Sugar shortage means higher grocery prices

August 13, 6:00 PMDenver Low Carb ExaminerLinda Duffy

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Bad news for sugar junkies! Looks like the world's supply of sugar is at a low and prices are on the rise.

"...sugar prices, both in the U.S. and globally, have soared to unusually high levels for more than a year and show little sign of easing any time soon. Prices of sugar futures contracts have risen 95% so far this year, hitting a 28-year high in recent days. On Wednesday, raw-sugar futures jumped 4.8% to 22.97 cents a pound at the Intercontinental Exchange." (full story)

Not only does this mean candy could get expensive, most processed foods contain sugar and one company has already reported raising prices on frozen hot dogs, hamburgers and buns. The effect of raising sugar prices will ripple through the entire grocery store. How much impact this will have is pretty obvious when you read the ingredient labels on packaged food. It can take hours to find a single thing that doesn't list SUGAR as one of the ingredients.

Since a recent study showed sugar to be as addictive as heroin, I can't help but wonder if we are going to start seeing desperate addicts trying to score packets of sugar at the local Village Inn or stealing them from the 7-11. Will people actually try fresh, real food for a change? Considering all the grief we get for not eating pastries, candy, and sugar-filled processed foods you have to excuse us low carbers if we laugh a little on this one.