Meat Prices and Covid

I'm sure many of you have noticed lately, meat prices have increased to some pretty extreme levels pretty much no matter where you are. I was having a discussion about this with someone and we started talking about feed prices. He pointed out, typically, when meat prices suddenly increase, it tends to be because of feed prices. So, curious, i wanted to check out how feed prices have been.

In my searches, I found a pretty good analysis of the meat industry as a whole in north America during covid.

www.producer.com...

They biggest factor influencing the high cost in meat now according to the analysis is because of covid plaguing meat packing facilities.

Now, this made me think back to news stories about when this happened and i remember wondering why?

Why, when there's many jobs very similar to the conditions of meat packing plants, why was it only them apparently so heavily affected?

How come soy packing plants, the working conditions of which i imagine are very similar, were not so widely reported as having problems?

Why were meat packing plants specifically so publicised or heavily effected?

Then, i kind of forgot about it over the rest of the year, but there's been stories since of these lab grown meat startups and bill gates' purchase of vast swathes of agricultural land and the propaganda against eating meat in general.

Things like:

heated.world...

So, being a conspiracy site and all, i thought I'd make the conjecture...

What if the meat industry is being intentionally sabotaged to drive up prices, which combined with covid nonsense is designed to push people towards soy based or synthetic alternatives?

a reply to: dug88

Good possibility. I remember the Gov. of New Mexico was trying to shut down a fairly large meat factory during coof demic and they were fighting back saying all kinds of product would spoil. Not sure if they got shut down or not though afterwards. Then you got dark lord Gates buying up all kinds of farm land, so I would say Brian Stelter will soon be calling any talk like this a wild alt right conspiracy theory.

a reply to: dug88

Meat processing is a lot more difficult to automate. It's very hands on and depending on the meat it could have 10+ people working on it within the process of putting it in a nice package for you.

If I remember correctly the big Brazilian company JBS had a few serious issues with covid that they practically tried to cover up.

International markets probably play a hand in US meat prices just like they do everywhere else, beef in particular has been shooting up in value a few years. If it was a feed issue you'd see huge price increases across the board since cattle feed is often the foodstuffs that don't make the grade for a consumer market.

There's conspiracies in food production though! I just don't think Bill Gates or the Chinese have all that much influence on the ones that affect Western consumer markets.

a reply to: dug88

Its hot spots. Eventually the price creates a glut and prices drop. Thats when i fill up the freezer. Corned beefs were just on sale. Got a dozen or so.

a reply to: dug88

Why were meat packing plants specifically so publicised or heavily effected?

Where I live Covid had an impact on big close quarters factories regardless of product.
The reason meat packing plants were publicized is that people love meat, meat is associated with wealth, wellbeing,
growth etc. So any attack on that would be easier to make a sensational story.
Covid raging through a green bean cannery just doesn't have the same impact.

a reply to: JAGStorm

But the prices of green beans haven't jumped by near as much as during covid as meat. To top that, whenever I'm in the produce section i always see sales on new soy meat style products or ads for new ones, meanwhile meat creeps up in price by the day.

Bought half a cow from a local ranch, anything to support small family farms. BEEF.

a reply to: dug88

Personally...

Covid just seems like the perfect crisis to get done whatever you want done.

It just seems endless. Put that into perspective with how fast things can change these days with technology.

Heres a list off the top of my head:

- get people to stop eating meat
- switch to more trackable digital currency
- more power and surveilance
- push green initiatives (for power and redistribute wealth)
- social credit scores (vax passports) to create an obedient society
- use of healthcare to help track society
- suring up the political landscape for decades to come with illegal immigration and packing the supreme court
- pushing people to riot and calling to defund police to keep the nation unstable for change
- removing the second amendment 1 small step at a time
- countries such as Russia and China are pushing for expansion and more global dominance

And then we actually have the US military coming out saying they are investigating UFOs... Seems surreal, not part of the covid excuse, but you gotta admit that's just neat on top of all else.

What else?

I feel like Im forgetting so many things right now.

originally posted by: 38181BEEF.

It used to be what's for dinner

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: dug88

Its hot spots. Eventually the price creates a glut and prices drop. Thats when i fill up the freezer. Corned beefs were just on sale. Got a dozen or so.

Woah, here corn beefs did not go very low this St. Patties day, so I only got one of them. I think they went down to 3.49 a pound for the Reuben Corned beef point cut which is the one I like because of their spice packet.

originally posted by: dug88
But the prices of green beans haven't jumped by near as much as during covid as meat. To top that, whenever I'm in the produce section i always see sales on new soy meat style products or ads for new ones, meanwhile meat creeps up in price by the day.

No one breaks down a side of new soy meat style products in a labor intensive process while working in a close quarters factory.

a reply to: rickymouse

I got flats for 1.97/lb

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: rickymouse

I got flats for 1.97/lb

Wow, that is a good price. I actually like the flats better, they are a little fattier usually, but I like the meat better. Flats here were not on sale this year, just points, usually it is the opposite.

I thought they might be running an after St. Patties day sale on the briskets, but it never happened, they went back up to almost six bucks a pound the next week. I made corned beef one year from the brisket of the cow we bought that year, it turned out excellent. But then the wife and daughter wanted the brisket for a recipe they have and we do that once a year, I don't get a whole steer anymore since I haven't had workers to give beef Christmas bonuses to, now I just get a half a head. I just have meat for us and my kids and brothers Christmas presents from a half, and maybe a few packages for a few close friends.

a reply to: rickymouse

I generally will soak to desalinate for 4 hours, then cover in fresh cracked pepper and coriander (75/25 blend), then smoke to make pastrami. I can make it from scratch, but for 1.97/lb im happy to take the shortcut. Brisket is more expensive right now.

a reply to: GraffikPleasure Here's some of the general goals. Its certainly quite comprehensive.

There is definitely a push towards vegetarianism, veganism, and lab meat. Beef is an interesting industry though, it really does require land out of necessity (and animal welfare/health).

But yeah.. Prices on a lot of stuff has gone up, some of it shooting through the roof. GPUs (for computers) are wildly priced right now. I can sell my several years old GPU for nearly double what I originally paid and computer gear isnt exactly "collectors items."

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: rickymouse

I generally will soak to desalinate for 4 hours, then cover in fresh cracked pepper and coriander (75/25 blend), then smoke to make pastrami. I can make it from scratch, but for 1.97/lb im happy to take the shortcut. Brisket is more expensive right now.

I tried making pastrami one time about twenty five years ago. That did not go well at all, in fact I think I tossed most of it out. I learned from my mistake there, in fact, I have not even bought pastrami since that because I never want to eat pastrami again. Those learning experiences are a bitch. (A mistake is only a mistake if you did not learn from it, it is a learning experience)