The seasonally-adjusted price index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs hit an all-time high in May, according to data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In January 1967, when the BLS started tracking this measure, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was 38.1. As of last May, it was 234.572. By this January, it hit 240.006. By April, it hit 249.362. And, in May, it climbed to a record 252.832.
"The index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs has risen 7.7 percent over the span [last year]," says the BLS. "The index for food at home increased 0.7 percent, its largest increase since July 2011. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased in May. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.4 percent in May after a 1.5 increase in April, with virtually all its major components increasing,"
BLS states.
In addition to this food index, the
price for fresh whole chickens hit its all-time high in the United States in May.
In January 1980, when the BLS started tracking the price of this commodity, fresh whole chickens cost $0.70 per pound. By this May 2014, fresh whole chickens
cost $1.56 per pound.
A decade ago, in May 2004, a pound of fresh chicken cost $1.04. Since then, the price has
gone up 50%.
Each month, the BLS employs data collectors to visit thousands of retail stores all over the United States to obtain information on the prices of thousands of items to measure changes for the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The
CPI is simply the average change over time in prices paid by consumers for a market basket of goods and services.
The BLS found that there was a
0.7% change in the prices for the food at home index in May, which tracks foods like meats, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy, as well as many others.
Ali Meyer is a Multimedia Reporter with CNS News, covering economic issues that expose government waste, fraud and abuse which have appeared on outlets like the Drudge Report. Prior to CNSNews.com, she was an investigative reporter intern with the Heritage Foundation and Pacific Research Institute where her work appeared in publications like the San Francisco Examiner
and on Heritage's rapid-response blog, The Foundry
Comment: This happens at a most unfortunate time when food prices are escalating rapidly and most people are already strapped due to the long-term decline in the economy. To add insult to injury, households are paying for 'carbon pollution cost' for climate change that is not human caused, and can in no way be ameliorated by such schemes which were cooked up for the sole benefit of the global elites.
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