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“It’s horrible. I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Arye Lewkowitz, owner of Daniel’s Bagels on Third Avenue, recently told Metro. “We’re going to have to sell a bagel for over $1.” Lewkowitz isn’t alone; bagel and bread prices are soaring nationwide due to the skyrocketing cost of wheat, which more than doubled in the past year in New York, from $5.31 a bushel to $14.22.
The main reason for the spike is drought in Australia, which produced 30% less wheat than usual in 2007, sending already high prices through the roof. And the demand for wheat has only increased as diets in westernizing Asian countries like China place a greater emphasis on meat, funneling vast amounts of wheat toward livestock feed. To top it off, biofuels made from wheat are growing in popularity, while many American farmers are switching from wheat to maize to take advantage of ethanol subsidies.
International wheat prices have increased by over 350% since 2003, with global reserves now at their lowest level since the early 1980s. All this has one of the biggest wheat distributors in New York talking about allocating his diminishing supply to his most favored customers. David Jaffe, a sales rep from Fodera Foods in Queens, which sells to roughly 70 Manhattan bagel shop and bakeries, tells Metro: “There is no raw material,” he said. “It’s crazy [to talk about allocations], but we’re getting there.”
At least $1,000 a bagel isn’t yet the norm! Are you feeling the pinch at your local bagel stop?
Photo of Terrace Bagels in Windsor Terrace by Betty Blade.
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Nope! It's all oatmeal on this end. Bagels is rich people food.
But, graciously, work gets breakfast for us publishing plebeians on Fridays, so I can get one from "The Man" once in a while.
You all should be eating more whole grains anyway.
Doesn't the US produce it's own grains anymore?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and blame the bagel inflation on the Bush administration. Higher prices, in general, are a reflection of higher fuel costs, thus manufacturing and transporting raw materials have gotten more expensive. I don't think I'm alone in blaming this on the costly Iraq invasion and the resultant decrease in fuel supplies, combined with the lack of any intelligent energy policy.
The ship is sinking and we're all on it for another eleven and one-half months.
I have to have my morning cinnamon raisin bagel... I might die. It's like water.
I have to have my morning cinnamon raisin bagel... I might die. It's like water.
when in doubt, blame it on Bush.
Surely, but when you have an administration that continues to increase farm subsidies, you will see the effects reverberate throughout the food chain.
I don't think I'm alone in blaming this on the costly Iraq invasion and the resultant decrease in fuel supplies
You might not be alone but you would be mostly wrong. Ever think that increased demand from India and China, decreasing or flat oil production from various mismanaged state oil companies (which have far more power than large oil companies), and, oh yeah, the falling dollar might be some factors to consider? I don't like Bush either but open your eyes a little.
we can't grow wheat? c'mon now.
follow the money.
This idea that we should substitute corn for oil is crazy. Let's decrease out dependence on oil by raising CAFE standards for cars and trucks and by building livable, walkable communities instead of sprawling exurbs. Then we can concentrate on using corn to actually feed people and livestock.
The US is the world leader in grain production, by far. We produce more grain than most of the rest of the world, combined.
On a totally unrelated note, how 'bout them Exxon and their financial woes...
You can substitute WASTE oil for petroleum. That's the big difference. Garbage fuel is the future. Restaurants pay $1 per gallon to DISPOSE of the waste oil they use. And yet, with some modification itll burn in a diesel engine. I think the modification costs about $800, and then you can get all your fuel free from the local chinese restaurant. Not only that, but the car will also run fine on regular diesel. Obviously this only works for diesel cars tho. This has nothing to do with bagels however.
Waste oil is certainly an untapped resource, but note that the total volume of waste food oil would only cover 1% of consumption in the best case.
hopefully this will finally inspire Terrace Bagels in Windsor Terrace to cut back on the number of giant garbage bags of bagels they heartlessly throw out on the curb at the end of the day!
hopefully this will finally inspire Terrace Bagels in Windsor Terrace to cut back on the number of giant garbage bags of bagels they heartlessly throw out on the curb at the end of the day!