Why you should pay more for meat

It is common to hear complaints of rising grocery prices. People are concerned. They worry and feel out of control. Out of control of rising prices. Fearful of what is in the food when they do buy it. Terrified that they may lose access all together. There is a reason for this and it did not happen overnight. Consumer's fears are valid. But there is a fix. It is on our hands. We need to take back control. 

How it started

For years, American consumers have demanded cheap food. Frequently in the form of fast food. They were not in control of the cost of food. It didn't matter. It was cheap. Large and efficient CAFO's began to see a need. 

The small family farm began to struggle. First, they felt pressured to demand higher performance from their crops and livestock. This sacrificed the quality and connection to the land that comes from slow food. Ag chemicals and hormones were added, further contaminating the food supply. They became dependent on higher and higher inputs from big ag suppliers. 

Prices of inputs began to rise. Small farms increasingly were faced with one of three choices. Close the farm business. Get huge. Or rethink the way they farm altogether. 

Unfortunately, many farms lack the equity, stamina, or capital to get huge. So they close. Large farm operations began to grow, funded by massive amounts of external capital and government funding. Prices of food remained low.

In Wisconsin, we have been faced with a precipitous decline in farms over the last 10 years or so. Livestock numbers have remained close to the same. Crop production remains close to the same. This means your food is becoming controlled by fewer and fewer people. Or I should say, corporations. The problem is the people factor begins to fade into the distance. It doesn't matter if the farm operations are a certified environmental disaster. They are churning out product to satisfy the appetites' of millions of people without options. 

The result

These larger industrial farms still need to make a profit. They have investors so they get bigger. The margins are still slim. You can't make any money selling pork loin for 1.99 off the super market shelf. It may be exciting to the American consumer who only looks for what is cheapest. It should not be exciting to those that care about what they eat. Like you. Because, those prices are bound to go up. Epidemics or foreign wars. Anything that wiggles the large, fragile, centralized food chain moves those prices one direction. Up. The food companies can now raise their prices and make a better profit yet off the farmers produce.


Now consumers find themselves scared. The sticker prices are higher than ever. Research continues to come out on the damage to health from meat raised in confinement with all the accompanying devastating production protocols. Health care prices are soaring and the health system is overwhelmed by the deluge of people seeking care for chronic illness and depression.

The fix

Decentralize. Get comfortable paying the prices that are necessary to get meat that is produced your way. Meat that is raised with attention to detail from the soil to your plate. Meat that is nutrient dense. Meat that tastes good again. Pay more for food and less for healthcare. Cheap food comes at a cost. Decide what you want your cost to be. 

Get to know your farmer. Pick a farmer that is regenerative in their practices. Ask them what that means for their farm. By definition it should be different for every farm. Educate yourself on what to ask. How are they making the world a better place? There are not enough of us to go around but there will be. Where there is demand, supply grows. Nothing excellent grows fast. 

This problem was created by a joint effort between consumers and farmers. 

This problem will be fixed by consumers and farmers together. 

If we remove the demand for bad meat, bad meat will stop being produced. It's in our hands.

There is hope for the future. How do I know? Because it is already happening. Despite the decline of farms, the number of new and first time farmers with a vision for the future is growing. Funded by  you! 

Embrace life. 
Embrace good meat!

Josiah