“I’m a chef, and I see the direct outcome of all of this every week. Broccolini, onions, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, green onions, limes, lemons, and oranges are all standard items we keep in my restaurant, and over the last six months, prices have increased anywhere from 30% to 60%.
Plus, the quality of these things has also crashed. Onions are half rotten from the inside, almost every Idaho potato has some blight in it, and tomatoes are mealy and flavorless. There are hard-as-rock limes with barely any juice in them, the tiniest asparagus and broccolini I’ve ever seen, and the smallest heads of cauliflower. It’s very bad, and no one is really talking about it. I used to pay $10 for a case of 5×6 steak tomatoes; they’re at $81 as of today.
And this is just produce. Meat and dairy are also wild right now. The market for beef feels like it’s in free fall because of the absolutely outrageous prices right now, and things like butter and heavy cream keep going up. Even pork, which has traditionally been extremely stable, is starting to go up. People have less and less disposable income, and with gas as high as it is right now, fewer people are going out to eat as well. I’m extremely nervous for this industry as a whole and have been keeping a close eye on things.”
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