In late October, ABC’s World News TonightSpend 16 seconds discussing how the cost of your Thanksgiving dinner would rise in anticipation for the more complete picture as the holiday neared. With the turkey price rising, however 20%ABC was absent while other meats rose 11.9 percent and fuel rose 50 percent. CBS Evening NewsWas on Monday at a turkey farm. NBC Nightly NewsWas chatting with the CEO of a supermarket chain.
“To the index, tonight and what will be a more expensive Thanksgiving this year,” announced ABC anchor David Muir on October 26. “Economists pointing to supply, transportation, and labor shortages. From the turkey to the dessert, every part of dinner is expected to be more expensive. Prices for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs up 10 percent in some places over last year.”
While Muir has not brought up the cost of Thanksgiving since, CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell trekked out to a turkey farm in Maryland and declared it the most expensive Thanksgiving ever:
O’DONNELL: How much is the cost of feed gone up?
CHRIS BOHER (farmer),: It has almost doubled.
O’DONNELL: Rising costs making that bird on your family dinner table a pricey holiday treat.
This Thanksgiving is going to be expensive?
BOHER: It probably will.
Chris Boher is a third-generation farmer and he’s had to increase his retail prices by 15 percent. “And that’s just the Turkey,” O’Donnell noted. “The overall price of groceries, including Thanksgiving favorites like sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie has gone up 5.4 percent in the last year. For poultry, meat, eggs, and fish, it’s even higher, an almost 12 percent increase.”
And according to Boher, everything from “feed, fuel, labor — all those things have increased in price from 2020 to 2021.” He also explained that he buys “10 to 20,000 gallons” of fuel a year. “When you do it in those numbers, the price of diesel fuel now is twice as much as it was last year,” he added.
NBC made some progress on Monday, sympathizing with viewers struggling to make ends meet with inflation putting pressure on them after business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle spent Sunday asserting that the “The dirty little secret” was that Americans could afford inflation just fine.
On Monday, they left the matter up to Jo Ling Kent (tech correspondent) to restore relations with their audience.
“For millions gathering for the first in-person Thanksgiving in two years, be prepared to pay up thanks to a labor shortage in the supply chain. Comparable to last year, Turkeys are now retail priced at nine cents per pound more. Other reasons? The higher cost of corn to feed those Turkeys and inflation,” she reported.
But while she did note that other Thanksgiving staples like cranberry sauce and packaged dinner rolls would be more expensive too, she spoke with Scott McClelland, the president of H-E-B Food and Drug Stores, who seemed to suggest prices were going up because “perceived shortages.”
NBC clearly has more work ahead of it to make reality a reality.
ABC’s omission of people struggling to make ends meet celebrate Thanksgiving was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Dawn and WeatherTech. You can find their contact information linked to let you know about biased news that they are funding.
Below is the transcript. Click “expand to read:
CBS Evening News
November 15, 2021
Eastern, 6:44:06NORAH O’DONNELL: All right, we want to turn now to the skyrocketing cost of your Thanksgiving feast, from the Turkey to the trimmings. We visited a Maryland farm to see why the prices have risen so much this year.
[Cuts to video]
A morning sun rises on Maryland farmland, where Chris Bohrer has been raising all-natural Turkeys. It’s time to have a costly breakfast.
Is feed costing more?
CHRIS BOHER: The number is almost twice as high.
O’DONNELL: Rising costs making that bird on your family dinner table a pricey holiday treat.
This Thanksgiving is going to be expensive?
BOHER: It probably will.
O’DONNELL: How much have you increased the price of your Turkeys?
BOHER: The retail pricing went up by nearly 15 percent
O’DONNELL: And that’s just the Turkey. Over the past year, groceries prices have increased by 5.4%, even sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and cranberry syrup. The price of poultry, meats, eggs, fish and seafood is even higher at almost 12 percent.
Why does the Turkish currency keep rising?
BOHER: Everything we buy today is more expensive — fuel, feed, labor — everything has increased in cost from 2020-2021.
O’DONNELL: Boher has 20,000 free-range Turkeys. It takes a lot of equipment and long days to complete the job.
What impact does this have on your business’ fuel costs?
BOHER: Fill up your car with fuel, about 10-15 gallons. Fuel is purchased in 10-20 gallons per year. This is how diesel fuel prices are now.
[Transition]
O’DONNELL: You have to pass the cost to the consumer.
BOHER: You can also eat some at our expense.
[Transition]
O’DONNELL: Once you raise prices, do you ever see them coming back down?
BOHER: There’s a possibility. It’s very rare. Most businesses aren’t going to lower prices after they’ve already raised them.
O’DONNELL: Last year, as COVID swept across America, Boher kept his business going by raising smaller birds.
BOHER: When we saw the effects of the pandemic on consumers, we realized that large crowds were not possible. This year we had fewer turkeys.
O’DONNELL: What size Turkeys are you raising this year?
BOHER: It is not common to find smaller Turkeys. Some want a smaller Turkey. We want larger Thanksgiving gatherings for our families, so we need to ensure we also have them.
O’DONNELL: Chris Bohrer is the third generation in his family to work this farm and, yes, those birds are part of the family.
BOHER: You know what I mean? Feeding four people has been more expensive than last November. My family is 20,000.
O’DONNELL: And get this, to feed those turkeys, it takes three pounds of feed for a Turkey to gain just one pound. This is a new concept.
NBC Nightly News
November 15, 2021
Eastern, 7:16.40LESTER HOLT – We now turn to the price you pay. This year’s Thanksgiving meal could be your most costly ever. Jo Ling Kent offers some savings tips.
[Cuts to video]
JO LING KENT – Millions of people will be gathering in person for Thanksgiving this year. This is due to the labor shortage in the supply chain. Comparable to last year, Turkeys are now retail priced at nine cents per pound more. Another reason is inflation. Inflation and a higher corn price to feed these Turkeys are two other reasons.
SCOTT MCCLELLAND (HEB Food and Drug Stores, president): What we’re finding is that people in anticipation of perceived shortages is that they’re rushing out to buy Turkeys now. The sales of Turkeys increased 100 percent over the previous week last year.
KENT: HEB, a grocery chain says its customers must be flexible.
What are the expectations of shoppers in a tight supply situation or delayed?
MCCLELLAND – I believe one of our most important areas right now is pumpkin pie mix. It’s not that we don’t have it but that shipping from the manufacturer may be a few days behind us. On the other side, there will be six to seven more brands you could choose from.
KENT: Cranberry sauce tends to be more costly because of the higher cost of steel cans, as well as increased trucking costs. The price of certain ingredients has risen, making packaged dinner rolls more expensive. Republic of Pie, a bakery that ordered its flour months before they were due to be made, was forced by the market to raise their prices $1.75 per pie.
JERAMI MONREAL (Republic of Pie’s general manager): It was inevitable that we would have to raise our prices. Without trying to stir and shake the restaurant or our customers, we go up in increments as often as possible.
KENT: Pie boxes can be hard to come by.
MONREAL, I was told they wouldn’t keep them for the remaining month.
KENT: Experts recommend that you buy generic and frozen brands to keep your budget in check and still get the products and services you want. And if you’re celebrating as a group, truly share the cost. Do not leave the host on the hook. Jo Ling Kent (NBC News), North Hollywood, California.
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