Sure, but the US economy doesn't just run on food. In that particular sector the price increases make inuitive sense, as consumption is expected to stay mostly steady while supply chains have been heavily impacted.

Inflation is measured, for very obvious reasons, by looking at the general price level of goods and services in the economy, not just any given sector.

No, I don't need to do that to be honest. A 2% increase in food prices while the general price levels fall is not an indication of inflation unless someone redefines inflation and cherry picks data to advance their cause. (In this case the annual doomsday prediction about inflation, which is normal on HN with its substantial contingent of people who rant about fiat money).

Timescales matter; a 2% increase in food prices over a year would be an indication of normal inflation; a 2% increase over a month indicates above-average food price inflation. In either case, the evidence of inflation in one area does not mean there is generally high inflation, it just means one thing is increasing in price.

You can call it cherry-picking, but any presentation of data in this format will be guilty of that, so it's not a particularly damning indictment.

As I said before, I don't agree with the previous version of the other post, but I think you're being a bit broad.