TORONTO - When Michael Detlefsen was on a business trip to China last month, he asked his young translator how often she ate at fast-food restaurants.

Before, she couldn't ever afford McDonald's or KFC, she told the president of Toronto-based Ceres Global Ag Corporation, but now she goes twice weekly. Her hope is that someday she'll be able to eat out every day.

"(There's an) association with fast-food outlets and the western lifestyle, and people are migrating to that and the government is encouraging that," Detlefsen told an audience in Toronto Wednesday. "I don't think, having set the expectations of the population, that you can go back on that."

Detlefsen pointed to the telling interaction as just one of a slew of reasons food prices have been rising across the planet. He joined three other panellists to dissect the trend, and also analyze it from a Canadian perspective, in a discussion titled "Rising Food Prices: Global Dynamics and Canada's Response."

Pinpointing factors pushing food prices upward reminds John Johnston, chief strategist for The Harbour Group, of a scene from the Disney movie "Aladdin." The Genie is sitting on a magic carpet, acting the role of flight attendant, and when he goes to point out the exit, he furiously multiplies his arms to point every which way.

"If we wanted to cast the blame around for what's causing high food prices," Johnston said, "we'd need a lot of arms, we'd be pointing in every direction, because there's a lot of issues at stake here."

A demand for biofuels, upgrading diets in emerging nations and the hoarding of export food by countries are some of those factors, Johnston said, along with general commodity influences such as a growing global population, faltering greenback, inflationary concerns and speculation in futures exchanges.

Further, food supply has been impacted by rising transport and fertilizer costs, climate change, urbanization leading to fewer labourers and government policies that manage how much there is and its price.

The panel cautioned, however, against labelling the price increases a "food crisis." While food prices are up 152 per cent this decade, Johnston said, adjusting the figure for U.S. hourly wage and era, they're actually 80 per cent below 1947 levels.

"I think a reality check has to take place," said Ron Bonnett, second vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. "We don't have a food crisis. What we have is price adjustment."

While the panellists didn't always agree on the degree to which factors are exerting the upward pressure, each was sound in his belief prices at home will be up in both five and 10 years' time. At present, Canadians spend about 10 per cent of their income on food. They suggested several concerns with how the country is handling the impending change.

For one, governments on all levels have their agricultural spending priorities wrong, said David Sparling, an associate dean at the University of Guelph. In the nation's last Agricultural Policy Framework, he said, some $900 million was spent on income support programs and only $25 million on innovation.

"We're not really thinking about the future. We're thinking about today's problems," he said, adding he doesn't expect this to change.

Bonnett added he feels building partnerships in Canada between the farmer, processor and retailer is paramount to ensuring a sustainable agricultural sector.

"We've been letting (prices) be driven from the retail level down," he said. "From our perspective at the farm level, that leaves us at the bottom end and taking what's left over."

Sparling stressed that as a developed nation, he feels Canada's presently inward-focused policies are working to its detriment because the plight of rising food prices in underdeveloped countries will eventually hit home.

"It's absolutely critical that we start to focus more of our energy ... on really taking some of our science and using some of it to benefit the Third World."

LIKE IT?  LET OTHERS KNOW

Thanks for participating!

Be the first to recommend - Sign in now


See what other people are recommending - Popular Stories