Americans Increasingly Concerned about Food Prices, U.S. Ethanol Policy, According to The 2008 Hormel Hunger Survey

MarketWatch - The Wall Street Journal
Last update: 8:25 a.m. EDT Oct. 23, 2008

Nearly six of 10 say they have had to cut back quantity or quality of food

AUSTIN, Minn., Oct 23, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Nearly six out of 10 Americans say they have had to cut back on the quantity or quality of food they buy because of increasing prices, according to The 2008 Hormel Hunger Survey, conducted by Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL:
Hormel Foods Corporation.

Most Americans (67 percent) say that food prices have increased a lot since last year, and six out of 10 Americans (61 percent) say that corn-based ethanol is at least partly responsible for higher food prices.

In the survey, which is Hormel Foods' third annual study on Americans' experiences with and views on hunger, two-thirds of Americans say they are losing economic ground as inflation outstrips any increase in income. In addition, almost half (47 percent) of Americans are having more trouble paying their bills this year than last year, and more than four out of five Americans (84 percent) are concerned about rising food prices. Four out of 10 are very concerned.

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