The correct answer is A. During the Elizabethan period, food was often scarce.
Explanation
According to the passage, it can be inferred that the food was scarce because the excerpt shows arguments such as its value exceeded the price of an average single-family house. In addition, transportation was another factor that increased the value of food, so it largely depended on local cultivation. So the correct answer is A. During the Elizabethan period, food was often scarce.