A great deal of agricultural regulation and subsidy goes into ensuring the food supply is consistent and in excess of demand. Also, food is almost entirely sub

A great deal of agricultural regulation and subsidy goes into ensuring the food supply is consistent and in excess of demand. Also, food is almost entirely substitutable - you don't NEED any particular food item. (And for items where there aren't good substitutes, like milk for babies, we have extra subsidies to ensure supply.) Also, no one has a government-granted monopoly on "bread" or "fish". Therefore, the market for food doesn't degenerate under the conditions that prevail currently. If you needed to eat a whole wheat bagel (only) in the next 24 hours or you would die, and whole wheat bagels were under a government-granted monopoly, the bagel manufacturer could charge you any amount they'd like, couldn't they?