Beef may be “what’s for dinner,” but now you might have to put it on credit to actually afford it.
Seriously, why has the price of beef skyrocketed lately?
Here’s Five Fast Facts …… :
- 🐮 That’s alotta cow - Look – We Americans love our beef. So much so that we each consume nearly 55 pounds of it every year. Except for you darn vegetarians, of course. You can stop reading now and go make yourself a tofu sandwich.
- 🥛 Not just burgers - We all know the price of just about every-damn-thing is up this year. Milk and eggs have all seen about a 15% price increase from last year. But the most significant jump has been in beef - about 17%.
- 🏠 From the White House to Your House - To help combat rising prices, President Biden announced the “Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain”. That’s a lot of words for “we’re throwing money at the problem” – about $1 billion is being used to break up a monopoly of processors and add more competition to the market.
- 🐄 Hungry, Hungry Cows - One of the other factors adding to the rise in the price of beef is drought. Not being able to grow their own feed has forced lots of farmers to sell off cows. Like, a lot of cows. There hasn’t been this big of a cattle sell-off since a similar drought in 2011.
- 🍔 No Cheeseburger For You - There isn’t much you can do to combat this price increase other than just eating less beef. And many people are doing just that – 27% of Americans said they are cutting down on their meat intake to lower their food costs. Apparently, vegetarianism can pay off - veggie-based diets are estimated to cost around $23 less per week.
🔥Bottom line: We all know a barbecue just isn’t a barbecue without the beef. And while you may not be ready to offer brussels sprouts as an alternative at your next backyard shindig, replacing one or two other meals a week with veggie alternatives might not be bad for your budget – or your heart.
Are you still serving up beef? Have you noticed an increase in prices? Let us know by connecting with us on Social Media and be sure to share this newsletter with any friends & coworkers!
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