High gas prices may lead to higher food prices at grocery stores and restaurants

WASHINGTON (7News) — Gasoline is now above $4 a gallon in the Washington, D.C. area and if prices continue to climb and stay this high, it may impact more than what you pay at the pump.

Pain at the pump may lead to a bigger pain at the grocery store as the price of food may go up even more.

The National Grocers Association says the impact of fuel prices may lead to higher prices along the supply chain due to increased transportation costs, further exacerbating the existing factors that have been driving inflation.

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“It’s going to affect all products. It’s part of the consumer price index,” said Diana Furchtgott-Roth.

Furchtgott-Roth is an economist and adjunct professor at George Washington University.

“Inflation is running around 7.5 percent,” said Furchtgott-Roth. “And many people are having real problems across the country and it’s only going to get worse. Because the producer price index was also high. Restaurants are definitely going to be impacted. Everything that requires people to look after you all these people are naturally going to be looking for a rise in their wages.”

Soaring gas prices are leading the trucking industry to call on the President and Congress to take immediate steps to increase domestic energy production and restart pipeline projects.

“The horrific war in Ukraine makes crystal clear why we need to increase domestic energy production, and must eliminate energy reliance on nations that pose a threat to our national and economic security,” said American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear. “The millions of Americans who keep our country moving forward should not be put in the position of having to spend a single dollar on Russian fuel that lines the war chest of a genocidal tyrant.”

On Monday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris promoted electric trucks, buses, and cars. They outlined the Biden Administration’s clean transportation goals which include a zero-emissions future.

"Transportation is the single biggest contributor to climate change and is responsible for over 55% of nitrogen oxide’s dangerous gases that can contribute to asthma and other respiratory diseases,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “That means transportation has to be a big part of the solution to the climate crisis and air pollution."

The trucking industry is pushing back.

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“We cannot afford to ignore our nation’s current energy needs in a fog of partisan idealism about the future of energy use,” said Spear. “The trucking industry supports an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to securing our energy future. But the transition to cleaner and renewable fuels over the horizon requires a practical, common-sense bridge in the here-and-now, beginning with the abundant sources readily available here at home."

“The United States has one of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas in the world,” said Furchtgott Roth. “We need to produce more. Even just an announcement that President Biden is open to more North American oil and gas production would send gasoline, oil prices down.”