Buying Food USDA is forecasting that grocery prices will rise by 3 percent this year, the largest increase since 2011 and mostly due to animal proteins. That is more than three times the overall inflation rate. Five economists from four different universities analyzed household spending in response to this year’s COVID-related fiscal infusion of cash (2020 CARES Act) and found less was spent on durable goods and more on food than during similar stimulus efforts in 2001 and 2008. However, the authors attribute the change in spending to shelter-in-place orders and supply disruptions.  Ethanol and Emissions There is angst in Europe because average automobile CO2 emissions are rising at a time when regulations say they should be d...