The Price of Peanut Butter is About to Go Through the Roof - and Not of Your Mouth!

A Quick Summary:

One of the many manifestations of climate change is drought.  As I’ve written many times, the southern belt of the United States is suffering horribly, particularly Texas and Georgia. And it’s Georgia we’ll be looking at for the moment.

We had a failing peanut crop due to last summer’s heat, something that has to have been extraordinary considering the stifling heat of Georgia’s summers seem to start in February and don’t ease up until December!

Even though there has been a 15% over reduction in peanut crops, Georgia alone has lost 30%.  What this means is that a ton of unprocessed peanuts which cost $450 last year has jumped to a whopping $1,150 this year.  And according to the New Mexico State University, this is the worst peanut season in 30 years. 

So, what does that mean to us?  Well, consumers have been substituting meat protein with peanut butter since the price of meat rose beyond the bounds of most people’s budgets.  Peanut butter is about to do the same with many major food companies increasing the price of peanut butter as much as 40%.  And we can expect to see the price increases as early as this fall (now) and no later than January.

How did this happen?  Many farmers decided to plant cotton this year instead of peanuts.  The price of cotton rose this year and cotton is drought tolerant.  But for  those that did plant peanuts, they watched crops fail due to drought and the disease that followed, making the peanuts unfit for human consumption.

The bottom line is that consumption has jumped 10 percent since 2008, normally it rises 1 or 2 percent per year.  Now with the price jumping as much as 40%, there goes another protein source.

So, what can we do to curtail this?  Make sure to plant backyard gardens leaving no square inch unused.  Install water-harvesting systems to conserve water, and consider adding grains and beans in combinations to your diet.  Together they form perfect protein. 

Think about it.

Wall Street Journal:  10/10/11

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-nuts-peanut-butter-prices-rise-40-2011-10-10

Huffington Post:  10/10/11

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/peanut-butter-price-jump_n_1003732.html

The Kansas City Star:  10/11/11

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/10/10/3199506/us-peanut-shortage-sends-peanut.html