It's not even a week into the new year and Canadians are feeling like they're paying more for groceries than ever before. This price increase became popular after the publication of a picture of raw chicken on social networks. The raw chicken image was taken at Loblaw in Toronto and shows five skinless and boneless chicken breasts selling for over $37. On the label of these chickens is written "FF", which means that these chickens are free of hormones and antibiotics. Some people on the social media site are upset with Loblaw CEO Galen Weston. "There's no way the Loblaws can justify this," says an Ontario MP. Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analysis Laboratory says $37 is too much for chicken. He also says that the "FF" label can only be one reason why chicken is so expensive, and he believes there are other reasons as well. The poultry industry has been affected by several factors, including bird flu. This price increase can have different reasons depending on where people live in Canada because the quotas are determined by the province and each province has its conditions. In Ontario, where the photo of the chicken was taken, there is an ongoing investigation that affects several farms. They found that over 5 million birds were forcibly culled in Canada, so that's 5 million birds that didn't make it to market, and that's an indication of a lack of supply.

Increased food prices

The latest Canadian Food Price Report, prepared by Charlebois, predicts that food prices will increase between 5 and 7 percent this year in 2023. This report shows that this price increase can be caused by climate change, supply chain disruptions, carbon tax, geopolitical climate, and increased transportation costs. In a statement to CityNews regarding the image of the chicken that was published online, Loblaw confirms the price of the chicken packages and says that these chickens are premium and that the PC FF on the label indicates that it is a high-quality, large-format chicken product.

The solution provided by Charlebois

Charlebois has a solution: "If you walk into a grocery store and the price is too high, just walk away." Walk away, you're not in the right store, so go somewhere else." Charlebois says the chicken price frenzy is only one aspect of it all. He adds that the price of eggs has also increased due to the same reasons. His suggestion is for people to use apps like Flashflood, FoodHero, and Too Good To Go, which are food rescue apps, this will help you avoid food waste and be able to buy food at a discount. Sometimes these discounts can even reach 50%, which is very useful for people.