Am I Evil or Frugal?

[Beignet]

I've heard rice and grits have moth larve. Keep this stuff in the freezer or it will be contaminated.

We have a freezer in the garage and we are even thinking about finding a small used chest freezer.

In my opinion buying the 20lbs bag of rice is silly. If you do; divvy it up with friends and family.

Most of the people buying this stuff is small restaurants.

Beignet

[starshard0]

Moth larvae? That can't be safe.

[saint tim]

I think this is all a sham put on by the oil industry. They don't like biofuel, biofuel = corn, corn = "food".


http://wcco.com/topstories/good.ques....2.367063.html

Good Question: Will Ethanol Fuel A Food Shortage?
by Ben Tracy
(WCCO) American farmers are expected to plant 90 million acres of corn this year. That's 15 percent more than last year because they're trying to meet the demand for ethanol.

That biofuel is being touted as one weapon in our fight against our oil addiction, but some Minnesota researchers say using all that corn for fuel may cause starvation.

"Ethanol is a hot commodity right now," said David Morris, an energy policy expert and renewable energy advocate. "Ethanol production has doubled in the last three years and we will see ethanol double again probably in the next three years."

The price of corn has surged with the demand. That has some researchers worrying that ethanol could cause a food shortage.

One Minnesota study says 1.2 billion people in the world could be chronically hungry by 2025. That's 600 million more than predicted due in part to the loss of crops and increased prices created by biofuels.

"It's an ingredient to a lot of foods," said Dr. Brian Buhr, a University of Minnesota professor.

He said nearly 80 percent of the corn used in the U.S. is fed to animals, not people. "

Beef, hogs, poultry, eggs, milk are the big categories that use corn," said Buhr.

The prices of those foods are going up along with those sweetened by high fructose corn syrup, another corn product.

"So long term we do have this kind-of a climate shift in food markets because we've increased this demand for biofuels," said Buhr.

However, neither he nor Morris believes we are headed for a major food shortage.

"I don't think we're at that point with ethanol yet and I don't see it coming up," said Buhr. "We're not going to use all the corn for biofuels."

"There is plenty of food in the world," said Morris.

Malnutrition is often caused by food distribution problems, not a lack of food.

In fact, we have about 500 million acres of cropland in the U.S. and could feed our population with just 25 million. However, the increasing world population, food prices, and our fuel needs could eventually cause shortages.

"So we do need to worry about how we're going to feed the world in the future," said Morris.

Many in the biofuel industry say the future is in what's called cellulosic ethanol. That fuel uses the stems, leaves, and stalks of plants, which makes the food-versus-fuel debate moot. In the meantime, some experts expect corn prices to fall as farmers rush to plant more crops.

[Mudd Bugg Designs]

We buy rice in bulk and have never had larvae. I don't think that 20 pounds in hording. If it's something you use alot of and are not preventing others from buying it I say buy it.
(By preventing others I mean something like there's 5 boxes on the shelf and people behind you so you take all 5)

[Philip Brewer]

Originally Posted by starshard0

Moth larvae? That can't be safe.

Perfectly safe. Just kind of disgusting if there are enough that you notice.

On the general topic: For me, buying stuff that you're going to use in the next year or so isn't hoarding, it's stockpiling, and it's harmless.

If you're buying stuff with an eye toward waiting for the price to go up and then reselling it, that has some mixed effects. On the one hand, it does some good--the way to prevent future shortages is to have stockpiles of goods that can be put on the market. Hoarders are generously tying up their capital to provide stocks that can ease future shortages On the other hand, if you wait until stocks are already tight, and then try to build up a hoard in the hopes that stocks will get even tighter (driving up prices enough to make you rich), then you're part of the problem. (You're also unlikely to come out ahead. That doesn't keep people from trying, though.)

[Megan]

I'd say it would only be "evil" if you were buying up all the rice in the stores and then charging people a premium to buy it from you. Buying an extra bag of rice that you know you will use is perfectly acceptable. We all stock up when the price is right.

[mcnerd]

Originally Posted by Megan

I'd say it would only be "evil" if you were buying up all the rice in the stores and then charging people a premium to buy it from you.

That will be the case later for toilet paper!

[Xin Lu]

hmm 9.99 for 10 lbs isn't that cheap. I got 20 lbs for around $12. You should find the cheapest one and then buy 10 bags!

[purplefdu]

lol at the moth larvae. Have you ever checked the USDA allowed amount of bug matter in your produce...I don't suggest it if you're squeamish.

[Lisa23]

Is it organic rice?

:-)