High and Dry

Meanwhile, farmers are hardly the only ones whose business prospects we should be worried about. There are only about 1.2 million farmers in America, and as a class, they?re richer than average. We have about eight times as many people working in bars and restaurants that are likely to see business hammered by higher food prices. For starters, restaurant meals are an indulgence for most families, so when the food they buy at home gets more expensive, they tend to cut back. Meanwhile, restaurateurs get hit on the other side with lower profit margins on more expensive food. They can of course raise prices, but that only further drives customers away. Lower margins and fewer customers mean reduced hours for servers and other staff. There?s no short-term policy cure for this sort of drought-induced pain beyond trying to improve general economic conditions. Over the long term, the more climate change there is, the more our existing patterns of life will be disrupted by bad weather.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=d87ef813e2437e3bac398a432423ae18

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