Thinking like an economist… about milk

Last Friday I was watching CNN and the government shut down was a hot topic (and still is). What stood out the most were reports about how a prolonged government shutdown might affect grocery prices, particularly the price of milk. The news claimed that milk prices could double! I didn’t know if this was actually possible, a gallon of organic milk is about $4.50. Would people actually pay $9.00 for milk? It made me wonder how a rise in price might affect the choices consumers would make at the grocery store. Would people opt for milk alternatives like coconut, soy, or almond milk? Would people choose to consume more of other beverages instead? How would this affect the price of cereal?

Today my family in Puerto Rico told me that in the past few days the price of milk has risen to $8 a gallon. I wouldn’t consider milk to be a staple of the Puerto Rican diet, but a lot of popular baked goods are made with milk. So I’m curious about how a rise in milk prices will affect the price of other popular foods. But my question to the class is, how would a rise in milk prices affect your consumer choices?