Price of beef is skyrocketing

[Beachclubmum]

Strip steaks at Aldi yesterday were $15.85 per pound. A friend said she paid $7. per pound for hamburger.
Good thing I’m a happy vegan eater!

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Yikes! We have a freezer full of beef, seafood and chicken from the shutdown. It will take us many months to work through since we are reducing the amount of meat in our diet.. Glad we stocked up when prices were normal.

 

[bnoble]

My wife and I were talking about this the other night. She was worried that the disruptions in the meat processing/supply chain would mean shortages. My suspicion was that the prices would go up, but things would still be more or less available for those willing to pay the prices.

We are lucky enough to be relatively insensitive to price--our total spending has gone way down during the pandemic due to travel cutbacks. But we definitely have noticed. I've also been experimenting with much less expensive cuts and preparations, which has been fun to do. This recipe for black beans, for example, uses a $2-$3 smoked ham hock and a little bit of bacon, makes a ton, freezes well, and is delicious.

Cuban Black Beans Recipe

This classic recipe is adapted from “Tastes Like Cuba,” by Eduardo Machado and Michael Domitrovich The secret is the homemade sofrito, but bottled will do in a pinch.

cooking.nytimes.com

 

[am1]

Probably best to start buying from a local farmer or butcher.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Between Covid restrictions and beef costs, it may become prohibitively expensive to order a steak at a restaurant when we can finally sit down.

 

[Passepartout]

I noticed less filled shelves in my local Kroger, and the lunch meats, virtually empty. Some higher prices, and product from afar. Probably due to contracts with Kroger. We don't eat a lot of meat so it won't be a big hardship, and there are local butchers to take up the slack.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

At the processing plants, putting control measures in place will lead to decreases in productivity. They won't be able to process and ship at the rates they have done before. The effects move upstream and downstream.

Upstream, cattle operations are sized to provide a certain amount of meat that corresponds with overall demand, with normal fluctuations. With reductions in processing capability, the cattle operations begin to accumulate cattle that can't be sold. Inevitably that will lead to herd thinning. Reducing herd size is a complete loss for the producer. They've already invested all of the expense to have cattle available for market.

Downstream, lower supply means higher prices. For the processing plant, this means that while they will sell less product, it will be at higher prices, offsetting the loss of productivity. It also means that alternate supply options that operate outside the normal supply chain will be less affected, and will become more price competitive. I also would not be surprised if some specialty grocery chains (think TJs) made moves to obtain product through alternate distribution channels and actually fueled the further development of that channel - an operation such as TJs would actually use that as part of their marketing.

Finally prior to the start of pandemic there almost certainly were meat-packing operations that were planning new plants or expansions. If prices go up and there is a supply glut, those plans almost certainly will be accelerated. The designs will be reworked to incorporate added workforce protections, but since those protections will be designed in from the beginning there will be less effect on plant productivity,and the effectiveness of the controls will be larger. More employee protection, less effect on productivity. These new facilities will be significantly more profitable, and over time will cause old plants to be shut down. That's actually a pretty classic trend in any industry, when someone adeptly resets the bar on efficiency and productivity.

 

[bluehende]

I have noticed the same thing. Prices are not that high at our local Aldi but they have gone up a lot. Somewhere between 50 and 100% depending on the cut. We are close to a huge chicken production area and have seen chicken stay the same cheap price. 1.89 a lb for boneless breasts. I am glad we like chicken and buy 20 lbs a week for our charitable endeavors.

 

[Firepath]

We picked up our side of beef two weeks before the quarantine started. It was fantastic timing and such a worthwhile expense! We've noticed grocery store prices have gone up astronomically.

 

[klpca]

I have become somewhat repulsed by meat as I have gotten older - I have a little thought about what I am eating, and it's all downhill from there. I wish that I could turn off that part of my brain but I have gone to a lot more non-meat based meals.

