Rationing food in some US-based stores

Sam's Club said the large-sized bags of rice subject to the limits are typically purchased by its restaurant owner or food service customers.

Sam's Club said is not limiting sales of flour or cooking oil at this time. Costco said some of its stores have put limits on sales of items such as rice and flour, but it was trying to modify those restrictions to meet customer demand.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 23, 08, 19:40 / #
Sam's Club said the large-sized bags of rice subject to the limits are typically purchased by its restaurant owner or food service customers. Sam's Club said is not limiting sales of flour or cooking oil at this time. Costco said some of its stores have put limits on sales of items such as rice and flour, but it was trying to modify those restrictions to meet customer demand. this is not a good sign. reuters.com/article/idUSN2323679120080423?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandCha nnel=0 brings bad memories of the fvking commies.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06	Apr 23, 08, 21:24 / #
OMG plk123, I guess we will need to move back to Poland and start sending packages to our deprived American friends and family.... Hehehehe. What a flashback (that would be the day).

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 23, 08, 21:54 / #
lol.. tru dat. Eurola: What a flashback (that would be the day). me no likey. this is just weird to me.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06	Apr 23, 08, 22:00 / #
I used to do that...sending spices like cloves, bay leaves, cacao, sweets...clothes of course, even a cement for my brother's house (Portland 'something'). Polamer took care of that. :)

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 23, 08, 22:07 / #
Not really commie situation. Quite the opposite. This is the result of the idiotic and irresponsible move towards biofuels. We are now subsidizing the SUV gas hogs. According to Time Magazine, the amount of grain needed to produce biofuel to fill a tank in a SUV is the same as is needed to feed one person for 365 days.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 23, 08, 22:08 / #
you sent cement from here to PL?? wow... no kidding? interesting but also pretty cool. :) not the normal goodies, clothes and money.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 23, 08, 22:10 / #
plk123: you sent cement from here to PL?? I doubt the cement was actually shipped form the US. Instead commies sold it via one of the scams such as Pewex, i.e. it was available, but only for hard currency.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06	Apr 23, 08, 22:13 / #
Some people just love SUV and don't give a darn how much they burn. My co-worker replaced her beige Chevy Blazer with another one last month, this time it is red :)

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Edited by: plk123 Apr 23, 08, 22:14 / #
z_darius: Not really commie situation. Quite the opposite. how is that? bio fuels aren't made from rice which is what this is about, for now.. the thing for me that this is looking like a start of bad things. possibly. but i do agree with you about the bio fuels.. they aren't all that bio friendly anyway. we won't be buying arab oil but will be buying corn and beans from china. either way, it doesn't look that peachy. and sure this probably isn't a move to control the masses but with all kinds of recent US laws that seem to attack liberties, one has to wonder. z_, she said Polamer. it's a parcel post in chicago.. i guess maybe they had that scheme going too but i don't think so. maybe Eurola will tell us more.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06	Apr 23, 08, 22:19 / #
z_darius: the scams such as Pewex, i.e. it was available, but only for hard currency. You're are correct. It was just paid for here in the US in greens and then delivered right away. My brother would have to bribe heavily or be "on the list" to get some.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Edited by: z_darius Apr 23, 08, 22:25 / #
plk123: how is that? bio fuels aren't made from rice which is what this is about That's what may be on the news today in the US. Here in Canada they are pounding India's food crisis, where wheat is the staple food. Last week they were doing Mexico (corn). Food riots in Haiti pop in the news every now and then. As for rice, they may not use the actual rice for biofuels but I guess there may be some domino effect. Also, the organizations supplying food to the poor worldwide will try to supply whatever they can. If they can't get corn or whet cuz it's used to propel cars then they will try to get rice and cause its shortage this way. This will cause the price of rice to go up and so on. plk123: z_, she said Polamer I missed that. Still, Poland abounds in cement. Always has. My guess is it would be silly to ship it from North America. Kinda like send flowers from Chicago to Wólka Wielka. Ain't gonna happen. Someone will cut a bunch of roses in a hothouse that is much closer to Wólka Wielka than Chicago. plk123: admin, wtf? please quit fvcking with my posts. there is no need. i titled it as i saw it. He can't decide whether he is a web master, or a censor.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06	Apr 23, 08, 22:29 / #
z_darius: Still, Poland abounds in cement. Always has. That's a silly statement. In the early 80's - for the green ones only.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Edited by: z_darius Apr 23, 08, 22:34 / #
Eurola: That's a silly statement. In the early 80's - for the green ones only. The statement might seem silly. Only yours fails to mention where Polish cement went, and especially in the 1980's? Remember? The whole Swietokrzyskie is, for practical purposes, one huge bag of unprocessed cement. My dad used to work in Gacki, Dolina Nidy, where they produced cement. Most of it went straight to the east.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06	Apr 23, 08, 22:42 / #
Exactly z_d, it went east, that's why only green could get it to my brother quickly. (BTW, I worked briefly in Nowiny II, near Kielce, before I left).

