"These high fuel costs have been foreclosing independent truckers worse than the housing mortgage crisis. By August, the current economical farm-to-market food distribution system might not exist"
As fuel prices soar, expect scant fresh produce
By Matt Brennan • May 14, 2008
I don't really eat a lot of rice so I chuckle at the media reports concerning people hoarding rice and that how some big box stores have limited purchases to only four 50-pound bags per household. Do they know something I don't know? Another big media crop report I find amusing is how corn and soy beans are now being grown to make inefficient and corrosive ethanol fuel instead of for its traditional role as a human and livestock food source. I think that maybe someday this might affect me. But, after all, when a large box of breakfast cereal can still be purchased for less than $5, that day must be years away. However, there is one report not headlining the media that is setting off alarm bells. Diesel fuel is approaching $5 per gallon and the projected severe hurricane season will add another dollar to already record high fuel costs. This is all with the peak of the summer harvest still five months away. For the past year, Saudi Arabia, OPEC and the large oil companies have been busting out the American economy with $125 per barrel criminal intent worst than any gangsters ever portrayed upon "The Sopranos." These high fuel costs have been foreclosing independent truckers worse than the housing mortgage crisis. By August, the current economical farm-to-market food distribution system might not exist, which means no fresh summer produce for places like Rockland County, where almost all of the farms have been turned into either housing developments or public parklands. Gone this summer might be the red juicy tomatoes, crisp yellow corn, green peppers, purple eggplant, green cucumbers and fresh lettuce we take for granted. Following in the fall it could be pumpkins, decorative gourds and Indian corn with onions, potatoes and carrots disappearing next. By next year, this country's grain stores will disappear to more profitable overseas markets, and next year's crop will be planted with canning in mind. I cannot wait to see what is not coming this summer to a produce department near me. I am putting on my green thumb and planting a garden today. The writer, who lives in New City, was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the 94th state Assembly seat in a May 2007 special election.
