I received this this morning, hope it helps some.  : )

What about this rice shortage?

What about it? People are panicking in fear and causing it to be a problem where there isn't one.

"USA Rice Federation spokesman David Coia said there is no rice shortage in the United States."

"What adds to the price spike — and the run on specialty products like basmati — is that rice consumers tend to be very loyal. The market is highly segmented by type of rice and quality, and buyers will generally not take a substitute, Childs said."

http://www.livingonadime.com/blog/ 

I am so glad that you are bringing this up.  We have had the exact same reports in Idaho.  Stores selling out of rice, but the owners say there have been no disruptions or shortages in their supply at all!  The scarcity is being created by people’s behavior, not by real shortages. 

I suspect people are panicking because, if you are like me, you have experienced real sticker shock in the last couple of weeks when you went to the store.  Seeing prices go up so quickly really is disconcerting.  But doesn’t that mean that I should become even more logical and focused in meeting my needs?

Working out a plan to acquire and store food in case of emergency, that’s food storage.  Seeing a couple of news stories and then engaging in this kind of reactionary buying is what I would call food hoarding.  Could others please weigh in on this.  Am I seeing this wrong?

From my understanding preparing for disasters and hard times in regards to food storage involves: Figuring out what you truly need and will in fact eat, determining the amounts required, methods of storage, and development of a system for rotating the stored food in and out so that it doesn’t go bad.  (Can anyone else think of other basic steps?)

In addition to this, other preparations can include:

• Starting home gardens and growing our own food.  (The folks at the “Path to Freedom” web site have set a personal challenge for themselves to grow 10,000 lbs. of their own food - http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/01/01/whats-new-for-the-new-year-project-1/.) 
• Buying local and participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s).
• Working to become more self-sufficient.  Always great for the wallet and makes us less vulnerable.
• Cultivating a spirit of giving and sharing – Checking on our neighbors, senior citizens, and remembering those on limited incomes.    

I definitely think peak oil, climate change, and out of control population growth are real concerns for our food supply.  And yes, for those of us on a tight budget, rising food prices hit us really hard.  But dealing with those concerns by panicking doesn't seem to be a real solution. 

Just my two cents!

Dear All, Every month, I add to my stored foodstuffs.  In teh past, I had been stocking up on canned fruits & tomato products, plus cereal & Taster's Choice coffee.  I have always maiontained 20 lbs of bread flour & 20 lbs of unbleached, as well as 10 lbs of sugar in my stock.  Now, wth the current situation, I am appllying those dollars to investing in brown rice, oil, & more flour (adding on rye, which I used to keep very little of onhand, due to its being subject to a fat al mold -- so now I am freezing all of it).  I dfo not consider this to be hoarding; I am just readjusting what I newly store.  Yours in Him, Deb

We aren't big rice eaters but a couple of weeks ago when the rice shortage stories began I did pick up another 2 lb bag of brown rice as well as 2 lb bags of beans in the varieties that we eat to have on hand.

Roberta