Yes, there are turkeys for Thanksgiving — for a higher price
Turkeys may not be able to fly far. But their prices can soar — along with the costs of other holiday staples such as cranberry sauce and pie filling.
The Thanksgiving table hasn’t been spared the price inflation that is rampant elsewhere in the economy because of strong consumer demand and labor shortages.
The American Farm Bureau estimates a Thanksgiving feast for 10, complete with sweet potatoes, rolls, a vegetable tray and a pie with whipped cream, will cost $53.31 this year, up 14% from a year ago. It’s an unusual spike. Before this year, the annual cost estimate had been falling since 2015.
“The inflation is real. Everybody is saying that. Everybody is feeling it,” said Butterball President and CEO Jay Jandrain. “Whether it’s labor, transportation, packaging materials, energy to fuel the plants — everything costs more.”
North Carolina-based Butterball, which supplies about one-third of Thanksgiving turkeys, struggled to attract workers earlier this year, leading to processing delays. While turkeys waited, they grew bigger, adding to already-skyrocketing costs for corn and soybean feed.
But Jandrain said labor shortages have lessened and the company was able to secure enough trucks to get its turkeys to grocery stores. So there will be about the same number of whole turkeys as last year, but fewer smaller birds.
“The good news about that is everybody loves the after-Thanksgiving leftovers, and they are going to have more of them this year,” Jandrain said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average wholesale price of an 8- to 16-pound frozen turkey in mid-November was $1.35 per pound, up 21% from a year ago. For other staples, weather conditions compounded labor shortages. Pumpkin crops were smaller due to heavy rains and a fungus in Illinois — a top supplier — and drought in California. In early November, fresh pumpkins were averaging $2.72 per pound, up 5% from a year ago, according to Nielsen IQ. Prices for green beans were up 4%, while canned cranberry sauce was up 2.5%.
Guadeloupe closes schools after rioting over COVID-19
Schools closed across the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on Monday and France’s president warned of a “very explosive” situation in the territory, after protests against COVID-19 rules and vaccinations descended into days of rioting and looting.
France’s central government sent in police special forces to try to restore order to the former colony, as emergency workers said they were unable to reach neighborhoods barricaded by angry crowds.
The prefect of Guadeloupe said in a statement that 11 people have been arrested by police overnight Sunday into Monday. He said some patients who need to receive kidney dialysis treatment couldn’t get access to a hospital and “are now in danger.”
“We have several patients” in the blockaded area of La Boucan, tweeted Patrick Portecop, head of the regional emergency service. “We are powerless.”
U.S. intel shows Russia plans for potential Ukraine invasion
The U.S. has shared intelligence including maps with European allies that shows a buildup of Russian troops and artillery to prepare for a rapid, large-scale push into Ukraine from multiple locations if President Vladimir Putin decided to invade, according to people familiar with the conversations.
That intelligence has been conveyed to some NATO members over the past week to back up U.S. concerns about Putin’s possible intentions and an increasingly frantic diplomatic effort to deter him from any incursion, with European leaders engaging directly with the Russian president. The diplomacy is informed by an American assessment that Putin could be weighing an invasion early next year as his troops again mass near the border.
The information lays out a scenario where troops would cross into Ukraine from Crimea, the Russian border and via Belarus, with about 100 battalion tactical groups — prepared for a potentially prolonged occupation.
Group: 2 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti are ‘safe, in good spirits’
Two of the 17 foreign missionaries who were kidnapped by a notorious street gang in Haiti last month have been released, a U.S. aid group said Sunday.
“Only limited information can be provided, but we are able to report that the two hostages who were released are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for,” Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said in a statement posted to its website. “We praise God for this!”
Haitian authorities confirmed the release to The Washington Post. Haiti National Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said he could not provide details.
Former Netanyahu aide testifies in ex-PM’s corruption trial
A ex-aide to Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday took the stand in the former Israeli prime minister’s corruption trial, describing his boss as a “control freak” who was obsessed with the way he and his family were portrayed in the media.
Nir Hefetz, a former spokesman for Netanyahu, is a key prosecution witness expected to deliver critical testimony in the trial, which revolves around accusations that Netanyahu committed fraud, breach of trust and accepted bribes. The former premier, now opposition leader, denies any wrongdoing.
Hefetz left a long career in journalism in 2009 to work as a spokesman for Netanyahu’s government.
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