Spam, the wonderful meat in a can that is inexpensive yet tasty, is seeing its sales increase, according to a recent story in The New York Times. Blame the economy, where diners are looking for cheap ways to put meat on the kitchen table. Or on the restaurant table.

Other thrifty foods that are selling well across the country, many of which will fill you up, according to the Times story, include rice, beans, macaroni and cheese, pancake mixes, instant potatoes, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, fruit and vegetable preservatives, and beer.

At the Hormel Foods Corp. plant in Austin, Minn., two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they've been told the busy work schedule will continue indefinitely.

With the return of inflation, insane gas prices, and Peter Brady, it's started to look like the 1970's revival is almost complete. However, as any cultural historian will attest, no reiteration of the polyester leisure suit decade could be complete without a good, solid meat crisis.

Most experts agree that the 1972 meat crisis was caused by a massive reduction in the population of anchovies living off the coast of South America. As these tiny fish migrated elsewhere, farmers who relied on them for animal feed had to pay ever-increasing prices, driving up the cost of beef. This, in turn, led to black market butchers, runs on beef supplies, and the rise of pasta as a main dish.

In time, of course, meat supplies stabilized and prices dropped, but the damage had been done. For many families, ethnic dishes that were less reliant on flesh became part of the regular menu, arguably contributing to the rise of gourmet cookery. Regardless, the huge slabs of meat that once characterized the average American's diet became rarer. Although beef certainly made a comeback, it never really regained its position at the center of the daily dinner table.

Of course, the more things change, the more they stay the same. According to the National Restaurant Association, beef prices have risen almost 20% since August 2007 and are poised to go up another 5% to 8% over the next year. Part of this inflation is due, once again, to increases in the price of feed. Midwest floods, the rise of corn ethanol, and an increase in food exports to Europe have all driven the cost of grain upward. At the same time, increases in the price of gas have also made it more expensive to transport meat from farm to stockyard to market.

Prices in restaurants are rising across the spectrum, from top-notch eateries to fast food chain Wendy's, which has raised the price of its quarter pound burger by 4-8 cents in the past year. Meanwhile, McDonald's is contemplating either raising prices on its dollar menu or changing the items that it offers. Stay tuned for the McTofu!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Luckily, he has a lot of recipes for roadkill.

China has ordered the 112 official Olympic restaurants not to serve dog meat during the Beijing Olympics in August so as not to gross out Westerners. They also strongly suggest that all the other eateries in town stop selling dog meat for the month, too. The move is like their orders to shut factories to clear pollution for the month: purely cosmetic. If anything it shows how deeply entrenched dog-eating is. Animal groups say the practice is actually growing into a big business worth about $4 billion a year.

Even the government's Xinhua News Agency announcement shows how dog-eating is almost revered: "Gourmets with a special predilection for dog meat will be disappointed if they come to the Chinese capital in the coming two months." The Beijing Catering Trade Association (BETA) will "blacklist" those who don't cooperate, but they'll make an exception for dog meat "for medicinal purposes." Many Chinese think eating canines lowers blood pressure, the agency says.

According to the Asian Animal Protection Network, eating dog used to be a "cottage industry" where the rural poor would raise puppies to take to market. Now it's become fashionable -- especially in southern China and among Koreans. Dog meat is more expensive than pork. Factory farms with horrific conditions raise the dogs. The Asia Animal Protection Network says the farms are now importing big, docile breeds, especially St. Bernards, known locally as "Big Dumb Dog," as dog livestock. The Filipino organization Dog Meat Trade also reports that the dog meat industry is expanding and is now about $3.8 billion.