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.

  • Drusas@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    112
    ·
    1 year ago

    No one should be buying anything from Tyson. Pure evil company, not only with deliberately squeezing money from the cash-strapped like this, but the way they treat their animals absolutely should be illegal.

    • AccmRazr@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      26
      ·
      1 year ago

      Adding to it, the treatment of their employees is horrendous and very low paying.

    • ᚲᛇᛚ᛫ᛞᚨᛞᛁ@reddthat.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Id like to inform everyone that the cruel way they treat animals is how every single animal agriculture company treat their animals. 99% of animals in farms on earth are farmed in a way that meets the “factory farmed” description. Those “certified human” stickers on your grocery store meat is a label made by a board composed entirely of the CEOs of those exact companies theyre supposed to be regulating.

  • GlitzyArmrest@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    87
    ·
    1 year ago

    Now seems like a perfect time to squeeze the pennies out of the lower class, according to Tyson.

    Also, Tyson meat is all trash anyway. Too bad other companies are participating. Isn’t this close to price fixing or something?

  • Jaysyn@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    66
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    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.

    That’s not competition, that’s cartel behavior. Sounds like it’s time to break Tyson Foods back up into smaller companies.

    • jcit878@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      30
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      until bean manufacturers ‘dial back production’ like the chicken people above. this whole thing is fucked, its happening here in australia too, corps simply do not give a fuck and are hitting the cheaper foods with the biggest price rises

      • Powerpoint@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        And it’s happened here in Canada as well. They’ve seen how well it works. They are purposefully doing this to raise prices and screw people all over the world.

    • Ashyr@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I’m not even a vegetarian, but most of America is really sleeping on tofu. It’s delicious, versatile and affordable. I love cooking with it.

      There are multiple meals I genuinely prefer tofu to the original protein.

      • Cylusthevirus@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        It’s hard to get in certain places and people don’t understand the different varieties. If anyone reading this wants to try it, check your local Asian grocer if you’re lucky enough to have one.

        IMO Thai food does vegetarian better than anyone.

          • lightnegative@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            1 year ago

            Indian food is next level when done correctly. It’s so good that it replaced a large chunk of British food for the British after they invaded India and realised that the Indians were on to something

            • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Most ignorant comment you’ll regularly see - “The Brits colonised the world for spices then never used them”

              Lol most of the curries you’ll try are British varients of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi dishes

        • idiomaddict@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          10
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          1 year ago

          Honestly, that’s probably how you’re preparing it or a personal quirk. Over a billion people eat it regularly, it’s probably in a huge number of peoples favorite meals, it absolutely can be prepared so that most people enjoy it well enough to eat regularly without going nuts

          • Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            I believe you are wrong. It’s all personal preference and if you didn’t grow up eating it regularly then you’re probably not going to enjoy it as a substitute long term.

            I like it and use it in a variety of things. I’m also aware enough to know that I like and prefer other things more. Typically meat but sometimes mushroom, depending on the dish.

            Same way I like chicken, beef, pork, and other meats. I have preferences and preferring one over any other doesn’t mean I’m making the others wrong.

            • capital@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              I believe you are wrong. It’s all personal preference and if you didn’t grow up eating it regularly then you’re probably not going to enjoy it as a substitute long term.

              Na. I grew up eating the standard American diet and have been vegan for nearly 3 years now. I eat a ton of tofu. It took a few tries to get it right but after that, I love the stuff. I’ve come to understand that I like seasoning/taste, not necessarily meat/animal products itself.

            • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Agreed, I’ve tried and tried with tofu, and I’m a good cook. It’s definitely an acquired taste and texture.

              It’s like saying “Well the French eat snails so everyone should”. Yeah they eat them absolutely slathered in butter and garlic for a reason

            • idiomaddict@feddit.de
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              I have preferences and preferring one over any other doesn’t mean I’m making the others wrong.

              Absolutely not, it could be a personal quirk. I have literally over a hundred recipes for zucchini, and I’ve won multiple awards for one of my zucchini dishes. Zucchini is always going to be meh at best for me, because it’s a personal preference. Maybe tofu is like that for you, but it’s not true for everyone.

              I tried tofu for the first time as a teenager and didn’t eat it regularly until my 20s. It’s now in several of my favorite things to eat. However, it can be finicky, and I don’t always like how others prepare it. I’m obviously also not representative of every person, but it’s not an impossible thing to learn to like or even rare for adult vegetarians/vegans to develop a serious taste for.

            • idiomaddict@feddit.de
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              That’s fine, but you recognize that insects aren’t an inherently “bad” food source, right? They’re not even fundamentally different from shellfish.

              I don’t want to eat insects either, but I also don’t want to eat chicken wings (probably for the same reason most people don’t want to eat insects, I’m squeamish). I don’t believe that chicken wings are objectively a bad food, though. They’re obviously not, because so many people love them.

              • Blackmist@feddit.uk
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                Yeah, it’s all food. But there’s enough things out there that I already like, that I don’t need to delve into a world of weird shit for sustenance.

                Also, I like chicken but the figure up there in the article of 100lb a year seems astronomical to me. I doubt I even eat a third of that.

                • Qwaffle_waffle@sh.itjust.works
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 year ago

                  For the number of meals in a year, there’s 1095 (365 * 3), not including forth meals, snacks, etc. For 100 pounds, let’s convert it to ounces, so 1600 oz.

