BIDENFLATION: Cost of Thanksgiving turkey up 73 percent from last year

The cost of the average Thanksgiving meal has risen by 12 percent since last holiday season, including the price of turkeys, which have shot up by an astonishing 73 percent.

In 2021, Americans paid the highest ever recorded price for a Thanksgiving dinner for ten, at an average price of $53.32, according to Statista.

The effects of inflation have yet to subside, with this year's cost being estimated at $67.78, the Daily Mail reported.

According to the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service, the food-at-home (grocery store or supermarket food purchases) Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 13.5 percent higher in August compared to the same time last year.

A 13 percent increase was seen in the 12 months ending in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The average price of stuffing has jumped to $3.99 from $2.29 last year, and sweet potatoes rose to $3.97 from $3.56. The average price of green beans has also risen to $0.88, and pumpkin pie mix is now at $4.79. 

While the groceries that go into making common Thanksgiving sides have risen, the turkey comes out on top as the costliest item, and the one that faced the sharpest increase.

The average price per pound of an 8- to 16-pound turkey has risen to $1.99 from $1.15 last year, a 73 percent increase. A typical Thanksgiving bird now costs $31.84, according to USDA data.

This especially sizable jump is due in part to a strain of the avian flu being carried by migrating birds, which has contributed to the deaths of about 7.3 million turkeys so far this year, or 3.6 percent of the US supply, reported Watt Global Media. Over 100 commercial turkey operations have been affected by the HPAI influenza. ​​

Some Republican lawmakers have blamed President Joe Biden for the cost increase, with Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn posing the question, "How many prices have to go up for Joe Biden to change course?"