Your Chipotle burrito is getting pricier for this one simple reason

Protein is getting more expensive.

As a whole, US inflation isn’t doing much of anything. (Prices were up roughly 2% in April compared to the prior year.) But there’s plenty of variation in the price picture once you get into the details. For instance, look at prices for meat. They jumped 2.9% in April alone. And they’re up 8.4% over April 2013 levels.

Why? Droughts in California and Texas have resulted in smaller cattle herds and lower supplies. At the same time, countries like Japan and China have been consuming more, boosting demand. And that’s why Chipotle, McDonald’s and Yum Brands have all moved to raise prices over the last few months.