Jack opens with two pretty idiotic sentences, but the gist of the piece is good so I'm gonna allow it:
The rising cost of living is impacting nearly every good, including beef. From December 2020 to December 2025, the average price of steak rose by over $3 per pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (This is about a $2-per-pound increase after adjusting for inflation.)
Prices rising is the "cost of living" increasing so the first sentence is circular. The latter, "adjusting" an individual price by a general change in prices (of which it forms part) is also circular, but mostly just misleading... what you'd be trying to say, then, is that the relative price of steak increased. Fuck "inflation" or various adjustments to it.
Further, look at that Big Beef cartel capitalizing on their market power!
(that's sarcasm, ICYMI)
These data show that, in December 2020, meat-packers paid cattle farmers $2.44 per pound of unprocessed beef, which they sold to grocers for $3.33 after processing. That's a farm-to-wholesale price spread of 89 cents. By December 2025, this price spread had decreased to 27 cents while the price meat-packers pay for beef more than doubled to $5.15. This indicates meat-packers are tightening their belts, not making out like bandits.
"It's not corporate greed that's driving up the price of beef at the grocery store; it's the fact that it's now much more expensive for meat-packers to buy beef from farms. This isn't due to cattle farmers colluding to raise prices. There are simply fewer cows.""It's not corporate greed that's driving up the price of beef at the grocery store; it's the fact that it's now much more expensive for meat-packers to buy beef from farms. This isn't due to cattle farmers colluding to raise prices. There are simply fewer cows."
soooo, you're telling me relative prices went up after quantity fell?! (U.S. have about 10% fewer beef cattle than five years ago.) Shocker.
Sticking to vegan food can definitely help us fight inflation and shortage of cattle.
...and make the out-of-control healthcare spending worse!
People may want to take a look at this post
Carnivore hack: how to buy meat without spending a fortune
And I have another hack now. That is - make sure you check ask at MULTIPLE grocery stores, what day they pull their meat and put it on sale, when it's about to pass the "sell by" date. There's a lot of variation. And then, of course, coordinate grocery shopping to get there on that day.
I just scored a bunch of ground beef at $3.00/lb using this trick. That used to be an okay price, now it's a great price.
But yes, beef has gotten way more expensive, damn it.
don't measure it in sats... have fun, staying poor! amirite
Help is on its way!
Here in New Zealand there are rapidly increasing numbers of beef calves being raised.
We are responding to the market signals, which are the best prices for beef in decades.
Yes global supply is down but demand is rising.
Good for beef farmers here in New Zealand!
And yes, Climate Change is causing droughts which reduce supply in some regions.
no, stop that nonsense, sir
How exactly is it nonsense?
'Some factors include persistent drought on American pasture lands'
Above quote from the article you linked to.
https://reason.com/2026/01/28/the-real-reason-beef-costs-more-fewer-cows-not-corporate-greed/
The science of climate change is now backed by solid recorded evidence.
https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/unequal-evidence-and-impacts-limits-to-adaptation-extreme-weather-in-2025/
'Although 2025 was slightly cooler than 2024 globally, it was still far hotter than almost any other year on record (Copernicus 2025) and the impacts of this hotness were unmistakable. This report reviews some of the worst extreme weather events of 2025 the WWA team has studied, documenting the severe consequences of a warming climate and revealing, once again, how unprepared we remain. Across the 22 extreme events we analysed in depth, heatwaves, floods, storms, droughts and wildfires claimed lives, destroyed communities; and wiped out crops. Together, these events paint a stark picture of the escalating risks we face in a warming world.
At the close of 2025, this report underscores that even in a year that had weak La Nina conditions (NASA, 2025), that lead to lower sea surface temperatures, global temperatures remained very high and significant harm from human-induced climate change is very real. It is not a future threat, but a present day reality.'
The climate is changing and weather events, storms, droughts, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes are increasing in frequency and severity.
The last 5 years have been the hottest in recorded history globally.
Are you suffering from Trump derangement syndrome or sponsored by Big Oil/Koch Brothers or just a crazy suicidal person with a death wish for all sentient life on the planet?