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.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Imagine if that crazy option would also be a lot less accessible to poor people who live in food deserts. But, as usual, they don’t matter.

      • trevor@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        I went vegan in a food desert. Beans, rice, greens, lentils, potatoes, etc. are available in the same areas where you can buy the carcasses of sentient beings and are generally cheaper than the cruelest option.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Really? Because I haven’t seen most of those in a Dollar General. But I have seen ramen. Beef and chicken ramen. Which is what some poor people survive on.

          • ᚲᛇᛚ᛫ᛞᚨᛞᛁ@reddthat.com
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            1 year ago

            This is how i know youre lying to make a point. I literally buy beans at my dollar general. The idea youve never seen beans or rice or pasta or bread or other staples at a dollar store is insane.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Because all Dollar Generals have exactly the same products in them. That’s why I must be lying to make a point. Because they’re all exactly the same in every way. And you know this because you’ve gone to every single one. That’s how you know I’m lying to make a point.

      • ghostdoggtv@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Poor people in food deserts should push local governments to open a public grocery. They can’t because corporations buy off their political leaders.