I don't know if any of you have noticed the rise in the price of Beef.
It has risen here from about 2.86 a pound to 4.79 a pound.
My sister went to the store over the weekend and said she paid almost 18.00 for 2 steaks. I went tonight and for a pound of hamburer it was 4.49.
I heard on the news is was going up because we import most of our beef from Canada and they are cutting down on the import because of Mad Cow disease.
Well I for one love beef but at these prices I cannot afford it. What next? nevermind I don't want to know. There always is a what next!

America could always lower tarrifs to allow for importing Australian beef...

Or it could allow the perfectly safe Canadian beef back across the border. A single infected cow (which has had it's lineage traced rigorously to ensure that there are no other carriers) was found months ago and slaughtered. Both governments have modified their regulations of the cattle industry. There is no reason (in the context of a free trade environment which my country supposedly signed up for) that beef should not be crossing the border.

There used to be many slaughter plants in the United States owned by many different companies. These were reduced to around three major players ten years ago. I have not paid attention to the current situation but the lack of competition in this aspect of the market might be the reason for the recent rise.

I agree with UltimateJoe, there are no outbreaks of cattle disease in Canada (nor anywhere in the world) this year.

Cattle prices have been high in the past six months but no extreme highs such as a doubling.

Not a beefeater myself...but are you quoting ground beef prices? because I do buy my husband steaks and they have always been uber expensive..7-9 lb and up.

I think Americans are extremely lucky...meat prices here have ALWAYS been very affordable.

Ultimatejoe...go moan to the British cattle farmers and see how bad they feel for you and your country. Britain also had a free trade agreement going on with the whole EU thing.

Personally I am very happy to see our govt take a very strict stance on this. As we can see by example in Europe what happened when they were more lax on it.
Beef is a major export for America and I know in Europe American beef is thought to be the best.

I am one for free trade but I do understand a country's right to protect what they feel may be an endangerment to themselves. Do you fault Europe for taking an anti GM stance?

I heard there was a foot and mouth epidemic in Mexico and in Southren texas. I might be wrong

The problem with British cattle is that there was an actual outbreak of BSE, not an isolated case. There were also problems with hoof-mouth disease. Thousands of animals were infected all across the country and problems existed in the distribution and tracking systems which led to uncertainty of origins and future dissemination. That is quite simply not the case in Canada. As I said, one cow was infected, any cow it came into contact with was slaughtered, it's origins were tracked and the distribution system which was already more stringent than in GB was revised. This all happened months ago. All from ONE COW that was caught before it entered the food chain. There is no public safety risk. There never really was. It is an excuse (as with lumber, potatoes, and grain) for the U.S. government to prop up its own agricultural industries.

Britain was the first country to experience BSE in it's national herd, and to have suffered from FMD= Foot & Mouth Disease - what we called Hoof-Mouth; a purely economic disease with a mortality rate in cattle and sheep comparable to influenza in humans but which leaves the survivors with lower milk yields. British farmers, led by their trade association, called for the cull. The authorities made a hash of it, admittedly, but ultimately farmers and the wider agribusiness industry only have themselves to blame.

This goes double for BSE, which only enters into vegetarian animals such as cattle when you put pieces of other cattle in their animal feed as cheap protein. Which is only so cheap because agricultural subsidies cause overproduction.

In any case, it seems that the epidemiology of human CJD (thought to be caused by eating BSE-infected meat) has not matched the pattern expected of an outbreak caused by an infected food supply, given that we do know that the beef herd WAS widely affected. Some voices in the wilderness have claimed all along that CJD, and indeed BSE, was never anything to do with infected animal feed, and had more to do with the widespread use of organophosphorus pesticides in farming. I tend to think that they are more conspiracy theory than good science, but it can't be denied that there are holes in the official story as large as those in the brains of the poor cows that got infected.

Anyway, that's all by-the-by. Given the experiences of the past decade and a half in British agriculture, British Beef is probably the only beef in the world that is almost certainly BSE-free. Other governments have learned from our mistakes, not least on the PR front. Do you really think Dubya would risk all those agricultural and food industry votes and campaign dollars by making it public if there were an outbreak of BSE in the USA?