Btw, Imperfect Foods has meats/fish available. It isn't inexpensive but from what I am reading it is probably pretty close to what you are seeing in the stores, in case you are seeing shortages.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I have become somewhat repulsed by meat as I have gotten older - I have a little thought about what I am eating, and it's all downhill from there. I wish that I could turn off that part of my brain but I have gone to a lot more non-meat based meals.

Btw, Imperfect Foods has meats/fish available. It isn't inexpensive but from what I am reading it is probably pretty close to what you are seeing in the stores, in case you are seeing shortages.

As I've gotten older, we've greatly cut back on the amount of red meat we eat, particularly slab-o-meat. I wouldn't say we've become repulsed by it; it's just that we find other foods more appealing, particularly sea food. We eat a lot chicken as well.

That being said, I do enjoy the occasional hamburger, meat lasagna or spaghetti, tri-tip, and roast beef.

 

[bbodb1]

...you know what comes next.......

 

[CalGalTraveler]

+1 @T_R_Oglodyte we are about the same. Trying to cut back for many reasons:

1) Meat packing facility Covid conditions. The thought of sick people touching and coughing on my food repulses me - not to mention the poor treatment of employees, hiding data on how many are sick etc;
2) Excess of 1GF-1 hormones and anitibiotics used to accelerate meat growth (beef, chicken) etc. are increasingly becoming associated with chronic diseases because it builds up in your system over a lifetime. I cannot completely give up on red meat but have cut back. I like a good steak or tri-tip on the BBQ every once in a while. I treat it like alcohol. Good in moderation.

 

[bnoble]

As I've gotten older, we've greatly cut back on the amount of red meat we eat, particularly slab-o-meat. I wouldn't say we've become repulsed by it; it's just that we find other foods more appealing, particularly sea food. We eat a lot chicken as well.

That being said, I do enjoy the occasional hamburger, meat lasagna or spaghetti, tri-tip, and roast beef.

These days, many of my steaks are tuna, but definitely not all. ;-)

 

[Old Hickory]

Eat Mor Chiken

 

[Country Roads]

Probably best to start buying from a local farmer or butcher.

Absolutely true. For the meat lover it's unfortunate but, raising and slaughtering a cow is a bit of work and best left to those who have the knowledge. They will offer you much better prices and cuts and you will be supporting a small business.

 

[PigsDad]

...and there are local butchers to take up the slack.

Due to the multiple meat packing plants that have shut down, the local butchers are booked up solid though the fall at least. They just don't have the capacity to take up the full slack that the shut downs have created.

Kurt

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

+1 @T_R_Oglodyte we are about the same. Trying to cut back for many reasons:

1) Meat packing facility Covid conditions. The thought of sick people touching and coughing on my food repulses me - not to mention the poor treatment of employees, hiding data on how many are sick etc;
2) Excess of 1GF-1 hormones and anitibiotics used to accelerate meat growth (beef, chicken) etc. are increasingly becoming associated with chronic diseases because it builds up in your system over a lifetime. I cannot completely give up on red meat but have cut back. I like a good steak or tri-tip on the BBQ every once in a while. I treat it like alcohol. Good in moderation.

FWIW - I have done quite a bit of work in food processing facilities over my career. Food processing is between 50% and 75% of my client base.

Among the processors I work with, respiratory infections are taken extremely seriously. Employees are trained to report immediately if they show symptoms. I have seen supervisors pull people off of lines who were working despite showing symptoms, This is all long before corona virus - those are protocols that have been in place for years.

I worry much more about what happens to my food after it leaves the processing plant. The health protocols at those downstream facilities are not nearly as rigorous. A prime example is Chipotle's repeated food safety problems. Or Odwalla juices. Or what happens behind the doors in your local grocery where store workers are handling and packaging produce and meat, icing baked goods, etc.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

These days, many of my steaks are tuna, but definitely not all. ;-)

Definitely - lightly seared over a hot flame. Wasabi (the real stuff, not what is called wasabi in most of the US) mixed with some soy sauce for dipping on the side.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We have a new butcher shop in town. I initially thought it odd that a business would start during an economic crisis, but perhaps this is why it is doing so well. Do butcher shops source locally? Perhaps they carry meat that is not grown with hormones and antibiotics. That would be a plus for using them over the national chains if the price is not much different.

