Dennis Keeney was the first director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and is professor emeritus of agronomy and agricultural and biosystems engineering at the school. Keeney visited the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins University?s School of Public Health on Tuesday and spoke with The Examiner about agricultural factors that affect food prices.
What are some of the major factors that affect food prices?
We saw this coming. … Places like China and India are going up in terms of demand. It was a problem with policy, because we didn?t put enough money to build out our food supply. The strain has happened pretty fast. We used to just sell off any excess grains to the highest bidder, but now that just isn?t happening.
What are other factors that affect prices?
The weather patterns are also a big factor. There?s currently drought conditions in Australia, which is a big wheat exporter. The weather we?re having now is almost identical to what happened in 1933 [during the Dust Bowl years]. That?s maybe one of the reasons why people are bidding up on future grain prices. There?s just a concern that a drought is going to happen, and if it happened now, it would be a horrible stroke of bad luck.
Is there anything consumers can do in the face of increasing prices?
We?re probably going to have to change our eating patterns and eat less meat and move down the food chain, because so much grain is needed in meat production. People should think about buying food from more local producers than food that?s imported.
Do you remember another time when so many factors were affecting food prices?
We haven?t see a perfect storm like this. In the past, like when we saw some dry years in the 1980s, it wasn?t a demand issue, it was a supply issue. It?s a new world, and you really wonder about the future. Where dowe go from here?