Ultimatejoe I am not really comparing the two in the manner you interpreted. Britain's beef and it's safety was given a pass by the EU and yet France, a EU member, refused to allow in to be imported. It was fairly a big deal a few yrs back. Do you support France's take on this issue?

Suppose what I am saying is that what the US does in re: to protection in trade is not a game played and used only to their advantage ...I can not think of any western nations that are not practicing some kind of protections re: trade, especially true re: agriculture. Canada has her share of protectionist practices that equally anger Americans.

I asked you a question tho....do you support Europe's stance on GMOs? The same claims you are making about America's motivations with this ban to Canadian beef has been made for Europe's claims to GMOs And Europe's practices effect many others world wide. The African nations that rejected America's food donations... even tho. they were starving... did so because Europe is their largest agriculture trade partner. It would have done lasting damage to their trade source if their crops became contaminated. Do you also support their rejection of importing GMOs?

I do agree with you tho...Bush has been a terrible leader in the Free Trade arena. I am surprised he has carried on with the steel tariffs because they are heavily criticized here too and studies have shown they harm American corps. He has many vocal opponents of his practices ...mostly among his own party members.

I was also curious if you knew one of the given beliefs as to what was motivating the Bush admin at the start of the decision to in fact impose the Steel Tariffs? Many claim it all stems from the WTO ruling that the EU had brought to be heard on America's tax breaks to off shore corps. WTO ruled against the US and it *** NOTICE: THIS WORD IS AGAINST THE RULES. FAILURE TO REMOVE IT WILL RESULT IN A STRIKE. *** off a lot of people. It allowed the EU to impose a 4 billion dollar penalty and demand that the US cease it's practice, a practice that amounts to hundreds of millions a year for American corps.

EDITED TO ADD...
Julian that is my dad's theory on American Beef....like I said it is a MAJOR export for us. And they pay outrageous amounts for it in Japan, Switzerland, etc.

Maybe it's just your area Mom? Here's a link to my neighborhood grocery. Ground beef here is $1.99 as pound.

Winn Dixie

Although I did find this article rather interesting. It seems to believe the Atkins diet is the culprit:



I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God Almighty which way do I steer for my

Cheeseburger in paradise, lalalalala

The cost of beef should be high. It should be astronomically high. Cattle are an extremely inefficient way to get calories and protein. They consume massive amounts of feed, etc.

In many places in the western US, cattle herds are allowed to graze on public lands for minimum payment. The environmental costs of overgrazing are borne by the public. Over 50% of grain grown in this country is used for feed. Beef is like gasoline - the consumer demand is so great, the industry is allowed to externalize many costs.

Down with beef!

My God. I did not know that. That grain could be fermented to produce beer and drive down the price of beer. Think I will eat chicken.

Seriously, I have not recognized a great increase in the price of beef. Certainly tariffs and politically motivated embargos based on shoddy evidence does not help keep prices down. Tariffs should be eliminated. The American rancher can compete on his own. Government land is whole other issue. Most of the land should be sold. Government does not need to subsidize certain cattle raisers and give them an unfair advantage over their competition. I doubt if this free grazing reduces price substantially though.

I haven't gone into a "supermarket" since the beginning of the strikes so I really don't know what the prices have been. I DO know that free-range meat has always been more expensive which is what I've been buying at the Natural foods stores around town lately. darn, everything is more expensive in these stores. *sigh*

We're not big on beef and eat it but once a week...maybe.

But then exactly how does the American rancher compete with other countries that also have high tariffs or some form of govt subsidy? I do not support the tariffs either, and yet I also do not see any other countries stepping foward...and do I think they would if we did..some yes others..noway.



Ack! Off topic I know but this is one of the ONLY things the US beats out all the other nations of the western world as far as quality of life ratings go...the amount of public lands we have. Would be a terrible shame to lose this imo. And I am sure the access these ranchers get to this land (land of many uses) does reduce the cost and the price.

