Tag: Food Prices

Why Worry About Iran?

Since our dear beloved leader has decided to venture into this ill-conceived war with Iran prices have shot up even more4 than before it all began.

But according to some d/bag from Kansas that is not what we should be worried about…..

A Republican senator on Tuesday tried to sell wary Americans on President Donald Trump’s war with Iran by telling them that national security is more important than any financial pain they’re feeling in the form of higher energy costs.

During an appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” program, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) tried to assuage Americans’ concerns about the spike in gas prices caused by the war by informing viewers that the US is “the leading producer of oil in the world, we’re exporting more than we’re importing.”

The US exporting more of its own oil to foreign countries whose regular supplies have been disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz does nothing to lower US gas prices and, if anything, will push them higher.

As a Monday Wall Street Journal article explained, “prices at the pump are poised to keep rising if the US exports more oil and gas and drains its inventories,” especially since “the jump in exports doesn’t yet correspond to an increase in US oil production.”

Later in the segment, Marshall acknowledged that Americans were feeling pain at the gas pump, but he said it was worth it to stop the supposed threat from Iran, which did not attack the US and, according to US intelligence estimates, was not close to producing nuclear weapons.

“I’m sorry that gas prices are going up,” he said. “But help is on the way, and your national security, yes, is even more important than your pocketbook.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/roger-marshall-gas-prices

What a disingenuous twat!

US is doing all this bullshit to placate Israel for some sick reason.

But not to worry it will get worse as long as that pasty asshole runs this country…..we can only keep working to see that this tool gets his comeuppance……and soon.

When this Iran debacle is done Donny will find another way to manipulate the markets to keep his ‘buddies’ in pocket change.

Sickening isn’t it?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

“It Is Of No Concern”

Donny’s and BiBi’s war has driven the price of oil to over $110 per barrel and that means we all will be paying through the nose for transportation, food, etc….and does the mental midgets in DC think about the coming storm?

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett caused a stir on Tuesday when he indicated that the prospect of US consumers getting hurt by a protracted conflict with Iran was not of particular concern to the administration.

During an interview on CNBC, Hassett dismissed concerns about the Iran war, which is now in its third week, dragging on indefinitely.

“The US economy is fundamentally sound,” Hassett claimed. “And if [the war] were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the US economy much at all. It would hurt consumers, and we’d have to think about, you know, if that continued, what we would have to do about that, but that’s, like, really the last of our concerns right now… because we’re very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule.”

In fact, US consumers are already hurting financially from the effects of the Iran war, which has caused the price of both oil and gasoline to skyrocket. Petroleum industry analyst Patrick De Haan reported on Tuesday that the average price of gas in the US has reached $3.80 per gallon, while the average price for diesel fuel has reached $5.03 per gallon.

The war’s impact on oil and gas prices has been exacerbated by Iran closing down the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, and so far there is no indication that it will be reopening anytime soon.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/kevin-hassett-iran-war

Donny’s ill conceived policies have already put the American consumer in a hurt locker and now he wants to just keep adding to the woes of American families.

Someone please remind me why you voted for this piece of crap.

On second thought do not bother….the only answer is you are a fuc**ng moron.

The sooner this person leaves this plane of existence the better.

Sorry to be a bummer but enough is enough.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Economy Is Booming!

+++Today I return to the chemo chair so I do not know how I shall feel afterwards so this may be my only offering for today.  I apologize.+++

 

I am really sick of these bastards that push this mound of fecal matter….the media and especially Donny…the average person sees NO benefit from the economy that we are told is going great guns.

The only sector that is ‘booming’ are those financial twats that manipulate the markets…..they are making money….but Betty Jo is not and she is paying 20% more for just about everything.

Then if you want sticker shock then I suggest you try grocery shopping…..then telling that the economy is booming.

A year into President Trump’s second term, the grocery checkout line is telling a very different story than the one coming from the White House. While Trump told a Detroit crowd this week that “grocery prices are starting to go rapidly down,” federal data released the same day show the cost of food at home is still climbing—and at the fastest monthly pace in years, the New York Times reports. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, supermarket prices rose 2.4% over the past year and 0.7% in December, the sharpest monthly jump since October 2022. Dining out costs rose by about the same amount last month, the biggest monthly jump since 2022, per Axios.

