Farmers abandon fields larger than Belgium and Luxembourg, food prices set to surge due to droughtMadison Ruppert, Contributor To make matters even worse, much of the corn crop in the United States is genetically modified and thus susceptible to so-called superbugs and is the same strain which has been banned in multiple countries in the European Union. This July has been the hottest in American history and has caused major damage to the corn crops throughout the United States making some farmers actually entirely abandon fields greater in size than the nations of Belgium and Luxembourg. Obviously such a major reduction in the corn supply will certainly lead to a rise in the price of corn; it is simple economics. Unfortunately it doesnt look like such a surge would diminish any time soon. Even more unfortunate is the fact that corn is not the only commodity which will be negatively impacted by this drought and heat wave. Soybeans which like corn is used in a wide variety of food products, animal feed and other products also has been hit hard by the weather. It is likely that it will be the worst harvest for five years now and will also likely impact the prices of other processed goods due to the rise in the price of vegetable oil, which just happens to be made from soy. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not taking this lightly and has already predicted record-shattering price increases. The USDA has also decreased their projection for corn production by a whopping 2.2 billion bushels since just last month. Now they are down to an expected production of 10.8 billion bushels although that number could go down as well if this situation does not improve. Were going to see very high prices, said Joseph Glauber, the USDAs chief economist, to the Financial Times. Even more troubling is the fact that this will certainly have international implications far beyond the rise in domestic food prices here in America. Indeed, one might even say that it will likely lead to riots in impoverished nations where increased food prices make it impossible to feed oneself and ones family. For instance, in 2007 and 2008 alone there were riots in over 30 nations linked to high food costs, but one United Nations official claims we shouldnt be worried about it. Jose Graziano da Silva, the director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, said that the current crisis isnt as severe due to lowered demand from abroad. We do not have the demand pressure from China and India as five years ago, he said. I hope he is right, but unfortunately that assumption is based on believing that the drought and inhospitable weather will dissipate in the very near future, which is not necessarily true. This is reinforced by the fact that the situation has actually been getting worse since the week starting July 29, when the USDA discovered that a whopping 48 percent of the nations corn crop could be classified as poor or very poor. Furthermore, the USDA reported that 47 percent of the soybean crop was in poor or very poor condition. These ratings are the worst weve seen since 1988 when a drought cut production by 20 percent and resulted in billions of dollars in losses. The impact goes beyond just the price and supply of corn and soybeans. In fact, it also hurts the meat industry, because with food prices so high and with pastures used for grazing drying up due to the lack of water and heat, some are forced to bring their animals to slaughter earlier than they would normally. The Obama administration at least appears to be attempting to help the situation by opening up protected American lands to farmers and ranchers for grazing. They have also reportedly called on crop insurance companies to hold back from charging interest, and even engaged in an emergency loan program. Farmers working in the 31 states where disaster areas have been declared have received low-interest emergency loans from the government as well. Did I forget anything or miss any errors? Would you like to make me aware of a story or subject to cover? Or perhaps you want to bring your writing to a wider audience? Feel free to contact me at admin@EndtheLie.com with your concerns, tips, questions, original writings, insults or just about anything that may strike your fancy. Please support our work and help us start to pay contributors by doing your shopping through our Amazon link or check out some must-have products at our store. This article first appeared at End the Lie. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 