Do You Know Why Food Costs So Much?

There’ve been lots of comments in the news about the high cost of food.  Just this morning the very hot weather in the central part of the United States is being added to the reasons why food costs continue to increase.   All the factors in play certainly contribute to these growing expenses. 

But there’s one most of us don’t pay much attention to:  the cost of diesel fuel.  In spite of the emphasis on local food, the vast majority of the food we consume in the United States is moved by diesel fueled vehicles.  Whether it is grain being harvested on a farm, tomatoes being trucked from California to South Carolina, or ingredients being delivered to a food processor while a truck picks up the finished product, diesel fuel moves all of it.

After Katrina and the devastation to the oil production along the Gulf Coast, the cost of diesel, which had previously been as much as $1.50 less than the cost of a gallon of gasoline, started to climb.  Nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina the cost is between $.30 and $.50 per gallon more than the cost of gas.

Though buying local from area farmers and producers certainly reduces the cost, as well as the use of diesel fuel, there’s no getting around that the cost of food is directly tied to our dependence on tomatoes in January, asparagus in August and peaches in December, all of it arriving at our local market thanks to diesel fuel.