By now, we’ve all seen the headlines predicting that this week’s Thanksgiving will be the most expensive on record. While it is technically true, food inflation also makes this statement true most years. Adjusting for inflation, the price of Thanksgiving staples has declined substantially over the past few decades. This decline in the “real” price can likely be attributed to gains from trade and improvements in agricultural production technology. That said, just because inflation occurs regularly does not mean that this Thanksgiving’s price increases are trivial.

Why so much fervor regarding...