Recently, Ms. Konieczny wrote, “I am not an economist, but I am a consumer.” Well, Margaret, you are neither a managerial accountant nor a researcher. Your statement about columnist Jim Hartman is irrelevant and petty to your argument.
The two main ingredients of real mayonnaise are soybean oil and eggs. In January 2021, the average price for a dozen eggs in U.S. cities was $1.47. Four years later, that price jumped 52.6% to an average of $2.52 per dozen. Why was there a price jump? Since 2021, nearly 52 million chickens have died of the avian flu epidemic. The cost of feed has increased because the Biden-Harris administration created a hostile policy toward fossil fuels, increasing food production costs. Farmers rely on diesel fuel for equipment, fertilizer, and the drying of corn. There is an increased cost of diesel, affecting transportation costs. There are costs of natural gas in the food industry in processing and a 30% increase in electricity prices.
Soybean oil is a high-demand commodity. The shortfalls are due to the Ukrainian war, and shortfalls in Brazil creating higher prices. So are previously farming costs associated with them. Nevada does not have a price-gouging law, but it has EO 2020-03-12, § 5 to oversee price increases.
Supermarkets have a 1.6% profit margin, hardly price gouging. Labor and manufacturing costs are also up. I suggest you make your own mayo because Harris’s failed economic plans won’t fix the inflationary food prices.
Drew Runde
Carson City