Butter Crisis!?

At first when some of our friends told us about this we thought this was a bit silly.  Then we realized the one time of year we NEED butter is coming up.  Every year for our Christmas Dinner Outreach butter is a key component in making pie crust and breads.  Before the “crisis” we already thought butter was ridiculous compared to America, but this is getting out of control!!  ($12.75 for 4 sticks of butter!)  Thankfully, I have some stocked in the freezer, but am I headed to the store tomorrow to make sure I can buy enough in advance for December.

Butter Crisis ’14: Supermarkets nationwide apologize for empty shelves, cakes threatened

For months now a crisis has been brewing in the dairy industries of Japan. However, like the gooey sweetness of a melting pat of butter penetrating the crevices of a piece of toast, the effects have only recently begun to seep into the general population. We’re still only in the early stages though and things are bound to get worse before they get better.

Some readers who live in Japan may have noticed that the cost of butter has been significantly higher in recent months. In other cases shelves have gone empty and purchases are limited to one per person.

Now the writing is smeared on the wall: Japan is running out of butter… and fast.