A Reckoning at the Meat Counter: Why Beef and Pork Prices Are Set for a Historic Surge

Key points

• A multi-decade low in the U.S. cattle herd, driven by severe drought and high feed costs, is the primary factor behind forecasted beef price hikes.
• The pork industry is facing its own cost pressures from historically high feed prices and new, costly regulations like California's Proposition 12.
• Consumers should expect to pay significantly more for beef and pork starting in 2025, leading to a major purchasing shift towards chicken and other affordable proteins.
• Restaurants and food businesses must strategically re-engineer menus, adjust portion sizes, and manage supply chains to cope with this long-term protein price inflation.

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Sources and methodology

Reported from the public datasets below.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - Consumer Price Index, food at home
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - ERS Food Price Outlook

All sources Foodie Pundit reports from

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