wheat prices

It feels like the price of a case of beer is higher than it has been since the Babylonians first started fermenting barley 6,000 years ago. But what's behind the rising prices? Turns out, the explanation requires a tour across the economic landscape -- and around the world.

Wheat prices reached their highest prices in more than two years after a United Nations agency warned that China may face a wheat-supply shortage because of a recent drought, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ben Bernanke insists that inflation remains "quite low." That's true, unless you need to eat. Core inflation doesn't include food prices, and they're soaring around the globe. In fact, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization says its closely watched food price index hit its highest level ever in January.

Record heat in Russia is hurting its wheat crop, sending the grain's price soaring -- potentially affecting future bread and pasta costs. But it doesn't end there. For separate reasons, coffee and cocoa prices are also up. Get ready to pay more for food.

Prices for the staple crop have jumped 50% since late June, topping $7 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. A prolonged drought in Russia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, has severely damaged crops, and wildfires have swept through some agricultural areas.

Although I don't eat too much pizza these days, there was a time in my life when the ambrosial mix of flat crust, tomato sauce, and melted cheese was a staple in my diet. Looking through my mental scrapbook, it seems like almost every major event of my high school, college, and graduate years was...