Joe Napsha writes in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the widespread effects of rising oil costs.
As operating costs skyrocket, farmers are being forced to pass along the extra costs to buyers at farmers markets or to food processors and retailers when they can, agriculture experts say.
We routinely speak of the "food chain" but ultimately it's more of an "oil chain".
The jump in diesel fuel has cost Bill Kaminsky twice as much this year to till the soil on his Wendel Spring Farm in Hempfield than it did last year. Kaminsky said it cost him $150 to drive his tractor over his field, compared to $75 last year. His tractor gets only one miler per gallon.
"The cost of feed has gone through the roof ... and it's just trickled down," to the fertilizer and plastic packaging, both of which are petroleum-based, Carpenter said at a farmers market outside the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg.
All the more reason to buy locally. On top of the oil used to ultimately produce the food, no reason to burn more to get it to us. As long as labor and environment non-compliance is cheaper than oil, though, growing off-shore and shipping food around will continue unabted.
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