Some staples have surged far more: beef is up 16.4% from a year ago, coffee nearly 20%, lettuce 7.3%, and frozen fish 8.6%. Ground beef hit a record $6.69 a pound in December; it was $5.61 a year prior. Eggs are a rare bright spot, down about 21%, and many dairy prices have slipped—but five of six major grocery categories are higher, and overall food prices are now almost 26% above where they were five years ago. NPR has tracked Walmart grocery prices at a Georgia location since 2018, and reports that on average, prices of the staples they track went up 5% over the past year.

Experts say there’s no single culprit. Weather, fertilizer, machinery, fuel, and shifting consumer tastes all play a role, while a yearslong drop in cattle herds is keeping beef prices elevated. Trump’s own policies are also in the mix: tariffs have made imported items like coffee, bananas, and some tropical produce more expensive and pushed up the cost of packaging materials such as aluminum. Immigration crackdowns have also tightened farm labor in some regions, forcing crops to rot in fields in some states.

Low-income shoppers are feeling the increases first and hardest, especially those who temporarily lost SNAP benefits during last year’s government shutdown. Grocery executives say many are trading steak for ground beef, stocking up less, shifting to store brands, and chasing promotions—and they’re now seeing similar behavior from middle-income households. With the Agriculture Department expecting roughly similar grocery inflation again next year, Democrats are leaning into affordability ahead of November’s midterms, arguing that Republicans presiding over still-rising food costs can’t credibly claim victory over inflation. As Axios reports, “broad inflation relief is little consolation for Americans if they aren’t seeing it reflected in grocery bills.”

And to make things worse that idiot that sits in the Golden Throne keeps lying his ass off about prices are dropping rapidly….would someone please tell him to STFU or provide PROOF…..which he cannot do for there is no proof for his damn lies.

If you support that man please inform me to why it is that you think he deserves your support.  (I doubt there will be any truthful answers just regurgitation from the morons in DC)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

High Beef Prices, We Have An Answer

Anyone that actually eats knows just how expensive beef prices have become….and now a Donny moron has the answer that we all have been waiting on….

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t argue that beef prices are rising — but he pointed to an unlikely culprit.

According to the Trump administration, the increase isn’t due to tariffs or inflation. Instead, Bessent blamed migrants for driving up costs.

“We are headed for what I’m calling … the $10-a-pound reality. By [the] third quarter of ’26, families are gonna see $10 a pound [for] ground beef in the grocery store. So we’re in for a bit of a haul here,” Rempe recently warned on Mornings with Maria.

According to Bessent, “The beef market is a very specialized market. It goes in long cycles. And this is the perfect storm, again, something we inherited.”

In an unexpected twist, Bessent went on to say that migrants contributed to the increase in beef prices by bringing diseased cattle from South America into North America.

“Because of the mass immigration, a disease that had been rid of in North America made its way up through South America. These migrants brought some of their cattle with them,” the treasury secretary alleged.

https://knewz.com/treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-blames-rising-beef-prices-migrants-screwworms/

Let me see if I have this right…..illegal immigrants bring their pet cows with them when they cross the border illegally, right?

How did those cows make it over the wall?

At what point do you people that voted for these clowns see your mistake?

Everyday there is something new from these morons…..when will enough be enough?

Does their hatred of people of color know no bounds?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Roll Em Back—-Way Back

WE all have heard or experienced the high cost of food these days……well finally the problem has got some small amount of attention from Donny and the Thugs….

President Trump announced Friday that he was scrapping US tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits, and a broad swath of other commodities—a dramatic move that comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices. “We just did a little bit of a rollback on some foods like coffee,” Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida hours after the tariff announcement was made. Pressed on his tariffs helping to increase consumer prices, Trump acknowledged, “I say they may, in some cases” have that effect. “But to a large extent they’ve been borne by other countries,” the president added.

