Q: Why has the price of eggs increased dramatically? Why is the price of peanut butter going up? Is there a shortage of peanuts, or what's the problem?
--Rick Brewer, Smyrna
A: Egg prices increased 4.9 percent in August because of the higher cost of corn and other grains used in animal feed, USA Today reported. Also, the inventory of table egg-laying hens in the U.S. decreased for five of the first seven months of 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. The cost of eggs is 14.5 percent higher than it was in August 2010. Peanut butter costs also will increase after one of the worst peanut harvest seasons in years, CNNMoney.com reported last week. The price for a ton of runner peanuts, which is used to make peanut butter, has jumped to $1,200, an increase of $450 from this time last year, according to the article. U.S. peanut production is expected to be 3.6 billion pounds this year, down 13 percent from 2010, according to the USDA. Peanut butter prices are expected to increase anywhere from 20-40 percent next month, according to CNNMoney.com and The Associated Press.
Q: Didn't we get fingerprinted a few years ago when we got our driver's licenses? What happened to that procedure and why?
--Gail Zartman, Lilburn
A: This law was repealed in 2005. House Bill 577 prohibits the Department of Driver Services from fingerprinting or obtaining other biometric identification before issuing a driver's license. It also required the state of Georgia to destroy all fingerprint records since they were first collected in 1996.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? He’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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