Consumers say political parties can set high food prices – but only if their side wins

Just as presidents are credited with steering the U.S. economy, consumers in a University of Illinois poll said the two major political parties could help lower food prices — but only if their side is in charge. A minority of respondents to the poll released Monday said the problem was beyond politicians' control.

“Polls have consistently shown that … inflation and price affordability are among the most important issues for voters this year,” said three analysts in the Farmdoc daily blog. “Overall, we found that most respondents believed political parties could help lower food prices.” The answers were biased along party lines.

“When asked who respondents thought was best suited to lower food prices, we found that most Republicans (74.2%) thought only Republicans could lower food prices; similarly, a majority of Democrats (61.8%) thought only Democrats could lower food prices,” said analysts Maria Kalaitzandonakes and Jonathan Coppess of the University of Illinois and Brenna Ellison of Purdue University. “People who identified themselves as independent/other were most likely to respond that joint efforts by Republicans and Democrats would be needed to lower food prices (46.1%).”

Only a small portion of Republicans and Democrats said no political party could lower food prices. About 29.2 percent of independents said food prices were beyond political control – “still a minority,” the analysts said.

Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed “the first-ever federal ban on food price gouging.” Former President Donald Trump blames Harris and President Biden for the 2022 inflation wave, saying the antidote is increased domestic energy production, fewer regulations, lower federal spending and border security.

The online survey was conducted earlier this month by Gardner Food and Agriculture Research among about 1,000 consumers selected to reflect the U.S. population in terms of gender, age, income and location. There were 353 Republicans, 351 Democrats and 301 independent respondents.

Food inflation peaked in August 2022 at an annualized rate of 11.4%. Last month, the food inflation rate was 2.2%, below the overall U.S. inflation rate of 2.9%.

High inflation is still fresh in consumers' minds. Last month, consumers surveyed by Purdue University's Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability said food prices were 5.4% higher than they were in July 2023, and they expected prices to rise 3.2% in the coming year. The USDA projects food prices to rise 2% in 2025, below the long-term average of 3% per year.