  • Trump has built his second term around imposing steep levies on goods imported into the US in hopes of encouraging domestic production and lifting the US economy. His abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy on so many staples key to the American diet is significant, and it comes after voters in off-year elections this month cited economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, and other key races around the country, the AP reports.
  • Inflation—despite Trump’s pronouncements that it has vanished since he took office in January—remains elevated, further increasing pressure on US consumers.
  • The Trump administration has insisted that its tariffs had helped fill government coffers and weren’t a major factor in higher prices at grocery stores around the country. But Democrats were quick to paint Friday’s move as an acknowledgement that Trump’s policies were hurting American pocketbooks.
  • “President Trump is finally admitting what we always knew: his tariffs are raising prices for the American people,” Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer said in a statement. “After getting drubbed in recent elections because of voters’ fury that Trump has broken his promises to fix inflation, the White House is trying to cast this tariff retreat as a ‘pivot to affordability.'”
  • Trump signed an executive order that also removes tariffs on tea, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and certain fertilizers. Some of the products covered aren’t produced in the United States, meaning that tariffs meant to spur domestic production had little effect. But reducing the tariffs will still likely mean lower prices for US consumers.
  • Trade groups praised the move and urged Trump to roll back more of his tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It’s certainly a step in the right direction, but it’s important to recognize that the pain that American working families and businesses feel from tariffs goes way beyond coffee and bananas,” said Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.

He said the ‘tariffs, in some cases, contributed to the high cost’ (paraphrase)….this from a stable genius that is a whiz kid in economics and he did not think it would effect the prices?

Now how many of you think this will bring food prices more in line?

If the distributors do not lower prices what will be Donny’s retribution?

To say I am not impressed is an understatement.

How About you?

But wait!   Remember that Uncle Don cut a deal with Argentina for beef and that should start bringing prices down…..right?

Beef prices have been giving Americans sticker shock at grocery stores lately, and they are poised to reach even more stomach-churning levels next year, according to Omaha Steaks CEO Nate Rempe.

“So we are headed for what I’m calling the $10-a-pound reality by third quarter of ’26,” he predicted. “Families are going to see $10-a-pound ground beef in the grocery store.”

According to the latest consumer price index data, the average price of ground beef was $6.323 a pound in September. That’s up 14% since January and 26% from January 2024.

If ground beef hits $10 a pound, the price would represent a 58% surge from September’s level.

https://fortune.com/2025/11/15/beef-prices-outlook-inflation-cattle-herd-supply-demand-trump-tariffs/

So that much hyped deal will do little to lower beef prices if the article is correct.

Once again Donny proves a stable genius he is not.

And finally the excuse for higher beef prices….hint it is Biden’s fault…..

Scott Bessent was ridiculed for suggesting skyrocketing beef prices have nothing to do with MAGA’s economic policies and everything to do with a supposed invasion of cows across the southern border.

The Treasury Secretary expounded his wild theory during a Sunday sit-down with Maria Bartiromo over on Fox News. The host described the crisis to Bessent, asking for his take on “ten dollar… meat, a pound!”

Arguing the beef industry is in “a perfect storm” that the White House “inherited” from the Joe Biden administration, the secretary shot back that rising costs are a direct result of migrants entering the U.S. from Latin America.

WE knew someone would use that dodge eventually, right?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Beef Is Too Damn High!

If you are unfortunate enough to go to the market and buy beef for the Sunday BBQ then you have been shaking your head at the prices for your choice.

Something needs to be done.

Enter our clueless leader with another of his vague promises to do something to help the peasants he represents….

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States could purchase Argentinian beef in an attempt to bring down prices for American consumers.

“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”

Trump promised earlier this week to address the issue as part of his efforts to keep inflation in check.

(thehill.com)

Not much more to report right now….it is just an idea floated by the person that floats more crap than action.

This is an idea that needs further research….is it a good idea?

That will depend on how this deal is played out.

How will this deal work?

Will the government sell the beef to the industry at a lower rate?

How will it get into the food chain?

How will that bring down prices if it is turned over to the beef industry?

How will the government make sure that prices are brought down?

There are so many questions and few answers….

I will try to keep on top of this ‘deal’ to see if more information is forthcoming.

Stay tuned.

I Read, I Write, you Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Veggies Are Next

First if was some stuff about Bird Flu and the price of eggs shot up by 50+%…..then Donny imposed his tariffs and everything became more and more expensive….first it was the prices for meat….

Of course I felt obligated to pass on what I had read about this rise….

Expensive Being A Meat Eater

So like any other normal person I decided to supplement my smaller meat portions with veggies…..now that is not going to happen….

