[Sca-cooks] Current farm prices and affects on feast budgeting

[Stefan li Rous]

David Friedman suggested:

<<<
> The price of fuel oil increases the costs through running farm  
> equipment,
transportation, and utility costs of market places.

My guess is that the major reason for increased cost of grains is the
increasing use of biofuels, which compete for the same agricultural
inputs. >>>

That is my opinion as well. However, it isn't as straight forward as  
your comment implies. I think that these other food crops, wheat and  
other grains, are going up in price not because they are used to  
manufacture biofuels, but because farmers are deciding to grow corn  
(maize) to sell to biofuel producers rather than to grow wheat or  
other grains to sell to food processors.

Unfortunately the use of biofuels also seems to be increasing the CO2  
problem not reducing it, as people cut and clear forests and other  
areas to increase the production of sugar cane and corn used to make  
biofuels. There has always been some controversy about whether the  
production of corn for fuel was costing more resources than it  
created. My opinion has always been that we should be developing our  
abilities to use cellulose conversion, which would allow use to use  
agricultural waste and plants like fast growing sawgrass, rather than  
food crops. Unfortunately even the use of cellulose processing could  
still be a problem, by clearing off forest and other areas, if we  
aren't careful.

Mark
(Stefan considers the Forests to be an inexhaustible resource, except  
for the ones the King has taken)
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****