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Meat lovers who recently learned of a projected bacon shortage have even more to lament: chicken wings, too, may soon be disappearing. Well, not exactly disappearing (neither is bacon, some say), but definitely rising in price, according to industry experts.
Several factors are to blame for the shortage, including this summer’s drought and the lingering effects of the country’s economic downturn. With a number of poultry processors in bankruptcy and feed prohibitively expensive, the few wings that are available will continue to rise in price. Moreover, The National Chicken Council’s website explains that basic chicken anatomy plays a part in escalating wing prices. Because a chicken has only two wings, “the supply of wings is limited by the total number of chickens produced. When the demand for wings is stronger than the demand for other chicken parts, the price of wings will go up.” Fewer chickens overall equals even fewer wings.
Christy Koerber, a poultry buyer at Kuna Foodservice, one of the St. Louis area’s big three food distributors, said that it’s “rough for a lot of people right now.” With production in decline, Koerber predicts that conditions will worsen before they improve. The high price of wings, she said, has left some stocking their freezers with the popular bar food, waiting out the shortage.
St. Louis Wing Co. owner Bobby Tessler has already felt the negative effects of the problem. Big companies like Rally’s, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s are buying up all of the chicken, including wings, leaving smaller independents like St. Louis Wing Co. thinking creatively. Tessler explained that price increases are possible. Alternatives like selling boneless wings at a cheaper price and encouraging the sale of other items—think toasted ravioli and mozzarella sticks—may also compensate for the dearth of wings.
McDonald’s might even be jumping into the wing business, at least in one market: Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While it’s true that if McDonald’s were to add chicken wings to the menu beyond Atlanta there would follow a “shot in the arm” for the poultry industry, the buying power of McDonald’s will make it nearly impossible for someone like Tessler to sell wings at a profit.
One can only wait and see whether or not McDonald’s will expand beyond Atlanta (a Huff Post Food report says not) and dominate the market. In the meantime, prudent party planners should start squirreling away wings for Super Bowl XLVII, held on February 3, in New Orleans. If this year is like last year, Americans will eat more than 1.25 billion chicken wing portions over the weekend. With both bacon and chicken wing numbers dwindling, whether or not the Rams are playing will be the least of one’s worries. Super Bowl tofu hot wings, anyone? Here's a pic (below) and a recipe, just in case.