Wholesale food prices rose 1.4% from June to July, with one big subsector leading the way: fresh and dry vegetables, which surged 38.9% in that same time period, per the AP. That’s the largest month-on-month spike for veggies since March 2022, as well as the biggest increase in a summer month since record-keeping for this data started after World War II, reports Axios, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The outlet notes that these wholesale stats could portend a jump in prices soon at the supermarket as well.

So how much does this “veggie-flation” have to do with the Trump administration’s ongoing global trade war? “Because we get most of that produce across the border, and they’re imports, the tariffs have a lot to do with that,” Phil Kafarakis, CEO of IFMA The Food Away From Home Association, tells Axios. “Over a third of our vegetables are imported,” agrees Michigan State University food economist David Ortega, who tells Marketplace that items like tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, and asparagus are especially susceptible to higher tariffs.

Kafarakis, meanwhile, tells Axios that things could even get worse in the fall, when harvest season begins, with a possible decline in farm workers to gather that produce amid Trump’s accompanying immigration crackdown. “Getting into October, the quality and then the capacity of what we’re able to bring in is going to be a real, real problem,” he notes. “Prices will soar to keep demand in check.”

I guess that means if I want to get more healthy food I will be eating more fruit….that is wrong as well for a lot of our fruit comes through import and that means higher prices for this as well….

Since produce is getting more expensive does that mean vegans will be paying through nose more so than us god awful meat eaters?

Thoughts?

Finally a short economics lesson…..just a look at how much we spend on groceries….

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) July 2025 food plans, a moderate-to-liberal-cost grocery plan for a single adult ranges from roughly $300 to $450 per month, depending on age and gender. For a family of four, following a moderate-cost USDA food plan, monthly grocery spending would rise to around $1,337.60, depending on the ages of the children — a 3.4% increase from $1,293 in the same month in 2023. Even the low-cost (thrifty) plan would cost a family of four $994 a month.

Using the USDA’s food plan as a guide, a single adult, earning the national median monthly income of $5,175, should plan on spending roughly 7-9% of their income on groceries. Meanwhile a family of four earning the national median household income, which was $80,610 via the Census Bureau’s 2024 report, should plan on spending as much as 20% of their income on food every month. However, while these USDA figures offer a structured benchmark, they’re ultimately falling short of what most people are actually spending. The BLS has found that the average American is spending $504 on groceries monthly, but the USDA suggests that a single adult should be spending $400 instead — a 22% difference. Even worse, this is before factoring in things like regional price differences, dietary needs, bad grocery shopping strategies, and food waste.

Read More: https://www.moneydigest.com/1938236/how-much-money-average-american-spends-on-groceries-per-month/

And this is far from over…..who would have thought that in this land of abundance eating could become a luxury?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All That Expensive Food

I do not know about you but I have been watching my food budget get chipped away by policies from DC and the greed of those god awful middle men…..

I thought I was just being paranoid but apparently I am not alone….

The vast majority of US adults are at least somewhat stressed about the cost of groceries, a new poll finds, as prices continue to rise and concerns about the impact of President Trump’s tariffs remain widespread. About half of all Americans say the cost of groceries is a “major” source of stress in their life right now, while 33% say it’s a “minor” source of stress, according to the poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only 14% say it’s not a source of stress, underscoring the pervasive anxiety most Americans continue to feel about the cost of everyday essentials, the AP reports.

