Lexi Geller
Staff Reporter
Everyone by this point is very aware of the COVID-19 virus and the many effects that it has had on many people around the world. Everyone has either been directly affected by it or had someone they know who has been. Whether a family has been quarantined, or been diagnosed with the virus, or even tragically had a death due to the virus, everyone is very aware of it. There are, though, some effects that are not so reported on that are affecting life in other ways than being quarantined or being sick. One of which is something many people may not have even realized at this point, which is the national chicken wing shortage. Yes, there truly is a national chicken wing shortage due to the changes this global pandemic has decided to stir up, and here is how.
One way that this unexpected inconvenience has arisen was actually not directly due to the virus. Texas, as many may have heard, has been experiencing unusual and seemingly unnatural cold breaks, which are very contrary to their usual warm climate. Unfortunately, Texas is one of the nation’s biggest sources of chicken meat. These cold snaps have had extreme disruptions on food production, and have caused prices to skyrocket.
Along with Texas’s recent unpredictable weather, COVID-19, of course, has had a play in making the nation’s beloved chicken wings so few and far between. There has been a major increase in takeout orders of food from people during the pandemic. This has led to a great increase in chicken wing consumption among the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there was a 29% reduction of chicken wings kept in cold storage in November and a 24% reduction in December. Not only has stock decreased, but there have been many COVID-19 outbreaks within huge chicken processing plants, further limiting the public access to the wings.
Wholesale prices of chicken wings have tripled in the past year, from 1$ per pound, to now 3$ per pound. At this point, dedicated eaters of the beloved chicken wing are searching for them still, rare and expensive as they may be so that they are able to enjoy them while they can.
Image Credit: Wix Images
Comments