Middle Class Is Buckling After Five Years of Inflation

[haele]

16. For some people, yes.

For others, no. Metabolisms are different, as is regional access to healthy food sources.
Every time I hear someone say "I can get all my daily protein from a pound of dried beans", I think of sailor I served with who was break out in hives allergic to most peas and beans, including Soy beans and lentils. He had to watch salads, green peas or chickpeas would make him throw up.
His protein of necessity was canned light tuna in water, chicken, or beef.
Some people don't like beans because it makes them gassy. Some people can be allergic to eggs, or lactose intolerant - other sources of protein.
So, yeah...depending on metabolisms and where one lives, ground beef as a meat source may be a necessity.
Not to a lot of people, but to enough I'm not going to dismiss it as a "choice" or bad habit.

All this being said, the headline is a bit misleading. The amount of inflation we experienced 3 to 5 year ago was more Covid and then Greedflation as the food corporations made up for profits lost on the backs of consumers - exaggerating "Supply Chain" disruption as an excuse to gouge even more.
Costs were coming down in 2024, still higher than 2019, but wholesale costs were within a more average level of inflation over that time period when looking at normal pressures on the market
Inflation. Corporate Greed was still affecting supermarket pricing.