As inflation surges around the world, politicians are scrambling for ways to keep food affordable as people increasingly protest the soaring cost of living. One knee-jerk response has been food export bans aimed at protecting domestic prices and supplies as a growing number of governments in developing nations try to show a nervous public that their needs will be met. For business owners, the rising cost of cooking ingredients has prompted them to raise prices. For consumers, it has meant paying more for the same or lesser quality food or curbing certain habits altogether. Food prices had been steadily climbing because of drought, supply chain issues, and high energy and fertilizer costs. Export bans add to the crunch.