Shoppers are buying fewer meat products as prices continue to rise

BusinessSales of both processed and fresh meats are down.CanvaAs people are forced to carefully monitor the contents of their grocery cart these days, one item they are picking up less often is meat – both processed and fresh.Rising prices led to a downturn in sales, with processed meats taking a bigger hit than fresh, according to an article by Grocery Dive.“Processed meat took a bigger hit than fresh meat in June as shoppers continued to deal with higher prices for many animal products,” the article said. Processed meat sales dropped by 2 percent in volume in June, compared with 1% in May, according to a report by 210 Analytics.“Measured by pounds sold, processed meat sales were off by almost 5% last month, led by packaged lunchmeat, which saw a volume decline of 9%,” the article said. “Fresh meat volume, meanwhile, fell in June by a more modest 1.4%, as beef volume dropped almost 2% and veal by 12%.” The drop in volume of chicken was also down but only by 1%. Fresh turkey volume actually increased by 3%, “suggesting that people are shifting to those proteins as costs for other kinds of meat go up.”Overall, meat prices were up by 12%, year over year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kelly Kazek is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about Southern culture and folklore. She is the author of more than 28 books for children and adults. She has written for AL.com and its sister...