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As inflation strains American families, many are turning to sausage as a cheaper meat alternative to reduce spending. Experts worry that this modest increase in sausage sales signals deeper economic troubles as prices for essentials continue to rise.
“People at the end of the day are trading down right now,” Kelly Lester, a policy analyst for the Center for Food, Power & Life at the John Locke Foundation told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday. “Budgets are strained and people are really feeling the effects of the last few years of inflation when it comes to the grocery store.”
The Texas Manufacturing Outlet Survey reported this week that rising sausage sales may indicate deeper economic struggles than consumers realize. The report noted modest growth in dinner sausage sales as consumers opt for cheaper protein alternatives to stretch their food budgets. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sausage is about $6 cheaper than beefsteak, though both have seen consistent price increases since 2020.
Lester argued that as costs rise, consumers are forced to make trade-offs to stretch their budgets, which in turn causes companies and the agricultural industry to suffer and will likely continue to do so, stating:
“The reality right now is that everything is up across the board: housing prices, energy prices and food prices. The basic necessities are up, and they’ve been up cumulatively for years now. And even though the Biden administration will tell you inflation is going down, that doesn’t mean that we’re still not feeling the effects of the last few years… So this means that… companies aren’t going to be receiving as much revenue, which could lead to a downward spiral that could lead to more layoffs and higher prices.”
Lester added that government regulations, supply chain issues, and soaring input costs are causing widespread concern among farmers, driving up food prices and making it difficult for them to stay afloat:
“At the end of the day, farmers… it’s really one of the main industries in which you have to put up collateral in order to get a loan and hope that you get yield that can make up for that loan and hopefully turn a profit… And right now, small [and] mid-size farmers aren’t turning any type of profit… they’re having a really hard time, and they’re struggling.”
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