrates wrote: »

[STRIKE]we like[/STRIKE] I like and dh panders to a little game called ''through our fingers like it grows on trees'' :o where I insist we have only two electric things on at a time. E.g. tv and pc, or tv and light. Or radio and light. Each extra person gets an extra thing. so DH can watch tv while I use the pc and we have the light on. Yeah, I know, its crazy....and if you think thats bad....

Of course, the digibox scuppers this now.

Yeah, that'd drive me mental

I shouldn't say this, but no one really knows who I am, so it's okay. When Mrs C gets up in the morning she goes in to the bathroom, turns the shower on, then goes to the toilet. And for some reason it drives me slightly mad. There's about a minute of the showing going every morning when it's not being used. Which if you added up over a year would probably buy you... well, it'd probably buy you something pathetic like a mars bar. But it's the principle of the thing.

Cleaver

lostinrates wrote: »

This, and as well as cooking we like good food. I'd rather eat nice food with the same or fewer calories but better flavour and better done than bad food that's worse for me. I love the ceremony of food, the seasons, the cultures, the religious observance sometimes, the subtext the accoutrements. But these are luxuries. Good, healthy nutrition is less luxurious and should be achievable.

There's also something unbelievably pleasing about making something from scratch, even if it's just a pizza or a loaf of bread. I think it's a similar feeling to the one you get when you grow something from seed, or put up a shelf, or sort all your clothes out. A feeling of "ahhh, I did that."

lostinrates

Cleaver wrote: »

No right or wrong, just chat!

I've missed you recently.:)

We still buy supermarket / bakery bread, just not that often anymore. I think you realise when you start making your own that they must put a lot of chemicals and preservatives in shop bread, as when we first started making bread it took me ages to get used to how un-salty it tasted and also that it didn't last as long as shop-bought stuff. But I guess that's because it's better for you (or at least that's what I convince myself of).

you can add salt (we do need SOME salt). I only ever buy bread if we don't have any for a recipe that needs bread crumbs and I don't want to risk being without. We don't eata lot of bread, but we do serve it a bit....dh makes pizza, grissini, and italian style eating loaves reasonably often. we use fresh not dried yeast. Usually we make a couple of loaves at a time and freeze one...so there is something there in an emergency. AT we have three freezer loaves...so no baking till they are used....but also no bread buying for bread crumbs.

Ahh, we have a digital radio in the kitchen and it was part of my test. When I turned on the lights, or the toaster, or the oven there was an imediate increase in usage, but the digital radio had no effect on the price - it stayed at 3p per hour. Obviously it's using electricty, but doesn't seem to be a lot.

[/STRIKE]
So why did the sony one I was leant gobble batteries? whish one should I get.....I NEEED one.

For the 3p an hour figure literally all that was on in the house was an upright fridge freezer, three steroes / radios that were off but on standby and the TV / skybox off but on standby. No lights or anything (I stood in the dark to test that, how sad am I?).


Yeah, that'd drive me mental

I shouldn't say this, but no one really knows who I am, so it's okay. When Mrs C gets up in the morning she goes in to the bathroom, turns the shower on, then goes to the toilet. And for some reason it drives me slightly mad. There's about a minute of the showing going every morning when it's not being used. Which if you added up over a year would probably buy you... well, it'd probably buy you something pathetic like a mars bar. But it's the principle of the thing.

You'dplay my little game well, but I'd drive you mental in other ways. I'm well equipped with things to make people annoyed and uncomfortable. DH is a saint. (he did tell be to get a grip when I wanted to colour code hay nets last weekend though.:D)

blueboy43

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

At variance with my own understanding.

Yes, there is a so-called 'certification' system. But as DEFRA itself says:

you are simply wrong.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/growing/organic/standards/index.html

Now, no doubt there is plenty of fraud & I'm dubious of the benefits but if you sell food labelled as organic then it must have been produced under certain conditions and carry a certified label.

However prosecutions are pretty rare.

I can't understand people buying organic kenyan beans - which are then air-freighted to the UK. Vanity buying at its worst.

zarazara

We really all do have too much in the UK, and I'm as guilty as the next person. In the past I have discarded curtains and clothes etc ,all perfectly servicable but unfashionable. I did give them to charity shops however. But now I sit here typing in a hat and fingerless gloves with a blanket and hot water bottles to save on heating bills. Today whilst walking around thevillage I noticed a skip with old but nice curtains thown away in it complete with swish rail and hooks. Also lots of timber from cupboards and shelves. looked alright to me. I knocked on the door of the nearby cottage but there was no one in,so no one to ask if I could have anything. We are such a wasteful society. Its surely got to change.

JonnyBravo

Cleaver wrote: »

There's also something unbelievably pleasing about making something from scratch, even if it's just a pizza or a loaf of bread. I think it's a similar feeling to the one you get when you grow something from seed, or put up a shelf, or sort all your clothes out. A feeling of "ahhh, I did that."

Snap.

We make our own bread too.
We use half the salt of the recipes and yep it takes a few days to get used to it. It is most noticeable in white loaves IMO. Barely noticeable with granary which is our favourite but takes longer to bake so we sometimes resort to white. (White is great for toast)


LIR - As for a digital radio using "a lot" of power. Perhaps compared to an analogue it does (I dont know, but going on your battery test etc) but compared to a kettle or the TV the difference is going to be negligible. Batteries don't contain very much power really. That's the reason you don't see battery driven kettles. :cool:

bendix

I'll ask it again. Why is this a news story?

How could it be otherwise that food prices are at an all time high, given prices always rise over time. If food prices weren't at an all time high - a perfectly natural and normal place for food prices to be given you're comparing them with prices historically - surely we would be in a state of deflation?

Which we very very rarely have been throughout the course of human history.

I don't understand why this is a story.