November 19, 2007
I've seen the price of milk go up and up and thought it was mainly due to the increased demand for ethanol. Apparently, it goes way beyond that and doesn't just affect us and our pocketbooks.
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Driven by a combination of climate change, trade policies and competition for cattle feed or from biofuel producers, global milk prices have doubled over the past two years. In parts of the United States, milk is more expensive than gasoline. There are reports of cows being stolen on Wisconsin dairy farms.
"There's a world shortage of milk," said Philip Goode, manager of international policy at Dairy Australia in Canberra.
But the biggest force driving up milk prices is the same one that has driven up prices for conventional commodities like iron ore and copper: a roaring global economy. Rising incomes, from China and India to Latin America and the Middle East, are lifting millions of people out of poverty and into the middle class.
It turns out that, along with zippy cars and flat-panel TVs, milk is the mark of new money, a significant source of protein that factors into much of any affluent person's diet. Milk goes into infant formulas, chocolates, ice cream and cheese. Most baked goods contain butter, and coffee chains like Starbucks sell more milk than coffee.
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- International Herald Tribune
And maybe I'll be able to buy more than a closet one day if I ever want to live in California.
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Reluctant buyers and tightened mortgage lending combined to drag down California home sales last month to the lowest level for October in more than 20 years, a real estate research firm said Thursday.
A total of 24,832 homes were sold in October, down 40.9 percent from 43,720 in the year-ago month, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
The drop marks the 25th consecutive month that statewide sales have fallen from the previous year.
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- AP |
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