In the last few months, I have been noticing shortages of various food stuff in grocery stores. Nothing significant, nothing I can't easily work around by substituting or by using the stock in my pantry...but I'm not used to prolonged shortages of common items. The latest one: concentrated lemon juice of which there is apparently a worldwide shortage.

An article in the Calgary Herald explains,

Freezing weather in California and Argentina in 2007 destroyed fruit and created shortages; drought conditions in Spain and Australia have also hurt crops...we will still see shortages in the market in mid-2009, until this year's crop is juiced, packaged and on store shelves across North America.

Friends on a BB I frequent report going to several stores before finding even a small bottle of lemon juice for their Christmas cooking. One writes, the Store I work at was out for months when we finally got the HUGE bottles in they sold out in 2 days. Now its been at least another month and Nada

Not an earthshaking topic...but, as I said, I'm not used to food shortages of any sort, even minor ones due solely to weather. I'm used to the goods of the world being at my fingertips whenever I walk into a grocery store -- even one in rural Ontario. The world's supply-and-demand seems to be stretched so thin these days that there is little flexibility.