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.
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.
I eat plenty of tofu and would still rather have most anything else.
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
Two billion people eat insects and mealworms. Doesn’t mean I’m about to start.
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.
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.
Perfectly understandable. I just get annoyed when people act like tofu is inherently bad or must taste shitty.
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.
Ignoring the idea for a second that a whole chicken breast could be considered breakfast food, that’s still eating a big portion of chicken 4 days a week.
That would only sound reasonable to me if the only meat source in the country was chicken, but looking at the stats Americans also eat an average of 125lb of red meat a year on top of that. Probably not a lot of fish.
And that’s before all the snacks and junk food. I’m starting to see why obesity rates are as high as they are.
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.
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.
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
Well yeah, you should also add fat and spices to tofu. You wouldn’t eat just plain cooked noodles, but that’s not because they’re bad.
Edit: Also, if you want to like it, can I ask what kind you got? Texture is key and there’s lots of different consistencies. I tend to like the two extremes: silken tofu and smoked tofu. The silken makes sauces so incredibly creamy, but you have to spice it carefully. The smoked tofu brand I’ve been into lately, on the other hand, is so dense, it works well as a tougher protein cut and holds up well to stewing. I basically only need to salt it.
You might not like it as much as you like other things, it’s still a matter of preference. It just can be enjoyable for most people. I don’t always use it like a meat, and I think that makes a difference.
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.
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.
I think Indian and Korean food can beat Thai
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
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
Being vegan during the COVID shortages was a breeze. Especially in my area of Texas (you don’t find many vegans there, to say the least).
“My” shelves were always stocked.