White House National Economic Council Blog on Latest Attempt to Describe Meat Industry as Food Inflation Boogeyman -NCC

Washington, DC – The most recent White House National Economic Council (NEC) drumbeat blaming the meat and poultry industry for ineffective policies and rising meat prices came in an article yesterday blog. Let’s look at the facts based on the federal government’s own data.

The consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.8% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.9% in October, the Bureau reported on Friday. of Labor Statistics of the United States. Over the past 12 months, the All-items index increased 6.8% before seasonal adjustment.

Gasoline prices rose another 6.1% for the month – the same increase as in October – bringing the annual increase to 58.1%. Fuel oil jumped 3.5%, up 59.3% year-on-year.

Unusually high demand is a crucial factor in rising inflation. Spending jumped as more people were vaccinated against Covid-19, businesses reopened and people returned to work. The labor shortage is also pushing up wages, pushing companies to raise prices.

So where do Americans see inflation? Almost every aspect of their livelihood, according to the latest IPC:

• Gas + 58%
• Rental cars 37%
• Propane 34%
• Used cars 31%
• 25% utility gas service
• Hotels 22%
• Bacon 21%
• Beef 21%
• Pork 17%
• Furniture 14%
• Fresh fish / seafood 11%
• New cars 11%
• Tires 11%
• Chicken 9%
• Women’s dresses 9%
• Televisions 8%
• Eggs 8%
• Apples 7%
• Restaurant prices 6%
• Electricity 6%

“A 9% year-on-year increase in chicken prices barely exceeds inflation and this despite the fact that our major inputs like corn, soybeans, gasoline, packaging and transportation are all up at two and three digits, in addition to a labor shortage. Demand exceeds supply. It’s Economy 101, ”said NCC President Mike Brown. “It’s time for the NEC to stop playing chicken with our food system and stop using the meat industry as a scapegoat for the significant challenges facing our economy.

“It’s all on top of trucker shortages, backlogs at our ports, shipping delays and a government spending spree that’s spiraling inflation,” Brown added. “This administration should view the chicken industry as a model for success, rather than creating a bogeyman to justify an unnecessary and costly foray into our food supply.”

The public knows and understands that unnecessary regulations will have the opposite effect on prices – at the worst possible time.

A recent I & I / TIPP * survey asked respondents, “Who or what is primarily responsible for the supply chain crisis?” Most economists agree that inflation and supply chain crises are closely linked.

Of those polled, 36% blamed “President Joe Biden and his administration” for the monumental disruption in the supply chain, while 27% blamed “government regulations.” In total, 63% blamed the government as the source of the problem, compared to 15% who said “the private sector” and 14% who said “the workforce”.

“It’s time to stop playing the blame game and time for government and the private sector to sit down and work together to address the fundamental challenges that are affecting our economy and find solutions,” Brown said.

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* Data is from the November I & I / TIPP survey of 1,306 adults. The survey was conducted online October 27-29 by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, I&I’s survey partner. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percentage points.

the National Chicken Council is the Washington, DC-based nonprofit trade association representing American chicken farmers, the companies that produce and process chickens raised for meat. Board member companies represent more than 95 percent of the chicken sold in the United States.