Wal-Mart, Costco feel food crisis bite

In a sign the global food crisis is hitting North American consumers, Wal-Mart Stores says it is limiting sales of rice to four bags per customer at Sam’s Club warehouse style stores in the U.S.
A day earlier, Costco Wholesale said custom­ers worried about global food shortages were stocking up on rice and flour.
The cost of basic grains are soaring due to demand in China and India, rising fuel and fertilizer prices, biofuels, and market speculation. Rice is not a biofuel but available wet, flat land to grow it in is declining due to urbanization and flooding by new hydroelectric dams in Asia.