Record chicken prices squeeze US shoppers, benefit Tyson Foods
https://lemmy.world/post/6355357
Record chicken prices squeeze US shoppers, benefit Tyson Foods - Lemmy.world
Chicken prices at U.S. grocery stores have hit record highs and should stay
elevated as Tyson Foods and other companies dial back poultry production to
boost margins while inflation-weary shoppers buy chicken instead of beef and
pork. Higher chicken prices should improve earnings at top producers Tyson
(TSN.N) and Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC.O), but will pinch consumers’ pockets as they
try to save money by turning away from higher-end proteins. One index shows
chicken producer profit margins at their highest in a year. U.S. consumption of
chicken is expected to exceed 100 pounds per person this year for the first time
ever, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows. Beef consumption is
forecast to drop to its lowest since 2018, as prices climb due to dwindling
cattle supplies. Meanwhile, consumer spending cuts have knocked pork consumption
to the lowest since 2015. Arkansas-based Tyson, which sells all three types of
meat, had to deal with a glut of chicken after earning massive profits when meat
prices soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
People keep telling me how expensive it is to eat plants and I am pretty sure a can of beans is a lot cheaper than chicken these days.
Fresh plants that we’ve bought from all of our local stores do not keep, even in the fridge. Anything fresh we have found needs to be eaten within 2-3 days before it starts turning. I’m not about to go to multiple stores 2-3 times a week to get what I need, only to waste money if I don’t have the time or energy to make a fresh meal every day of the week.
Anything plant based that’s pre-prepared and/or frozen tends to be anywhere from $6-12 per “meal”. I’m over 6’2" and 215lbs and the “meals” are more like half a meal for me.
Unless you are ONLY eating beans or rice. Yes, from what I’ve seen, eating plant based diets is very expensive.
I am interested in the one comment mentioning replacing chicken with tofu though. Some of the pre-made tofu meals I’ve had were pretty good. I’ve never cooked with it though. My family hasn’t really eaten beef or pork in years since all of the studies came out linking red meat to cancer. I also have a liver condition that docs recommend avoiding red meat entirely as well.
There are actually a lot of canned and frozen plants other than beans and rice. Tofu is really good (also rising in price, but still not as bad as meat), and keeps an extremely long time in the fridge. I get a bunch of no salt added canned vegetables for super cheap because I have disabilities and I cannot prepare everything from scratch, and make a really good vegetable soup full of protein from peas and beans, for really cheap. The reason I get no salt added is because then I can add bouillon and spices to make my own broth, which would be grossly salty if I also used salted canned food. Although the number of cans vary, we call it 9 Can Soup. Because that’s what it had the first time. I also use fresh potatoes if I have any on hand. One of the cans are usually tomato sauce. Sometimes I’ll add a few cans of salted veggies if I got them from a food bank, I just rinse them.
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Aniki 🌱🌿