by Mathew Katz

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Milk's getting more expensive, again.

One effect of the recession, as you can see from this chart, was that food prices fell from their record highs during mid-2007 to mid-2008. Now, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, food prices are starting to grow again. The 6 percent increase in between April and May is the second-highest jump since the FAO began to track the numbers in 1990.

FAO economists have said that food commodity prices usually strengthen with a general economic recovery, so this could be a positive sign for the economy. If food prices continued to rise this fast, it would be bad news for people on the margins, who suffered when prices peaked last year. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warns that "[F]ood insecurity and hunger is a growing problem for the world's poor."