  • The worry affects young and old alike. Groceries are one of the most far-reaching financial stressors, affecting the young and old alike, the poll finds. While Americans over age 60 are less likely than younger people to feel major financial anxiety about housing, their savings, child care, or credit card debt, they are just as worried about the cost of groceries.
  • Even higher-income households are stressed. According to the poll, 64% of the lowest-income Americans—those who have a household income of less than $30,000 a year—say the cost of groceries is a “major” stressor. That’s compared with about 4 in 10 Americans who have a household income of $100,000 or more. But even within that higher-income group, only about 2 in 10 say grocery costs aren’t a worry at all.
  • Other worries weigh heaviest on younger people. Other financial stressors—like the cost of housing or the amount of money in their bank accounts—are also broadly felt, but they weigh more heavily on younger Americans, who are less likely than older adults to have significant savings or own property. About half of US adults say housing is a “major” source of stress, according to the poll.
  • “Buy now, pay later.” The survey also found that about 3 in 10 Americans overall, and 4 in 10 under age 45, say they’ve used what are known as “buy now, pay later” services when spending on entertainment or restaurant meals or when paying for essentials like groceries or medical care. An increasing share of those customers are having trouble repaying their loans, according to recent disclosures from the lenders.
  • Some groups are more stressed than others. Women are more likely than men to report high levels of stress about their income, savings, the cost of groceries, and the cost of health care, the poll found. Hispanic adults are also particularly concerned about housing costs and both credit card and student debt. About two-thirds of Hispanic adults say the cost of housing is a “major” source of stress, compared with about half of Black adults and about 4 in 10 white adults.
  • Esther Bland, 78, who lives in Buckley, Washington, says groceries are a “minor” source of stress—but only because her local food banks fill the gap. Bland relies on her Social Security and disability payments each month to cover her rent and other expenses—such as veterinary care for her dogs—in retirement. “I have no savings,” she says. “I’m not sure what’s going on politically when it comes to the food banks, but if I lost that, groceries would absolutely be a major source of stress.” Bland’s monthly income mainly goes toward her electric, water, and cable bills, she said, as well as care of her dogs and other household needs. “Soap, paper towels, toilet paper. I buy gas at Costco, but we haven’t seen $3 a gallon here in a long time,” she says. “I stay home a lot. I only put about 50 miles on my car a week.”

Just keep an eye on the trends….

Many Americans have been struggling with the price of groceries since the pandemic. In fact, the U.S. Economic Research Service reported a 23.6% increase in food prices from 2020 to 2024. This is higher than overall inflation, which was at 21.2% during this period (and which was already near a record high).

Surging prices on staples like eggs hit especially hard because, while it is possible to try to trim your grocery budget, there’s only so much you can do to cut back on essentials.

Unfortunately, things are not likely to get better any time soon. In fact, things are very likely going to get worse. That’s because tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on almost all U.S. trading partners. These tariffs were originally slated for August 1, but have now been pushed back to August 7.

Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, which are inevitably passed on to consumers. If there are higher import duties due on the food you eat, you are going to pay more for it. In fact, you are going to pay significantly more for many kinds of foods because it’s not that easy to just switch to sourcing certain items in the U.S.

https://www.thestreet.com/retail/tariffs-cause-august-grocery-price-surge-five-foods-hit-hardest

At first I thought my concern was from extreme dislike for this idiot that we put in the White House….but a trip to the market changed all that….the dislike has now become hate.

People may relish the idea of Donny’s programs of arresting those 7 year old hardened criminals and overlook they are being taking to the cleaners by other policies…..maybe that is the cost of ethnic hatred.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Up,Up And Away

Remember the egg price thing from a few months ago…..well that is starting to right itself (that is what we are told)….but as egg prices start a downward trend beef prices are headed in the opposite direction…..higher and higher.

Why are we subjected to yet another price increase?

Anyone firing up the grill this summer already knows hamburger patties and steaks are expensive, but the latest numbers show prices have climbed to record highs.

And experts say consumers shouldn’t expect much relief soon either.

The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $6.12 in June, up nearly 12% from a year ago, according to U.S. government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8% to $11.49 per pound.

But this is not a recent phenomenon. Beef prices have been steadily rising over the past 20 years because the supply of cattle remains tight while beef remains popular.

In fact, the U.S. cattle herd has been steadily shrinking for decades. As of Jan. 1, the U.S. had 86.7 million cattle and calves, down 8% from the most recent peak in 2019. That is the lowest number of cattle since 1951, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Many factors including drought and cattle prices have contributed to that decline. And now the emergence of a pesky parasite in Mexico and the prospect of widespread tariffs may further reduce supply and raise prices.

Here’s a look at what’s causing the price of beef to rise.

Smaller herd

The American beef industry has gotten better at breeding larger animals, so ranchers can provide the same amount of beef with fewer cattle, said David Anderson, a livestock economist at Texas A&M.

Then in 2020, a three-year drought began that dried out pastures and raised the cost of feed for cattle, according to the American Farm Bureau. Drought has continued to be a problem across the West since then, and the price of feed has put more pressure on ranchers who already operate on slim profit margins.

