Imagine my surprise when I walked into Chipotle Mexican Grill last week and found myself paying more than I ever had for my chicken burrito bowl.
My order was the same, I was sure of it. I scanned my receipt, confused, until the kid who made my meal informed me that prices of everything in the restaurant had increased during the summer.
This wasn’t just happening in Chapel Hill. Chipotle recently raised prices nationwide about 4.5 percent and expects to see more inflation this year.
Why is this necessary?
Chipotle isn’t selling significantly less than before; if anything, the chain is increasing in popularity. Are they just greedy for the hard-earned wages of poor college students, desperate for burritos?
The price hike is a bit more complicated than that. The rising cost of food, largely caused by climate change and global weather disasters, has brought avocado, dairy and meat along with it in the past few years, said Jack Hartung, Chipotle’s CFO.
In fact, food prices are rising almost everywhere. Since 2007, there have been two huge spikes in international grain prices, with staple crops like corn, soybeans and wheat getting monumentally more expensive.
More and more, scientists are pointing to the environment as the cause of food shortages driving prices up. Temperatures are rising rapidly, shortening growing seasons and killing crops.
Freak weather disasters, which have been occurring with alarming frequency lately, have also hurt food. While it’s hard to imagine that a tsunami across the world can actually affect the price of a fast food meal here, the proof is in our empty wallets.
