The smell of beef, chicken and pork sizzling on an outdoor grill is as much a part of summer as fireworks and beach days. But this year, expect to pay more for those tantalizing aromas.
Looks great, costs more (File photo)
Beef prices are up 10 percent this year, leading an overall 4 percent increase in food prices, pushed up by pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions.
David Ortego, food economist and professor at Michigan State University, said the May price increase for meats, poultry, fish and eggs was the largest increase in more than 15 years.
...Meat-processing plants reduced capacity or completely shut down for weeks because workers were infected with the coronavirus.
As of June 9, according to the Midwest Center for Investigating Reporting, there have been at least 24,000 reported positive cases of COVID-19 tied to meatpacking facilities in at least 232 plants in 33 states, and at least 86 reported worker deaths at 38 plants in 23 states.
The good news is, local vegetables are starting to appear in farm markets. Consider vegetarianism.