To all those concern with beef prices. Do what i did find someone that raises cattle and buy it from them. I bought 176lbs. of beef ,half a cow, lots of cuts for $310.00, after processing fees. No fat on this bad boy and all the meat you can eat.

The determination of the cost of an annual animal unit(AAU, which is used to determine how many animals can graze during the current year) is an example where the free market, set it up for bids, would be a better way than assigning a cost via government. I would argue the current fee is not minimal. A bidding system would set this argument.

Your blanket statement on public lands being overgrazed is flat out wrong. Traditionally, rights to graze a specific portion of public lands are given to the same ranchers year after year. These ranchers have a vested interest in keeping these lands in good condition. Public grazing is a major means to prevent range fires. Who is better able to protect the lands than people who live upon them every day for years than a person who is assigned the area then moved every few years, such as the BLM and Forest Service does? Cattle grazing does change the type of vegetation that is growing. This will also change is horse or sheep are grazing. Perhaps this is the 'damage' you are referring to? If not, what damage are you talking about?

The price of the A.A.U. 's is not the cause of the recent increase in beef prices.

Beef is an excellent source of protein and I like to eat it. One can graze to their heart's content but I will eat a burger.

QH,

In Fast Food Nation , Eric Schlosser gives an example of a cattle rancher who raises cattle sustainably, and there are many more who do. The feed lots are the places where cows are fed corn (what a waste of nitrogen!) and other cattle parts (including chicken dung). I don't eat beef because most of it does come from feed lots, and the free range, sustainably raised beef is very expensive.

Beef is a very good source of protein, iron, and vitamin B12 and lean cuts are low in fat. I think that beef has been an important part of our diets and it's worthwhile to keep it there, we just need to change the way in which it's raised by boycotting feed lot raised cattle.

Free range beef is not expensive. You may contact the owners of cattle at any local operation and ask if they would be willing to sell an animal directly to you. If they do not, I am sure they could give you a list of other cattle producers in your area with whom you could check.

If you were in my area, I can give you the names of several people who would sell to you. You would just have to arrange with the slaughterhouse to process the animal for you. This is not expensive and may be cheaper than buying through your local grocery store.

The feeding of cattle parts to cattle is not done anymore in the United States.

in the western 11 states, 73% of publicly owned land is leased for grazing. Approximately 2000 large ranchers have leases that cover about 74-78% of federally leased grazing lands (data from a 1992 US Government Accounting Office study).

Something from Oregon State U





Americans consume far too much protein. It's not that beef is necessarily bad, just that we eat far more beef than is healthy (on average).

Pheeler, I have also read Fast Food Nation. Good book.

The reference you have is a good one. It reports 14% of these public lands as declining and 33% of of them to be in excellent condition. This confirms my point that management of these lands for grazing has been overall successful as opposed to overgrazed. The 14% was not broken down as to causes such as environmental factors or overgrazing. It was unclear as to how much of it is due to overgrazing.

I know from first hand experience that overgrazing does occur. When I was at the University of Arizona there were some cattle bought from some Navajo in the state. These cattle looked like they were directly from a J.D. Miller cartoon. I did not know cattle could theoretically be that thin. These cattle were setting records for documented rates of gain in the categories of feed conversion and pounds gained per day.

I have seen sage hens. I had to pick one out of my truck's grill once. In some places they may be endangered but not in others. We were proud at the ranch in Nevada that more waterfowl were born and raised on the rancher's private land than there were at the Refuge in the south part of the valley.

I can tell you that there is no greater ally than a rancher in the fight to replace cheatgrass with superior plants such as crested wheat. Cheatgrass is poor nutrition and it causes havoc on the feet of dogs, too.

It is best to take a hike through different parts of a mountain which have had different grazing conditions, be it none, sheep, cattle or mixed. Tell me if you can tell the differences in diodiversity whether it is animals or plants. I know the differences as it was taught to me by ranchers. The Oregon State reference had a great statement in it. It is important for those who do not live in the lands in question to remember that the people who live in the western ranges are our best resources as to the protection and caretaking of those lands as opposed to thinking of them as scoundrels and ravengers of the land.