7 Food Shortages and How They Ended
Rarely a month goes by without headlines promising some variety of food shortage or another—recent hysterics have taken wine and Sriracha as their targets. But the well-informed citizen always asks: should we believe the hype? We've indulged your healthy skepticism by looking at six food shortages from the recent past, separating the hype from the reality.
1/6Coffee
Reports earlier this year indicated, as they do with suspicious regularity, that an arabica bean shortage was on the horizon. It seemed as good an excuse as any to raise coffee prices. But don't believe the hype—just a few weeks ago, Reuters reported that arabica prices were at a four-and-a-half year low, boosted by a Brazilian surplus.
2/6Maple Syrup
In 2012, a syrup heist deprived Quebec of more than a quarter of its 37-million-pound maple syrup reserve. In light of what was already a poor syrup harvest in the U.S., it seemed like prices were guaranteed to rise this year. But this was largely media hyperbole: Some local markets saw a small hike in syrup prices, but the USDA's latest Maple Syrup Production report indicates that the price per gallon remained fairly stable; it even decreased in certain states. We're not out of the woods yet: because of high demand and insufficient technology, syrup prices have been rising steadily for more than a decade.
MattJP/Flickr3/6Onions
India consumes 16.5 million tons of onions a year, and at present, prices are soaring; excessive rains have damaged crops. At the end of October, the government promised the price hike was temporary, but this crisis remains real: the onions are currently more than 100 rupees per kilogram, more than the cost of some varieties of chicken. Cheaper Chinese onions have been imported to meet demand. (Photo by MattJP/Flickr)
4/6Champagne
Champagne shortages are a fixture of food-related hysteria: they've been reported in 1973, 1999 (when everyone expected a massive sellout in anticipation of Y2K celebrations), 2007, and 2012, among other years. Believe the hype? Don't: shifting prices and varying availability are par for the course with champagne. Certain producers and varieties will always be subject to the vagaries of the demand curve, but even at the height of Y2K fever, you could get yourself a good bottle of bubbly. (Photo by Kelly Michelle/Flickr)
5/6Pumpkin Spice
____Last year's pumpkin spice shortage made plenty of headlines, and it was very real: would-be latte drinkers were incensed at Starbucks franchises around the nation. But breathe easy: there's been no such shortage this year, even as pumpkin-flavored products enjoy record sales.
6/6Butter
In 2011, what began as a minor panic in Norway escalated into a full-blown butter crisis. That summer, heavy rains affected cow grazing and led to decreased milk production. Butter prices began to rise, and an increase in demand sent things spiraling out of control; by mid-December 2011, a single pack of imported butter cost the equivalent of $50. Dairy farmers blamed Tine, the company that produced 90% of Norway's butter, for failing to inform them of higher demand and exporting too much butter.
