Information about the Aspen Ideas Festival is here. I am scheduled for a session, The American Wellness Paradox, currently scheduled from 11:00-11:50 a.m., at the East Lawn Tent. This will be a discussion with senior HHS policy advisor, Calley Means. Here’s the blurb on it: “Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, supplements, wellness trends, and “clean eating,” yet rates of chronic disease and metabolic illness continue to climb. As skepticism fuels the rise of movements like MAHA, debates over what Americans should eat have become deeply cultural, political, and economic. Two influential voices with sharply different perspectives on nutrition and food science explore how food systems, farming practices, consumer culture, and the wellness industry collided to create one of the defining public health debates of our time.”
by Marion Nestle
Feb
17
2026
What’s happening with prices at the grocery store?
If you think food prices are increasing, you are right.
I’ve been sent an analysis from Trace One.
Trace One says “grocery prices rose 0.7% in December, the largest one-month increase since October 2022—underscoring how food costs remain a major pain point for households even as broader inflation cools.”
Some of its findings:
- Grocery inflation has outpaced broader inflation since the pandemic began.
- Beef products have seen the sharpest price increases.
- Average household grocery spending is nearing $700 per month nationally.
Comment
I’m kind of shocked by what food is costing these days. In writing What to Eat Now, I could see that prices doubled since I wrote What to Eat in 2006. BPut now they’ve gone up even more. This is fine if income is going up too.
But what if it’s not?
And what if SNAP benefits are cut?
These are tough times.
