What was the cause of the widespread food shortages in the USSR during the 80's?

by [deleted]
Kochevnik81

Not to discourage other answers but you might want to check out this answer I wrote about what happened to the Soviet distribution system (with a look a food) from the late 1980s on.

For a bonus, here is a discussion of food consumption comparisons between the USSR and USA in the 1970s and 1980s.