dog food is about double what it was in 2020. Say what you will about the cost of energy going up during that time: there's no way to blame ONLY energy costs for that.
b) what I find really concerning is that they may have already figured out how to change people's behaviour: what they think is funny, what they think is appropriate to say/do, where they want to travel to (if at all), how they feel about certain celebrities they like or dislike, what is believable or not believable, how they feel about certain politicians, who to vote for. Some people are probably more easy to sway on certain topics than others are. It's not a stretch to guess that they probably already know various paths to make individuals into something they currently are not.
Best of luck with that. Many drivers don't like walking. People will fight for the closest parking space to the door of a gym, for crissake.