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 23, 08, 22:47 / #
Eurola: Exactly z_d, it went east, that's why only green could get it to my brother quickly. But it did get to him, which means that cement was there ;) In the 80's there was the Olympics in Moscow. Any time Russians were building something big there were severe shortages of relevant materials in most of the countries occupied by them. But to be honest, my point was not so much availability to an average Joe Shmoe, or should I say to an average Kowalski, but the fact that Poland had all the capacity to produce the cement it needed and then some. But not enough to feed the hungry thief in the east.

bookrattThreads: 8 Posts: 93 Joined: Jul 9, 07	Apr 24, 08, 11:15 / #
They are NOT rationing food in the US. The quote is snipped (not being shown in its entirety) and is being taken out of context. Sams Club, and only Sams Club (which is like a Makro here, I guess--Sam's is a kind of wholesale club, and is open only to members who pay an annual fee to shop there), is restricting its commerical customers from purchasing all the rice and flour on a shelf at one time. They are not allowing them to purchase more than the 2-3, 20 pound bag limit, per visit. 20 POUNDS. 2-3 bags at a time, folks. They can leave the store, walk back in and get 2-3 more bags, because leaving and coming in makes it a separate visit, technically. Standard shoppers like you and me at normal grocery stores all over the US can still buy all the rice and any other food you want, in any amount. You can still buy as many smaller bags of rice or flour as you want at Sams Club, too. They come in 10 pound, 5 pound and 1 pound bags and boxes there, but flour is usually sold in 5 pound bags in grocery stores and rice in 1-2 pound bags or boxes. You just cannot buy more than the 2-3, 20 lb bags, at Sam's Club, if you are a commercial customer/wholesaler/restaurateur. That's completely different than food rationing. Come on!

FranekThreads: 21 Posts: 525 Joined: Apr 12, 08	Apr 24, 08, 11:35 / #
Here we go again.(AMERICA BASHING). Did you guys ever think that Americans(And Canadians) are not affected by this. It is all about oil. America's farm lands that once produced grains,are now switching to corn to make ethenol. We too are feeling it. Milk went from $2.00 a gallon to $6.00. Rye bread from $1.50 a loaf to $4.00.. Come on give us a break. We have a song here in America that describes all. From purple mountains majesty To amber fields of GRAIN. Now we have corn

BubbaWooThreads: 46 Posts: 4,438 Joined: Sep 26, 06	Apr 24, 08, 12:02 / #
Franek: Come on give us a break. actually, most americans havent got a clue how lucky they have it

DiceThreads: 20 Posts: 677 Joined: Nov 27, 07	Edited by: Dice Apr 24, 08, 12:09 / #
No more rice? Bummer, I will have to have a fillet mignon for dinner tonight! LOL I don't think you guys realize how much cheaper the live in the States is comparing to the cost of living in Europe and the rest of the World. That includes your weekly groceries amongst the rest: the real estate prices, prices for cars, electronics, gas (petrol), etc.

