Why Is Your Meat So Expensive? It’s Greed and Opportunism, Not the Pandemic
Meat packer profit margins have increased 300% since the pandemic. Meat producers aren’t seeing any of this profit (and the consumers certainly aren’t seeing any benefit) — it’s just price gouging brought on by greed.
During the pandemic, consumers have been willing to pay increased prices for food because, frankly, they don’t want to starve. Some started spending more on groceries and less on dining out, so the budgetary difference wasn’t as noticeable. Others simply found themselves tolerating the increased expenses because it was a state of emergency and they imagined that there was a reason for the increase.
But it turns out there’s no material reason for the increase except for opportunism.
Throughout the pandemic, profits for grocery stores and food manufacturers posted record profits. As restaurants closed, grocery stores boomed. And as the public transitioned to at-home cooking, food manufacturers, packagers, and sellers took advantage of the situation to substantially increase their prices.
Bottom line: You’re spending more every month on your groceries because of corporate greed.
At the same time, grocery stores have been failing to protect their front-line workers from COVID risks, food manufacturers have engaged in strike busting, and meatpacking plants have remained the same horrors they have always been.
There are no controls for this. Grocery stores, packers, and manufacturers can increase their prices as much as the market will bear. During the pandemic, they have been able to do this so successfully because of the implication that it’s the pandemic and supply chain issues that are leading to the rising costs.
But they’re not. Next time you pick up a pack of steak and note that it’s 25% more expensive than it used to be, know that the money is going straight to an executive — not overhead, not the producers, and certainly not the employees.
