Check out the five supermarket staples that will be busting your budget this spring. From expensive eggs to beefed-up meat costs, we've got the scoop on what's hitting your bank balance hardest.
What Costs More? The Chicken or the Eggs?
If you've been side-eyeing the egg and poultry aisles lately, you're not imagining things. Those kitchen staples have been on a price rollercoaster, thanks to the avian flu decimating flocks at poultry producers across the country. Who knew a simple omelet could become such a splurge? So far, there hasn't been a mass spread to humans, but the FDA isn't taking any chances here, and when they put extra regulations on chicken farmers, that costs them money, which in turn costs you money.
Beef Prices Have Us Crying Into Our Wine
Steel yourselves for some serious beef with those meat prices. With cattle numbers at their lowest in generations, thanks to adverse weather and economic conditions, you might need to take out a small loan to afford that juicy ribeye. And let's not even talk about luxury cuts like filet mignon - those prices will have you considering a second mortgage! This has also been the case with pork, veal, lamb, and, of course, milk. If you're considering veganism, now may be a good time to start.
Speaking of Wine
According to the BBC, last year, the price of jumped a whopping 20%. In this case, it's mostly because glass bottles, labeling, case packaging, and even cork prices have been steadily climbing since COVID-19. Of course, environmental issues are at play here as well, with unpredictable weather patterns, alternatively frosting or drying up US vineyards, so that bottle of cheap Pinot may cost you a right touch more soon.
Chocolate Cravings? Better Start Budgeting!
Your beloved indulgence is about to become a budget buster. With disease and weather ravaging cocoa production in West Africa, chocolate prices have skyrocketed by a whopping 11.6% last year. That's enough to make even the most dedicated sweet tooth reconsider their priorities. Climate change has hit the cocoa market harder than other commodities since it grows in areas that are disproportionately affected by global warming. On top of that, snack manufacturers are "shinkflating" their packaging giving us less product yet still charging us more for it. It may be time to start rationing that Tolberone!
Climbing Coffee Prices
Yup, coffee too. Why? A combination of the same reasons. Packaging, shipping, and manufacturing equipment are getting more expensive. Also, since coffee comes from regions very similar to cocoa crops, droughts, floods, storms, pests, and water shortages are killing crops willy-nilly. Additionally, labor costs are rising to meet the rising costs of living that are driven by things like increases in food prices. The cycle is reciprocal and frustrating but it's a bleak reality that may affect all our food costs soon.
But don't freak out yet. Every day there are folks hard at work trying to address climate change economics, regulating retail prices, and finding ways toward affordability at the grocer again. On top of that, economies are cyclical. Whenever there's a spike in prices they eventually usually stabilize. Let's hope this is still the case.
