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A Pound of Hamburger Meat Would Cost $30 Without Tax Payer Subsidies (medium.com)

submitted 6 months ago by theHRguy@lemmy.world to c/vegan@lemmy.world

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The United States federal government allocates a staggering $38 billion annually to prop up the meat and dairy industries. These subsidies significantly reduce the price of meat products, including hamburgers. Research from 2015 reveals that these subsidies slash the price of a pound of hamburger meat from $30 to the $5 we see today

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[-] kaffiene@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago

I find that very hard to believe. I live in New Zealand where there are no subsidies on beef and a pound - roughly 500grams - of minced beef would cost you under NZ $10 - less than $6 US. $30 US sounds utterly unbelievable

[-] theHRguy@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

Ground beef prices are lower in the USA compared to New Zealand due to government subsidies for grain production, which makes it cheaper for American cattle to be grain-fed. In contrast, New Zealand has eliminated agricultural subsidies, so their cattle are primarily grass-fed[3].

Specifically:

In the USA, grain farmers receive heavy government subsidies, artificially driving down grain prices. This makes it economical for large cattle operations to feed grain to their animals[2].
New Zealand is an island nation, so it is not feasible to ship in large amounts of grain to feed cattle. It makes more economic sense for them to raise cattle on grass[2].
The USA's indirect farm support programs, like buybacks and checkoffs, aim to boost demand for meat, thereby raising its price. However, these subsidies only slightly lower grain costs[3].
Nations that have eliminated farm subsidies, like New Zealand, have not seen rising meat prices or declines in meat consumption after removing subsidies[3].

So in summary, while both countries produce grass-fed beef, the availability of cheap grain through subsidies allows American producers to offer ground beef at lower prices compared to New Zealand's grass-fed beef, which lacks the same level of government support[1][2][3].

Citations: [1] http://newzealmeats.com/blog/nz-grass-fed-beef-high-quality/ [2] https://www.folsompointnutrition.com/blog/new-zealand-argentinian-and-american-liver-supplements-what-are-the-differences [3] https://faunalytics.org/why-is-meat-so-cheap/ [4] https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/omxum2/why_red_meat_is_getting_more_expensive/ [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_New_Zealand

[-] kaffiene@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Yes I agree. And that underlines the point I was making in my post : $30 per pound is BS

[-] theHRguy@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

new zealand is much much different, they have almost no factory farms, this is not a global study, it was specifically the usa, thanks for the comment though

[-] kaffiene@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

The point seems to have gone over your head. NZ is a smaller, unsubsidised, more expensive market than the US and ground beef doesn't cost anywhere near the $30 US per pound you are claiming.

this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2024

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