date:Aug 28, 2013
s, increased production of corn-based ethanol, and sharply increased U.S. exports to Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.
The U.S.D.A. said food costs as a percentage of consumer income had been falling for decades before flattening at about 10% for the last decade. But that percentage has crept up since 2008, when Americans spent 9.5% of their incomes on food, to 2011, when the total rose to 9.8% of disposable income. The increase was the result of gains in food prices coupled with stagn