The Meat Bubble

[marmar]

Carnivores’ Dilemma Widens as Pork Signals Meat Surge (Update1)
By Whitney McFerron


April 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. meat prices may rise to records this summer after farmers reduced hog and cattle herds to the smallest sizes in decades, the result of surging feed costs linked to demands for more ethanol.

Wholesale pork jumped as much as 25 percent this month to 90.68 cents a pound last week, the highest since August 2008, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Beef climbed 22 percent this year to $1.6896 a pound on April 23, the most expensive since July 2008. Chicken’s gain in March was the most in 20 months.

Demand for pork chops, steaks and chicken breasts is rising as the economy improves, backyard barbecues resume and China and Russia allow more U.S. imports. Domestic supplies may drop to a 13-year low because of culls to stem losses caused by corn prices that doubled after former President George W. Bush set targets to increase ethanol use.

“Ethanol-induced prices in meat are just now getting to the marketplace,” said Steve Meyer, the president of Paragon Economics, a meat industry consultant in Des Moines, Iowa. “Consumers are going to see the highest prices they’ve ever paid in meat and poultry because of the decisions made to make corn into ethanol.”

Hog futures have almost doubled from a low in August to 85.175 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on April 23. The price may reach $1 by June, said Tom Cawthorne, director of hog marketing at broker R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago. CME cattle jumped 14 percent in the past year. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a41ys1pP9w.c&pos=14

[Fla_Democrat]

1. Last time I checked..

squirrels are still free. :evilgrin:

Living in the sticks sucks for internet connections, but it has other advantages. :smoke:

[progressoid]

11. Except here.

The black squirrel is protected. One lady was fined for harassing black squirrels that were eating her cat's food.

It's ok to eat the brown squirrels though.

[MadHound]

2. Get to know your local farmer,

If you get to know a local farmer who raises beef or pork, you can get a great prize on meat. The thing is, you have to have a freezer big enough to hold a quarter or half cow.

I have a neighbor who raises organic, grass fed, no hormone beef. Once a year I purchase a quarter cow from him. Cow is taken down to the local butcher where it is custom cut into whatever meat cuts and thicknesses you want. Price, including processing, is 2.60/lb, and it is some great meat.

Made a similar arrangement with an organic hog and chicken producer in the neighborhood.

These people exist everywhere, but can be hard to find. Consider haunting your local farmer's market, or putting an ad in the paper, even in small town papers in the area that surrounds you.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. I second that. We have half a beef in our freezer, from local guy.

The tenderness and flavor is awesome.
And when you thaw out a piece of beef, it has no odor at all.
Also very little fat.

We will not be going back to store bought meat.

Looking for chickens and pork locally, too.

[nosmokes]

8. here's a link to CSA farms:

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
unfortunately, there aren't a lot of producers of meat because of USDA regs regarding the processing-the slaughter and butchering of beeves, hogs, lambs, goats,or whatever animal ya got. There are a few small processors, but the regs place a onerous burden on direct to consumer producers and artisan butchers/local abattoirs.

[alfredo]

17. Wild Boar is quite nice. Elk is good, but tough. That might

have something to do with the cut and preparation.

I can get buffalo. My favorite.

[FirstLight]

3. huuhuuhuh you said "meat"

sorry , meat bubble sounds really gross! :puke:
:rofl:

I just watched Food, Inc. last week and decided that meat is evil...so they should go ahead an reduce their farms even more!

[DainBramaged]

4. Oh no ethanol won't do anything to affect gas mileage

yes it will, it will keep people home because there won't be affordable food to buy.

[Warpy]

6. Good, they need to learn how to cook

and they also need to reduce their meat consumption, they'll live longer and be happier for both of those.

I just don't understand the mindset that says cooking is menial work best left to an underclass in factories and fast food joints.

[proudohioan]

10. I was driving cross country last summer.....

Cleveland to Denver. I stopped overnight at a girlfriends place in Iowa. When getting ready to leave, she tells me to fill up there, as the gas is ethanol, and a lot cheaper.

Well, it WAS a hell of a lot cheaper; however, I had to fill up my tank AGAIN before I even reached Nebraska! I though WTF??? I filled up when I left home, and didn't have to fill up again until well past Chicagoland. It took me about 3 fill ups with premium to get back to the mileage I had before the ethanol.

Just my own personal experience with ethanol.

[DainBramaged]

12. E85 will only give you about HALF the millage of petroleum, but with higher horsepower

which you need for everyday driving like I need a third eye.

[proudohioan]

29. Yeah, me either....

I've developed a habit of collecting speeding tickets in the past few years.

[flvegan]

7. I'm gonna put this here...

just in case we need it.

[XemaSab]

13. .

:thumbsup:

[petronius]

15. Since you posted that before any of those came up, do we all get a

free fill-in on the 'preachy' square? :shrug:

[flvegan]

20. What "preachy square" and be specific, please.

[petronius]

21. The square that uses two variants of the word "preach"

To be specific, it's at position 1,3 in Cartesian coordinates...

[flvegan]

24. Thank you.

You filled in that square quite nicely. That was easy.

:rofl:

[petronius]

25. Swing and a miss...

[flvegan]

28. Keep thinking that.

[damntexdem]

9. So we'll have to dig deeper to live high on the hog?

Will they still let us eat cake?

;-)

[Left coast liberal]

14. A very good time to eat more vegetarian meals.

[alfredo]

18. Or just use meat as flavoring, not the focus.

[BlooInBloo]

16. I don't think "bubble" means what you think it means.

[Codeine]

22. The price will crash

and you'll be left with dozens of pork chops worth way less than you paid for them, dude.

Mark my words.

[LeftyMom]

19. Y'all know the meat industry is heavily subsidized, right?

Just checking.

[Codeine]

23. The Meat Bubble

would be a kick-ass band name.

[LeftyMom]

26. It sounds like some kind of really gross fetish porn.

[Quantess]

27. Google image search result:

[olegramps]

30. Will this have an affect of my senior citizen dog food diet?