What's driving the surge in food prices and what are the knock-on effects?

Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) monthly food price index, shows prices in May were 40% higher compared to last year. John Stepek looks at what is causing higher food inflation.

Photographer: Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Food prices are rising at their fastest pace since 2011.
(Image credit: Photographer: Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

We've been talking a lot about inflation in the past few months. For most, the jury is still out as to just how troublesome and persistent inflation will be.

However, one set of prices is already rising at double-digit rates. And it's in a category with probably more potential than any other to cause political and social upheaval.

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John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.