CNN reports today that despite the rapid drop in gas prices, food prices are likely to stay right where they are, even though they increased in the first place because of high fuel costs. Worried about declining consumer confidence, prices will remain high in all areas - not just food - so that businesses can continue to make a profit while fewer people are buying.

The CNN article outlines all the rationale behind this, but I wonder, how does this affect shopping of everyday people? Sure, there's a segment of the population who can buy whatever they want regardless of the cost, but there's a pretty significant group of people who are in the produce section, weighing the merits of organic apples over their half-as-expensive non-organic counterpart. An Oprah show last week compared the lives of chickens bearing cage-free eggs to those who spend their lives in cages. A strong argument against cage free was price. How high do prices have to go to compromise beliefs and morals?