She blames greedy companies for price-gouging. He blames the Biden administration’s economic policies.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump agree on one thing: Tapping into sour consumer sentiment about high grocery prices is one way to court voters.
Bacon prices have been a particular focus for Trump. He mentioned them in his Sept. 10 debate with Harris and again a week later during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Things are not going, right now, very well for the consumer,” Trump said. “Bacon is up five times.”
A plate with bacon and eggs is served up Oct. 7 in New York
Trump’s math is wrong, but bacon has seen some sizzling price increases. According to federal data, U.S. bacon prices peaked in October 2022 at $7.60 a pound, up 30% from October 2019.
In September, bacon averaged $6.95 a pound, 25% higher than five years ago. That’s in line with a 29% increase in overall food prices over that period, according to the Labor Department.
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Prices for bacon are always volatile. Among other things, they’re subject to weather, animal disease, feed costs, seasonal demand and, according to Harris and other critics, some price gouging by giant food conglomerates.
Bacon prices typically go up in the summer when Americans have a hankering for BLTs, for example. A president’s policies generally have little direct impact on the prices consumers pay for bacon or food overall.
