After 9-11, there was a recession, but we could at least get food at reasonable prices. Of course there weren't a bunch of stupid-azz people having to give up their houses all at once who had no business buying houses to begin with. But, how will anything get better with prices so high. Honey is 2.65 a bottle, when it used to be 1.50 at the most. Are people just not buying things now? It makes no sense for people to spend like crazy then all of a sudden stop buying. Is this why prices are so high? I for one am trying to spend as normal, NOT overspending, even though I'm making less than I was just a few years ago. It is difficult to do that, though when almost every item is a $1 or more than it is normally. It's been said it's the gas prices doing it, but our gas hasn't gone up drastically! It's been around 3.00/gallon here for months, while food prices are going up and up. You'd think with all the factory farming and imported food, it would get cheaper and cheaper asit's been proven that safety regulations have gone down to try to cut costs. And most of the processing and picking is done by illegal immigrants who basically make nothing. I read that tomato pickers were denied a 1 CENT raise because it was more than buyers wanted to pay. So, why are prices just getting HIGHER? It makes no sense to me.

Oil.Oil is used in transportation of produce from South America. Oil is used in transportation from the port to the wholesaler and then to the market where you buy it. Oil is also used in packaging too!Corn.Corn is being planted instead of wheat, soy or sorghum. The corn that used to be used to feed cattle, hogs and chickens is now being used to produce ethanol that the government is mandating in every gallon of gas sold in the US.Since the corn is being used for fuel, the availability of this for use in the food chain is decreased, leading to higher food prices.

in addition to the first answer, i would like to add that the same situation is in Australia. Here, the groceries have gone sky-high. We have drought and natural disasters to blame plus the fact that we are so far away from the rest of the world so we import a lot. What I do not get is that if the (our) dollar stands so well, how come things have not become cheaper. It is not to do with spending/not spending as it might be concerned with the supply of raw materials to make the food produce. Hopefully it will settle soon.

First, recession and inflation are not the same thing (in fact, they're sort of opposites).Second, the cost of petroleum has sky-rocketted, which effects just about everything. It's used in the plastic that holds the honey (probably); and of course all the costs of transporting raw materials, and finished bottles.People are spending less because they have less money; many have no jobs, or the jobs they do have don't pay much. You can't spend it if you don't got it.Yes, the housing crash is effecting things as well. (Yes, they were dumb to sign bad mortgages; but the people who co-signed were wrong to offer bad mortgages. Both sides are to blame.)You mention gas prices over months, but you're talking about a period of years. Maybe gas hasn't gone up in the last few months, but it's gone up a LOT since 9/11.The people who've been saying we (at least here in the US) aren't in a recession have been either deluded or lying; clearly, we are. Have been for a while.Oh, and California had a really bad year for weather last year, which destoryed a lot of crops, making prices high.About honey specifically, there's been a drastic loss in the number of bees; they're dying.Importing more means more transportation costs, as everything's coming from further away, and with gas high, that makes it even more expensive to move stuff around.