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Where’s the Beef? – Not on the Horizon
Where’s the Beef? – Not on the Horizon
The reports continue to come in that there’s a real problem with the U.S. food supply. From McDonald’s reviewing their supply chain for beef to the pleas of ranchers already staring at feeding issues with last year’s poor harvests the signs are there for a major supply dislocation in beef going forward.
Kroger is limiting the amount of beef and pork people can buy. My local Winn-Dixie has had limits on large cuts of pork for the past couple of weeks. Pork loins have been gone for weeks now, so no pork jerky for us, which is a tragedy.
Now Wendy’s, which doesn’t use frozen beef, is reporting more than 20% of their stores are out of beef.
Stephens analyst James Rutherford noted 18% of Wendy’s restaurants were “completely sold out of beef items as of Monday evening,” reported Bloomberg.
“By our count 1,043 Wendy’s units were selling zero beef items yesterday evening,” but within the figure, about 128 restaurants were still selling beef chili. Rutherford added that the shortage varies across the country and said some restaurants still have full menus, while states like Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Connecticut, and New York are “fully out of fresh beef.” The note also said Wendy’s is “more exposed” to meat shortages because of its reliance on fresh beef compared with its competitors.
If you subscribe, like I do now, to the idea that this Coronapocalypse is mostly a cover story for the failures of the global financial and political system to usher in a new round of totalitarian control then destroying the most vulnerable, yet important, part of our food supply would be a key strategic goal.
My talk with Patrick Henningsen of 21st Century Wire recently covered the motive, means and opportunity for why this perspective should be our default setting.
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Eat Less Meat and Save the Planet
Eat Less Meat and Save the Planet
Dr. D:
Eat less meat to save the planet – report (1)
The new diet that could save the planet (2)
What to eat to save the planet: Report urges ‘radical changes’ to world’s diet – less meat, more veggies (3)
These headlines, likely sourced from a recent article from “The Lancet” (4) are a regular feature of our time, in diet, in environmentalism, and in global warming. They are well-researched, sourced by the world’s experts, and put forward with the highest intentions. However, they are also completely wrong – dangerously, ignorantly wrong.
Like most industries, agriculture and food production is a specialty, with its own language and details. I don’t attempt to tell the Lancet how to perform heart surgery, for to do so would be ridiculous, dangerous, outside of my expertise. I wouldn’t tell a geologist how to interpret the magnetic layers of rock, or how oceanographers should properly interpret sea water samples to guide us on fishing or pollution. Yet this is what they do for farmers.
The primary drive of most such articles is that, with so many people, and so much hunger, we find that it takes “2,500 gallons of water, 12 pounds of grain, 35 pounds of topsoil and the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline to produce one pound of feedlot beef.” that “64% of US cropland produces livestock feed.” (5) That it takes “20 pounds corn [to make] 1 pound beef.” (6) Or that you can get 15lbs of beef per acre, but 263lbs of soybeans. (7) Also that cattle are the primary reason for deforestation, and a major cause of methane.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Beef prices could rise further with cruel Alberta drought
Herd size expected to shrink as ranchers sell off cattle
The price of steaks, roasts and other cuts of beef are expected to increase further because of drought conditions in Alberta, although it may take about a year before consumers feel the full bite on store shelves.
Retail beef prices hit record highs early this year and have continued to climb since then as the number of cattle in the Canada continues to dwindle. Now, drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan means ranchers struggling to feed their animals are choosing to sell some of their cattle at the auction market.
- Global demand for beef sends steak and hamburger prices sizzling
- Drought forces some Alberta cattle farmers to sell stock
At least nine different counties throughout Alberta have declared states of agricultural disaster due to harsh drought conditions. Many areas received less than 100 mm of rain between the start of April and early July, which is less than 50 per cent of normal rainfall levels. The hardest-hit areas received less than 50 millimetres of precipitation, according to Alberta Agriculture.
If you thought buying beef this summer was already expensive, prices could rise further with dry conditions in Alberta and Saskatchewan. (Dale Molnar/CBC)
Not only are pastures and hay crops in poor condition, but little feed is available for purchase.
In the short term, for consumers, the price of beef may actually fall slightly as ranchers reduce their herd size, but retail prices may jump further next year as the number of cattle in Canada will be even smaller.
“Over the long run, if the drought causes the cow herd to shrink even further, then the supply, of course, gets tighter,” said Greg Bowie, chair of the Alberta Beef Producers. “It is going to drive the price to a different level again.”
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