“It’s too much work.”

“It’s not reliable.”

“It’s not as profitable as corn or soybeans.”

It’s wheat. And farmers in America’s breadbasket are turning against the crop that has been the backbone of the United States’ success since World War I. The nation witnessed it’s true power during World War II in it’s ability to feed millions for cheap, but now, because of the work involved in producing a good crop each season, farmers are opting out for something a little more durable: corn and soybeans.

Needless to say, like anything in short supply, the changes in attitude towards wheat production are jacking up the prices of everything and anything that uses the product. And it’s a price increase that’s not likely to fall ever again. That means from now on, bread, pasta, pizza and other related foods are going to see substantial price increases this year. As if we aren’t already paying out of our ears for gasoline, which brings me to the next issue at play.

Farmers are growing more corn and soybeans to sell to places like Asia and also for the use in ethanol plants. While the hope that we will soon turn to biofuels and become less dependant on gasoline is a good and prosperous idea, I’m not sure that at this point in our nation’s turbulent economy the right choice is being made regarding the well-being of the American people. It could take decades before we become completely dependent on biofuels, no matter what the activists say, but the People of the United States and all the other nations that rely on our wheat are going to need it now. As if we aren’t all already struggling to live with gas prices, taxes and housing markets in the gutter, let’s make the cost of living even worse for our nation. Let’s let people struggle to feed their families. Sure, here in the Midwest, many of us may not have too much of a problem with the increasing prices but if we get off our high horse and take a look around at the starving families all across the United States, we might see a different picture of consequences unfolding.

If we weren’t so dependent on gasoline for everything we do, then we wouldn’t have to grow more corn and soybeans to produce ethanol, and we wouldn’t have to sacrifice our nation’s food supply in order to let our cars run. If people in the cities can learn to use public transportation and if consumers elsewhere can trade in their gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle for more practical fuel efficient vehicles, then we will see a grand change in fuel prices. Some will say that we have been trading in for better fuel efficiency, but the point is we just are not doing it enough. There are so many people in cities around the world that refuse to trade in their Hummer for a hybrid or take the bus or the subway. It is considerably affecting our gas prices. We are not doing enough and now we are paying the price for our reliance on oil.

Along with mass oil consumption, our farmers are desperately feeling the effects of urban sprawl on our nation’s farmlands, especially here in the Midwest. Fertile farmland is being bought almost illegally from right under the farmers’ feet and as a result, farmers are being forced to cut back their crops and consequently their income. And with big cities come big corporations buying the farmers’ land for massive corporate farms that mass produce, mass slaughter and put small farmers out of business. So, trust me, I sympathize with farmers who are just desperately trying to feed their own families, and that is why I don’t believe that the issue lies in the fields but in the corporate offices in sprawling cities.

I would rather pay a little more to drive my car than pay more to feed my family. What is more important, that Hummer parked in the driveway or your family sitting at the breakfast table with their $5 box of cereal? Just like we are feeling the crunch with rising oil prices, we will soon feel the desperate crunch of rising wheat prices. And I’m not so sure our stomachs will be as sympathetic to the wheat crisis as our consumerist minds have become to our oil crisis.