Food as a weapon? The embargo on grain trade between USA and USSR

The grain embargo, introduced by the United States on the USSR after the invasion of Afghanistan, reduced Russian grain supplies by about six million tonnes in 1979/80. This resulted in some reduction in meat output, but the effects were not as great as had been anticipated as the Russians were able to find alternative sources of supply for much of the embargoed grain. The embargo resulted in the United States' grain prices falling, although this was partly prevented by the United States government purchasing grain destined for the Russian market. Costs to the United States government and taxpayer were kept down by the government reselling this grain for export during the summer of 1980. Despite some shuffling of markets between suppliers, the grain market has more or less returned to normal, helped by strong world demand for grain.