Personal About Politics: America's Heartland Waterlogged and How It Will Affect Your Grocery Bill, and FreeRice.com

America's Heartland has been hit with tumultuous weather for the last few weeks, causing billions in damage from tornados and floods, with Southeast Iowa, including Cedar Rapids and Iowa City sustaining some of the worst damage.

Yesterday I spoke with my good friend Bruce who lives in Cedar Rapids. I was worried about him, but he said all his family was safe, including a brother in Iowa City. Bruce works at Mercy Medical Center, the site of a dramatic rescue, where 176 patients were carted from the building's nine floors shortly after midnight on Friday and loaded into ambulances, buses and Humvees as the flood seeped in and threatened the emergency power source. (Des Moines Register)

Even though Bruce's house was not flooded they are still affected. With only one main pumping station out of four not flooded, there is a shortage of water, particularly drinking water, and residents are asked to take short showers every other day. He said they had collected rainwater earlier in the summer for their garden but were now boiling it to wash dishes, and then using it to flush the toilet.

The flood waters, now moving down the Mississippi toward St. Louis and points south, have receded leaving, mud, debris and destruction in it's path.

"What now?" I asked Bruce.

"Cleanup," he replied.

Iowans didn't wait for FEMA to show up, they started cleanup as soon as the floodwaters began to recede. Floods leave a filthy, stinky mess. The engorged rivers dredge up garbage, sewage, chemicals and dead animals and carry them along, dropping muck at random. Anyone coming in contact with the water and mud needs tetanus shot, and the stench is dreadful.

Flooded buildings usually have to rip up flooring and often walls, because the water permeates everything, creating mold and mildew often months later.

The cost of damage and cleanup in Cedar Rapids alone is estimated at   $700,000,000. Gov. Chet Culver estimated that ultimately, statewide the cost of the disaster may rival that of 1993 Midwest floods that caused more $20 billion in damage.
 
But the waters won't recede as quickly from the fields. The rich, flat farmlands in central and eastern Iowa resemble lakes. The standing water has nowhere to drain in the saturated ground. Any corn or soybean plants left standing will soon rot. Chances of replanting are slim. Even when the water does drain off, it will take a long time for the soil to dry out, and by then it will be too late to replant. It is estimated that 16% of Iowa's crops have been ruined. In addition there is the cost of livestock lost.

So, how does this translate to higher prices at the grocery store? To begin with, the corn grown in the Midwest is primarily grown for livestock feed; it is not sweet corn for human consumption. Much of the corn has recently been diverted to make ethanol. With floods wiping out crops across the Midwest it will drive up already record high prices and increase the cost of feed for cattle, hogs and poultry, causing many livestock farmers to cut back on production.  Add that to the historic highs of diesel fuel and gasoline needed to plant, harvest and transport the crops, and you have the perfect equation for increased prices for beef, pork, chicken, eggs and milk.

According to a report in the Des Moines Register, "Pork prices could be up as much as 30 percent next year because of production cutbacks," said John Lawrence, an economist at Iowa State University. "Prices of beef and poultry products are likely to be at least 10 percent higher by the end of this year," he said.
"The higher the corn prices go today the higher meat prices, milk and egg prices will go a year from now," he said.

The Agriculture Department has said that food prices overall would rise by 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent that year, but those numbers are likely to be revised upward in July after analysts get a better idea of the impact on corn supplies.

It also has worldwide repercussions. In many poor regions where corn and vegetable oil are staples the impact will be significant. In some countries, people spend as much as 70 percent of their income on food. The United Nations has identified 22 countries that are especially vulnerable to rising prices because of hunger rates and dependence on imports. (Des Moines Register)

I actually visited the United Nations earlier this week. Our tour guide told us that in Afghanistan, where girls were prohibited from attending school during the rule of the Taliban, the United Nations gives each girl a container of cooking oil as an incentive to attend classes. It is that important in their daily lives.

Iowa and other Midwest states now face the daunting task of cleanup after the floods, but we will feel the repercussions at the grocery store for some time to come.


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Play and help, but be forewarned, it's a lot of fun and it just might make you smarter!

 







Cheri Cabot – Political Correspondent

Cheri's column, "Personal About Politics", published weekly, will reflect on how the life of a 58 year-old, middle class woman is affected by politics, policy and the current state of the nation - a look at the personal aspects of politics. The articles will be posted to Politics.gather.com  as part of Gather Essentials and personalpolitics.gather.com

Cheri is a single, freelance writer living in Southern California.  She has two grown children, one in Iowa and one at Columbia University, and is the proud grandmother of two. Cheri is also a purveyor of fine coffee, warm chatter and dry wit.

You can find all of Cheri's columns on Personal About Politics at www.ccabot.gather.com.


 
NOTE: I have just established this group site for my column, however, if you interested in reading additional comments and more of my articles, you can find them at ccabot.gather.com.  Gather suggested I start a group, so trying to get them both co-ordinated! However, a bit confusing for the time being.