In response, many farmers slaughtered more female cattle than usual, which helped beef supplies in the short term but lowered the size of future herds. Lower cattle supplies has raised prices.

In recent years cattle prices have soared, so that now animals are selling for thousands of dollars apiece. Recent prices show cattle selling for more than $230 per hundredweight, or hundred pounds.

Those higher prices give ranchers more incentive to sell cows now to capture profits instead of hanging onto them for breeding given that prices in the years ahead may decrease, Anderson said.

“For them, the balance is, ‘Do I sell that animal now and take this record high check?’ Or ‘do I keep her to realize her returns over her productive life when she’s having calves?’” Anderson said. “And so it’s this balancing act and so far the side that’s been winning is to sell her and get the check.”

https://www.wctv.tv/2025/07/22/beef-prices-have-soared-us-heres-why/

Since I am not a rancher or in the beef industry I am relying of reports for my info but if any reader has first hand knowledge of this situation please let my readers know…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Food Prices–Up, Up And Away

If you feel you have to eat everyday then you are well aware of the prices of your groceries continue to make it extreme hard to eat as you would like.

I have noticed that a few of the stores that I visit have this trend of artisan food stuffs and damn they are expensive and it seems to be a growing trend.

Food prices have been steadily rising for years, but a new trend sweeping the grocery industry is making the situation even worse for middle-class shoppers. Across the country, more grocery chains are embracing upscale, boutique-style offerings. As a result, affordable staples that everyday shoppers rely on are nearly disappearing.

While these “premium” grocery formats may offer sleek aesthetics, artisan products, and organic selections, they come with a hidden cost: higher prices on basic goods. As these stores grow in popularity, many middle-income shoppers are finding themselves squeezed out of their own neighborhoods, forced to either pay inflated prices or drive long distances to find affordable alternatives.

Here’s why this grocery shift is happening, how it’s impacting the middle class, and why it’s a growing concern for families already struggling with the cost of living.

In many urban and suburban areas, traditional grocery stores are being replaced or rebranded into upscale, specialty-focused markets. These stores feature curated selections of organic, locally sourced, and “artisan” products. While appealing to affluent shoppers, they often reduce shelf space for budget-friendly brands or bulk items.

What’s driving this trend? Simply put, profit margins. Premium grocery items tend to carry much higher markups than basic pantry staples. Grocers can make more money by selling imported cheeses, boutique wines, and specialty health foods than by stocking generic canned goods or family-sized staples.

https://www.savingadvice.com/articles/2025/07/09/10160223_the-new-grocery-trend-thats-pricing-out-middle-class-shoppers.html

This is something you should watch out for in the future for it is a trap.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

AS long as we are talking about food prices…..

I am a devout beef eater and have been watching those prices shoot up and up why is that?

(I am not a rancher and do not buy or sell beef so if this article is in error please set the record straight)

Soaring U.S. beef prices are hitting consumers in the wallet and raising costs for restaurants.

“Anybody should be able to afford a burger,” said Andrew Schnipper, a managing partner at Hamburger America in New York City. “It’s never been an expensive item historically.”

Yet the restaurant may be forced to raise the price of its burgers, which start at $7.50. “We’re very focused on trying to charge the least amount we feel comfortable doing,” he added. “But obviously, if prices go up we have to raise prices.”

The cost of beef reached $5.98 per pound in May, according to Federal Reserve data — the highest since the Department of Labor started tracking beef prices in the 1980s. That rise hasn’t come overnight. Ground beef costs have increased 45% over the last 10 years, compared with roughly 30% for the overall Consumer Price Index.

Overall food prices have eased since surging during the pandemic, although they’re still up nearly 17% since 2022, according to the CBS News price tracker. That means a grocery bill that cost $100 back then would cost around $116.85 as of May (the latest data available).

So what accounts for higher beef prices? The answer largely comes down to simple economics, with demand outstripping supply. That has resulted in higher costs throughout the supply chain, including for meat processing companies, the restaurant industry and consumers.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beef-prices-record-highs-drought/

There is always alternatives but those are almost as expensive…..so if you eat regularly you need to find people that can control the necessities like food.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”