Government's Stealth Takeover of Food

[Geee]

Human Events:

Been to the grocery store lately? Prices are up and food packages are shrinking. Call it stealth inflation.

There's no hiding the skyrocketing price of gas that hits you in the face every time you fill up the tank. But food? Last year's steep rise in the price of wheat, corn, coffee, and chocolate is now rippling through the food chain, but the food industry is working overtime to mask food price inflation.

Last October, Obama's Agriculture Department predicted food price inflation, indicating in a report that food prices would "accelerate" in the final months of 2010 and through 2011. The acceleration is here and has taken many forms.

Food packages, cans, and bottles have been downsized.

The "new" jar of peanut butter is still the same size (and price) as the old 9-ounce jar, but a new concave bottom means the jar only holds 7 ounces. A tortilla package that reads "Now New With 10 in a Package!" is the same price as the old 12-pack.

A box of baby wipes that used to contain 80 wipes now has 72. Sugar comes in 4-pound bags, not 5-pound. Sixteen-ounce cans of vegetables now come in as little as 11 ounces—for the same price.

The New York Times reported the story of Lisa Stauber of Houston, who used to feed her nine children with three boxes of pasta. When the three boxes came up short one night, she checked the box to find that the old 16 ounce-sized box of pasta now contained only 13.25 ounces, but she was still charged the price for 16 ounces.