Hidden Inflation: Food Prices Flying Under the Fed's Radar

Soaring food prices have been, perhaps, the most pressing global issue of the past two years – yet the U.S. Federal Reserve has taken a "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" approach to the global crisis. Instead, the Fed has dutifully maintained its focus on so called "core inflation" in the United States – even as Americans suffer the consequences of the "hidden inflation" the government refuses to account for. The Federal Reserve excludes food and fuel prices from its preferred gauge of inflation because they are often influenced by erratic weather patterns and political turmoil. That at times has been the case over the past few years.