NCC Responds to Campaign Rhetoric on Price Gouging

Recent political rhetoric in the presidential race came from the Democratic ticket and blamed the meat and poultry industry for rising meat prices. Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris says the food industry’s “corporate price gouging” would be the focus of an upcoming speech. National Chicken Council Interim President Gary Kushner says he doesn’t agree with the idea of price gouging. “Americans are seeing inflation in nearly every part of their livelihoods, including rent, gas, automobiles, furniture, and not just in the meat case,” Kushner says. “Chicken prices are largely affected by supply and demand, by major input costs like corn, soybeans, energy, packaging, transportation, and by fiscal policy and burdensome government regulations and not by price gouging.” He adds that it’s time for the administration to stop using the meat and poultry industry as a scapegoat and a distraction for the root causes of inflation and significant economic challenges.