Barbara J. Hamby

The Price of Corn and Other Matters

Yesterday I read that the price of corn has nearly doubled in the last year. With the floods now occurring in Iowa, it can only go higher. Dare we hope that the manufacturers of food products will stop putting corn syrup in almost everything they make, from spaghetti sauce to soup or bread or any of dozens of other non-dessert items? Probably not. But, as a chronic weight watcher, I can dream. It would be good not to have to worry about losing my eyesight reading all the small print ingredient lists on food packages.

With all the weather disasters, fires, floods, etc. the price of much of the produce in this country is bound to rise even further. Food costs have already risen, perhaps not as much as gasoline, but enough to create hardship for many. Eating a healthy diet can be a real challenge for low-income seniors and families.

In an election year there is always hope for better times. Having read Obama’s The Audacity of Hope, I can only hope that, if his energy and enthusiasm takes him into our highest office, it will carry him on to improve the lives of ordinary Americans.