FranekThreads: 21 Posts: 525 Joined: Apr 12, 08	Apr 24, 08, 12:26 / #
Dice; Today, I asked that question to a guy that just returned from Poland the same question. I belong to another Polish Forum, so does he. He told me that his wife left him and returned to the States. He claimed that she hated the life in Poland????.The prices were high along with real estate.. The wages were low. They could not make it. He suffered a great financial loss. He is now back in the States vowing never again to leave

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 24, 08, 13:01 / #
bookratt: They can leave the store, walk back in and get 2-3 more bags, because leaving and coming in makes it a separate visit, technically. why monkey around like that and this doesn't only apply to commercial customers but everybody.. and sams club isn't the only one.. Costco is doing the same thing.. so, technically food is being rationed in the US.. not on a mass scale but it is happening. Franek: Now we have corn we've always had corn and i think corn is a grain too. BubbaWoo: actually, most americans havent got a clue how lucky they have it right. Franek: He is now back in the States vowing never again to leave he'll be biting his tongue shortly. hehehe

DiceThreads: 20 Posts: 677 Joined: Nov 27, 07	Apr 24, 08, 17:21 / #
z_darius: This is the result of the idiotic and irresponsible move towards biofuels. Nothing to do with biofuels. Notice that US does not produce rice. It has more to do with raising the standard of living in Asia. India and Vietnam decided to halt the export of most of types of rice.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 24, 08, 17:33 / #
oh? rice is grown in the US.. quite a bit of it too.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 24, 08, 21:29 / #
Dice: Nothing to do with biofuels. It turns out rice can be used to produce biofuels. Dice: Notice that US does not produce rice. I can't notice that because that it not true. But I'm surprised you didn't do your homework before posting this. See...the US is the 3rd largest rice exporter globally. Dice: It has more to do with raising the standard of living in Asia. That too, but Asia is a big place, and even in the largest beneficiary of the higher standard of living, China, a vast majority of people did not come even close to get even the smallest crumbs from the pie. The rely on rice as just as they did Marco Polo first reached the area. In India they are in dire situation. In the US alone, 12% of agricultural land is used for biofuel crops. It's a huge part of agriculture. Still, those 12% manages to replace only 1% of crude oil.

TheKrukThreads: 5 Posts: 389 Joined: Apr 14, 07	Apr 24, 08, 21:52 / #
everyone read Bookratt above! This is not a newsworthy event.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 24, 08, 22:13 / #
then please don't comment nor read any of the links.

shopgirlThreads: 7 Posts: 1,446 Joined: Apr 6, 07	Apr 24, 08, 23:16 / #
I saw this on CNN a few days ago (Glen Beck's show). They said that using grain for ethanol accounted for 1/3 of grain consumption due to Federal mandates....but that the amount of grain needed to fill up an SUV one time would feed a human for one year....they ridiculed the lack of logic there considering the world's need for food. They reported that the shortage was being felt in terms of bulk quantities (the 25-50 lb. bag of flour or rice that you would find in a warehouse store, or if you ran a bakery or restaurant and need large quantities). They said this was due to the fall of the dollar, and other countries were buying our grain more cheaply than was possible before, so greater volume is being exported. It will be interesting to see what other food items get exported if the dollar stays down or continues to fall. Then we might have a problem.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 24, 08, 23:57 / #
The Time magazine article I was referring to appears to be available online. A little teaser: Meanwhile, by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Harvests are being plucked to fuel our cars instead of ourselves. The U.N.'s World Food Program says it needs $500 million in additional funding and supplies, calling the rising costs for food nothing less than a global emergency. Soaring corn prices have sparked tortilla riots in Mexico City, and skyrocketing flour prices have destabilized Pakistan, which wasn't exactly tranquil when flour was affordable.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Apr 25, 08, 00:04 / #
well, maybe finally the farmers won't need the subsidies and we can subsidy something more worthy.. lol... like that's gonna happen.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 25, 08, 00:06 / #
I'm sure farmers won't need them. Monsanto will make sure of that :)