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When we think about economic crises in developing countries, we tend to picture droughts, floods, or pest outbreaks devastating local agriculture and driving up poverty and undernourishment. While that scenario is accurate for some countries, it tells only part of the story.

In the Amazon, the word "food" almost never refers only to food. Sometimes it's a fish that arrives when the river rises and overflows. Sometimes it's a cassava that is saved from flooding. Sometimes it's a bunch of plantain that holds out for a few more weeks, or a long walk to find what the bush still offers. And, increasingly, “food” is also a price: what rice costs at the store, how much oil goes for when transport is delayed, what can be bought when cash falls short.