Food prices are falling!

While it may not be much comfort to those struggling with high food and petrol prices, these graphics show that when a long-term, inflation adjusted view is taken, the recent price increases are but a minor blip on a long downward trend.

As the graphic shows, the real price of eggs over the last 100+ years has fallen over 80%. It might be worth asking your students why eggs (perhaps more than other food items) have fallen so much - I imagine it is to do with the introduction of battery farming.

More important perhaps is the second graphic which shows how many hours of work are needed to purchase a basket of goods and services. So next time you grumble about the price of food and / or petrol, imagine what it must have been like for your great-grandparents!