                  Assuming 8 oz (half pound) for a single meal meal. Normal weight of a single chicken breast is 6 ounces, but there are some factors I’m not sure about (is bone weight included, raw or cooked weight, etc), so rounding up to 8 to cover those.

                  That works out to 200 meals with 8 oz chicken to reach the 100 pounds goal. This means not even a quarter of the usual 1095 meals in a year, but rather only around 18% is chicken based. I was a bit skeptical as well, but this seems easier to reach than I thought.

                  This in some ways justifies all those pounds of meat from hunting I accrued in playing Oregon Trail lol.

    • BlueLineBae@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      The most expensive ingredient in my falafel burgers is the cardamom. Small price to pay considering how dirt cheap all the other ingredients are and that they’re mad delicious 😋😋😋

      • Toes♀@ani.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Everytime I’ve tried Falafel I’ve found it to be more or less like a ball of dry oatmeal with about the same flavour. Am I just being real unlucky?

        • SterlingVapor@slrpnk.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yes, most definitely. Dry and tasteless are not words I associate with falafel, it sounds like something went horribly wrong there

          The base taste is pretty mild, like a baked potato, but then you add spices and eat it along with other things

        • OCATMBBL@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          It’s way better if you feed all the ingredients through a meat grinder (the irony is not lost on me), rather than a food processor. Think corn meal texture vs flour texture.

          Also, deep fry it. Baking it just isn’t nearly as good.

        • protist@mander.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Dry falafel is the worst. Yes, it can be better, but also you need to have a yogurt sauce, some cucumbers, tomatoes, and tabbouleh. You don’t eat a hamburger patty plain, right?

          • Toes♀@ani.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Ah that sounds like the key to what I’ve been missing. I didn’t realize it was meant to be mixed with anything else. Thanks I’ll have to try it again.

          • theragu40@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Uh. Am I not supposed to eat a hamburger patty plain? Lol. It’s just a flattened meatball after all…

            • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              You can, but if you’re doing that, you should be mixing stuff into the meat. Personally I like to make them plain so that I can make a bunch, freeze them, and put different toppings on.

        • ikidd@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          You’ve had falafel that tasted as good as oatmeal?

          You lucky bastard.

    • knotthatone@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      Depends. You do a lot better price-wise with dry beans.

      If you consider drained weight, canned beans are usually about $1 for a 15oz can in my area, which yields about half a pound of drained beans. So, $2/lb

      Chicken is anywhere from $1 to $8/lb but I’ve been averaging about $2/lb. It’s our main protein source and I watch for sales and stock up.

    • 🖖USS-Ethernet@startrek.website
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      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.

      • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m not about to go to multiple stores 2-3 times a week to get what I need

        That’s called “shopping”. It’s very common.

        • elfin8er@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          How many times a week do you go grocery shopping and how many different stores do you go to? Personally, I don’t know anyone who goes grocery shopping more than once a week, or MAYBE twice if their regular grocery store doesn’t have what they need.

          • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            1 year ago

            Europe would shock you to your core. There are people who go to multiple stores every day.

            • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              I often stop at the grocery store on my way home from work.

              I’d love to be able to walk to both, but we’re not quite there yet.

  • TheaoneAndOnly27@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I was shocked and completely changed my diet recently when I noticed that the price per pound for chicken was greater than the price per pound for tofu. Now I’m experimenting with making my own tempeh at home.

    • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Look into textured vegetable protein, too. It doesn’t have much taste of its own, but gives a ground-beef-like texture when you add it to pasta sauce. Wicked cheap, when you take into account that it’s dehydrated.

      Edit: good room temperature shelf life, too.

  • Mistymtn421@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    1 year ago

    Their chicken is nasty IMO. I just got Purdue at Kroger and hour ago and it was 2.99 a pound for boneless/skinless. It’s my preferred brand. Butchered well, way more tender.

  • blazera@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    14
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    1 year ago

    Less chickens being slaughtered is fine by me. Maybe beef and pork producers also wanna ‘boost margins’

  • treefrog@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    13
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Chicken is fucking gross in the U.S. I heard in parts of Europe you all don’t allow any salmonella in your chicken at all, like zero.

    Meanwhile over here… let me say, 20 years in kitchens I have witnessed so much disgusting cross contamination. If you eat out and get a case of the ‘stomach flu’, that’s probably food poisoning. The flu is a respiratory infection.

  • Number1SummerJam@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    22
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Chicken holocaust enablers. I don’t want to come across as a crazy vegan (I’m not a vegan) but chickens are as intelligent as any other pet, if not more. My chickens recognize words and individual people, and are always figuring out sneaky ways to escape their enclosure. If we all raised our own chickens, there would be a lot less collective suffering on this planet. You only need to refill their feeder once a week, and you can compost their droppings to make pure fertilizer.

    Edit: B…but my tendies!!! All I’m asking is for people to consider eating chicken less often and to consider the suffering they go through as a species. They evolved to live in the jungle, not a cage barely as big as them.

    • ShieldsUp@startrek.website
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I raise my own chickens and love them very much. I’d also eat one if they got out of line, and I ate the males as soon as they were big enough (only hens allowed here locally). Its both an amazing food resource and source of joy seeing them every morning and giving them treats as they wander my yard. They are very happy.

      I also buy chicken from the store still because I usually raise for eggs only. Point is, I am around chickens every day by choice and don’t see it the same way as you.