Oh, My Aching Corns!

There seems to be a general unrest over the higher cost of, well, everything these days. Other than gas prices and occasional articles about the increasing cost of flour, I really hadn't noticed. Starvation around the world seemed distant. Yesterday, though, the impact hit me (or more correctly didn't hit me) right in the mouth. I'm talking about the inflation in the cookie aisle.
Normally, I try to eat products with no high fructose corn syrup in them, but it has gotten harder and harder...even Roman Meal bread, a staple for years, contains high fructose corn syrup! However, yesterday, I was looking for snack-like stuff to take to school since my summer class met over the noon hour, and the old standard PBJ just didn't seem appropriate.
First, I checked out the fruit bars (generic fig newtons). I like figs, but the ones with fruit are good, too. Stunned, I continued to stare at the shelf and the $3.99 price tag. No way! I passed them by (being cheap) and decided to find something less healthy (cheaper). The usual $.99 Little Debbies were up to $1.39, an increase of roughly 40%! Oreos were priced at a ridiculous $3.49, and "back in the day, I could get two packages for $5.00. This was getting ridiculous, and I was getting more and more hungry. Disoriented, I wandered aimlessly through the aisles looking for the item that would satisfy my two basic needs: fill my stomach and be cheap. Needless to say, the only cheap thing in the store was me, and I left without making a purchase except for the garlic, carrots and watermelon (up a dollar since last week!)for which I'd come.
Did I consider all the starving people around the world? Sadly, no. Did I consider that missing a meal every day would not exactly cause my body to deteriorate? no. I was determined to fulfill this whim, and when I could not do so, it was dispiriting, to say the least.
So, what did I have for lunch at school today? Peanut butter and jelly with a few carrots.
Either I need to stop shopping for food, or I have to modify my ideas about eating. For the time being, I'm blaming everything on the price of gas since farmers are growing too much damn corn for ethanol and not enough wheat (also resulting in food shortages around the world). It will be an ongoing struggle to avoid high fructose corn syrup, though, just as it will be difficult to avoid the ethanol in the gas I buy. Corn is king.