Global food prices hit 2-decade high, threatening world's poorest

WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) – Food prices have skyrocketed globally because of disruptions in the global supply chain, adverse weather and rising energy prices, increases that are imposing a heavy burden on poorer people around the world and threatening to stoke social unrest. The increases have affected items as varied as grains, vegetable oils, butter, pasta, beef and coffee. They come as farmers around the globe face an array of challenges, including drought and ice storms that have ruined crops, rising prices for fertiliser and fuel, and pandemic-related labour shortages and supply chain disruptions that make it difficult to get products to…