Apocalypse now? The alarming effects of the global food crisis

The Bank of England governor warned last week of apocalyptic' food price rises. Yet war in Ukraine, climate change and inflation are already taking their toll all over the world

Apocalypse is an alarming idea, commonly taken to denote catastrophic destruction foreshadowing the end of the world. But in the original Greek, apokalypsis means a revelation or an uncovering. One vernacular definition is to take the lid off something".

That latter feat is exactly what Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, achieved last week, possibly inadvertently, when he suggested Britain was facing apocalyptic" levels of food price inflation. Tory ministers fumed over what they saw as implied criticism of the government's masterly economic management.