-Avier Wanjou Brass-

Cousins!

 It seems like we may have to cut back on eating chicken tenders because word on the street is that we are heading towards a short supply!

In a report from NBC News, tenders require more processing and packaging, making them harder to find and costly.

As stated by USA Today, tenders have gone up to $3.54 a pound this week from $3.44 a pound around the same time last year. In a report released by the US Department of Agriculture last week, the price rose to $3.98 a pound. Depending on who you ask, the reasons behind the shortage vary. Since meat prices have increased, the Biden administration quotes illegal price-fixing by the meat-processing industry.

“USDA is conducting an ongoing joint investigation with the Department of Justice into price-fixing in the chicken-processing industry,” the White House said in a post in September.

The meat manufacturers cite the extreme weather, high demand, and labor shortages. “Multiple, unprecedented market shocks, including a global pandemic and severe weather conditions, led to an unexpected and drastic drop in meat processors’ abilities to operate at full capacity,” Tyson Foods said in a news release in September. “Labor shortages are also affecting the nation’s pork and poultry supply.”

On the other hand, many experts think the tender shortage does not exist. “There is no chicken tender shortage. Like almost all goods right now, supplies are somewhat tight, but I would say it falls short of any ‘shortage,'” says Tom Super, senior vice president of communications at the National Chicken Council. “Like almost anything right now, some products might take longer than usual to get to where they need to be, but in most cases they get there.”

Honestly, we do not know if it is true or not. Yet, what we do know is that the price of food has increased and it is getting too much. They need to fix this soon because it is unacceptable.