Conservatives, And Other Factors, Are Driving Up Food Prices As Migrant Labor Workforce Shrinks To Process Food

Conservatives who will not yield on the issue of illegal immigration have created enough of a climate of fear among undocumented workers that far too few are showing up to pick fruit or other crops this year, and grocery prices are likely to take a big hike.

Some farmers in Oregon are already reporting the number of available migrant workers as only 1/6 of what's required, where much of some crops may not be havested this year, driving food prices way up.

Food prices are also taking a big hit upward as rising fuel prices for shipment have increased their value across the board. In adddition, as more corn is diverted to use in ethanol, less corn is available as cattle feed or aninal feed, further raising grocery prices.

Consumers are facing rapidly increasing prices as bad weather has impacted many citrus crops this past year as well. All of this is creating near "perfect storm" conditions that only likely to keep grocery prices growing higher and higher.