 

[bnoble]

Wasabi (the real stuff, not what is called wasabi in most of the US) mixed with some soy sauce for dipping on the side.

I marinate in a mixture of soy, sesame oil, and cayenne for the time it takes to make the rice. A little furukake on the rice is a nice touch too. That was dinner last night, as it happens.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

We have a new butcher shop in town. I initially thought it odd that a business would start during an economic crisis, but perhaps this is why it is doing so well. Do butcher shops source locally? Perhaps they carry meat that is not grown with hormones and antibiotics. That would be a plus for using them over the national chains if the price is not much different.

I'm not familiar with that end of the supply chain.

That being said, there are many ways for meat products to become contaminated between animal and table. It's also easier for a "small-time" operator to get in over their head, or to start cutting corners. My point being that it's a romantic fantasy to think that food sourced through a small, locally-based is less likely to be contaminated. Now, there may be other reasons to choose that type of sourcing, but "it's less likely to be contaminated" shouldn't be one unless you are prepared to audit safety practices up the supply chain.

What is different is that when there is a problem in local operation, fewer people are affected by that particular incident. Further, because the problem will be localized, the probability of that event actually being detected and reported is much smaller. When I was involved in investigating water-borne disease outbreaks, we estimated that the number of outbreaks in smaller systems was at least 10x as big as what was being actually reported.

************

I should also add that contamination is much more likely to be a problem with any ground meat as compared with the hunk-o-meat.

 

[VacationForever]

Since SIP, we are eating all our meals at home with me doing majority of the cooking. My LDL cholesterol is way down and I attribute that to eating less red meat, more salads and vegetables and healthier food choices in general. We still eat meat but we are eating alot more seafood. If I am on my own, I will probably only have seafood and vegetables.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I marinate in a mixture of soy, sesame oil, and cayenne for the time it takes to make the rice. A little furukake on the rice is a nice touch too. That was dinner last night, as it happens.

My marinade, if I marinade, is usually a sesame soy vinaigrette. I sometimes add some of the Hawaiian sea salt blends we often bring back with us from the islands.

 

[Ken555]

In the last couple of months I've received the following from Imperfect Foods, some items several times (especially chicken, salmon, ground beef, and lamb tamales):

Imperfect Foods 85% lean grass-fed ground beef 16oz: $5.99-6.49
Grass fed beef chuck roast 30oz: $17.99
Capra lamb stew meat 14oz: $9.99
Mary's cage-free ground turkey 16oz: $5.49
Chicken Breast 14oz: $4.49
Norwegian Atlantic Salmon 16oz: $9.99
Hofseth Wild Norwegian Cod 16oz: $10.99
Grass fed beef sirloin steaks 8.5oz: $7.99
Villari Brothers Never Ever Pork Baby Back Ribs (2.13lbs): $9.99
Tampa Bay Fisheries Southwest Salmon Burgers 24oz: $9.99 (4; they are excellent)
Coleman Natural boneless center cut loin pork chops (2): $3.99-4.99
Chef's Choice Premium Cornish Game Hen 24oz: $4.99
Diestel Family Ranch Uncured Turkey Bacon 8oz: $5.49
Capra Gourmet Lamb Tamales 15oz: $7.99
Diestel Family Ranch Oven Roasted Turkey Breast 16oz: $8.99

In my area good ground beef was about the same price at the market as at Imperfect Foods. I haven't been to any market personally since early March so I don't know for certain what they charge now, though I've seen prices on Instacart and Shipt (~$5.79-10.89 today, depending on brand and %).

In general I've found the prices from Imperfect Foods quite good and comparable to what I paid from the local markets pre-pandemic. Given that this is delivered to my home, I'm willing to pay a bit extra for the service anyway, so it's all good.

In other words, I haven't seen a massive increase in pricing as some of you have reported.