Consumer groups in Italy are calling for a one day strike to protest the raising price of pasta. The protest is a reaction to a twenty percent price increase that will soon be coming to pasta prices across the peninsula and much of the world. Government officials are saying that pasta is still one of the cheapest meals available and that the 15-20 cent increase per one pound package is not going to have that much of an affect on the consumer.
The price increase comes from a global spike in the cost of grains. As the world is becoming more developed, more and more nations are getting a steadier diet of meat which increases the consumption of grains for the livestock. The biofuel industry is seen as having an affect on the grain markets, as the renewable fuel source is becoming more popular.
But some Italians are still up-in-arms in regards to this price hike, and we will see how the protest affects the pasta market but most see this to be of little consequence: it is almost impossible to imagine an Italian cupboard without pasta.
