Farm animals are also typically fed with produce these days. Grazing has become largely the exception, because the animals take longer to grow. As such, when produce prices go up, animal product prices will likely climb higher.
Which means the cattle gets less protein-rich food, therefore puts on meat less quickly, therefore the output of meat is reduced. Less meat ends up on shelves and individual prices may need to be upped, since the farmers still have similar costs, but less products to sell.
Like, I don’t know, from what I’ve heard, the US market is plagued by fairly monopolistic meat resellers, so maybe you are right that they’re currently taking a big profit margin and can/must lower that margin as a result of this. But I still wouldn’t be all too sure that they won’t find a way to drive up prices anyways.
Not so much fed with produce, but fed with alfalfa and soy feedstock grown on vast amounts of arable land that could and should be used to grow produce instead, for sure.
Farm animals are also typically fed with produce these days. Grazing has become largely the exception, because the animals take longer to grow. As such, when produce prices go up, animal product prices will likely climb higher.
Animal product prices can’t go above what the market will bear. Meat spoiling on shelves will drive the prices back down.
If farmers can no longer afford to feed their cattle imported soybeans then they’ll go back to feeding domestic grains and corn.
Which means the cattle gets less protein-rich food, therefore puts on meat less quickly, therefore the output of meat is reduced. Less meat ends up on shelves and individual prices may need to be upped, since the farmers still have similar costs, but less products to sell.
Like, I don’t know, from what I’ve heard, the US market is plagued by fairly monopolistic meat resellers, so maybe you are right that they’re currently taking a big profit margin and can/must lower that margin as a result of this. But I still wouldn’t be all too sure that they won’t find a way to drive up prices anyways.
Not so much fed with produce, but fed with alfalfa and soy feedstock grown on vast amounts of arable land that could and should be used to grow produce instead, for sure.