Food price increases prompt a NSFW Twitter rant from Cardi B

The rapper took to Twitter Wednesday with a NSFW monologue about the price of lettuce and other food staples, demanding “anybody that is responsible” lower grocery prices that have recently been “tripling up.”

“Lettuce was, like, $2 a couple of months ago, and now it’s like f***ing $7,” she said in a video posted to the platform. “Of course I’m going to say something! The f***?!”

The solution, she said? Budgeting, regardless of your level of wealth, because if you don’t, you’re “going to go broke soon.”

It’s advice she seems to follow herself. Cardi B said she gets a weekly summary of all the money spent in her house. The jump in grocery prices caught her eye, so she went to the store herself to see “what the f*** is going on.”

The video was the culmination of frustration for the entertainer, who apparently began looking into food prices on Jan. 3, when she posted a Tweet expressing astonishment at them.

In her video message, she expressed hope that whoever is responsible for food prices to “put that sh**** the f*** down.” (She later acknowledged that her own pleas likely wouldn’t impact inflation, but said “if we bring enough awareness to inflation you never know”.) 

Lowering food prices, unfortunately, isn’t as simple as convincing an anonymous power. They’re dictated by a wide variety of factors, including supply chains, weather patterns, disease (such as the avian flu that impacted poultry prices in recent months), and geopolitical events. 

Food companies, however, have also been criticized for increasing prices and engaging in “shrinkflation” (offering less product for the same price) to boost profits. 

Cardi B is hardly wrong about the spiking cost of groceries. Last year, the cost of poultry increased 15%. Eggs were more than 30% more expensive. Vegetables cost between 6.5% and 7.5% more, while fruits were up as much as 8%. And other foods saw increases of 12-13%, according to the USDA.