Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing.

Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.

At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy.

“Where’s the rice?” an engineer from Palo Alto, Calif., Yajun Liu, said. “You should be able to buy something like rice. This is ridiculous.” …

An employee at the Costco store in Queens said there were no restrictions on rice buying, but limits were being imposed on purchases of oil and flour. Internet postings attributed some of the shortage at the retail level to bakery owners who flocked to warehouse stores when the price of flour from commercial suppliers doubled. …

Saturn’s limitations combined with Virgo’s interest in diet and health is creating some interesting challenges but it’s not always easy to predict where shortage will occur. When Saturn was in Virgo from 1948-1951, this cycle coincided with a worldwide food shortage in a post-World War II world.

In 1978-1980, Saturn in Virgo presided over a nurse (Virgo) shortage (Saturn) as well as a shortage of gasoline which led to a worldwide energy crisis. Neptune rules oil and other liquids, and Neptune is currently in Aquarius where it has been seeking energy alternatives. Chiron is as close now (4 degrees) to a conjunction with Neptune as it will be until the two collide in 2010, and these two will be locked in a dance until next fall where they begin to move away from each other. This is a hint of what we can expect then, and by September these pressures may have eased off somewhat.