Americans face harsh reality as cost of orange juice soars and product itself changes: 'We're done here'

In the latest game of which grocery item has a price tag that will make your eyes pop out, OJ is making breakfast even more expensive. 

What's happening?

As reported on Eurweb.com, orange juice prices have gone up 80% since 2019. While inflation is the usual suspect, the main culprit is citrus greening — a serious and untreatable bacterial disease being spread by the invasive Asian citrus psyllids that are destroying citrus trees and their produce all around the world.

Orange production in Florida has gone down 92% over the last two decades, according to The Atlantic, due to greening and extreme weather events caused by constantly rising temperatures, such as hurricanes. 

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Why is domestic orange production concerning?

Because of the low output, the majority of our oranges are now being sourced from Canada and Mexico, and many fear the proposed tariffs will cause prices to soar even higher. No longer a domestic delicacy, orange juice is now commonly mixed with the juice of oranges from two or three other countries. If greening continues to spread, oranges might have to be procured from across the Atlantic. 

Breakfast has now become the luxury meal of the day, with OJ and eggs — whose prices have risen almost 60% in the last year — becoming big-ticket items. Some suppliers have been blunt, stating that citrus operations are no longer "economically viable," as published by Eurweb.com, adding that it's the corporate equivalent of saying, "We're done here."

What's being done to save orange trees?

Desperate, growers are injecting antibiotics and spraying plant growth boosters to keep trees alive. The problem is that these pesticides and other chemicals can be toxic and harmful to our health. The National Institutes of Health reported that some pesticides can be absorbed through the orange peels, which then contaminates the entire yield before it's sold for consumption.

Looking for healthier and safer solutions, scientists at the University of Florida believe they have found the cure by genetically modifying trees to produce a protein that kills the invasive species spreading the disease, as shared by ScienceDirect.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services stated in a press release that the Florida legislature has approved $40 million of the state budget to be allocated to assist the citrus industry through infrastructure, research, and expansion of propagation and replanting efforts.

The USDA citrus greening page warns to beware of quarantine areas along with other helpful advice.

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