I have to be honest: AMERICA IS BEING SOLD A SACK OF MANURE when it comes to meat shortages. Meat shortages are real, but the cause is not The "Wuhan" Corona Virus.
THERE MAY BE CORONA INFESTED PLANTS, BUT THE MEAT SHORTAGE WOULD STILL OCCUR EVEN IF NOT A SINGLE EMPLOYEE CONTRACTED THE VIRUS.
The meat industry is not facing a corona or production capacity problem, it is facing a customer demand problem.
THE GOVERNMENT MURDERED CUSTOMER DEMAND THROUGHOUT THE SUPPLY SYSTEM.
Every business needs customers. Without customers, there is no business. So who are the customers for the meat packers?
Answering this simple question will lead you to see through this blatant media lie of the virus shutting down the capacity of the meat packers. It will also alert you to the fact that government almost single handedly caused the problem that they are trying by executive order to solve.
So who are the meat packers customers? Restaurants and Industrial food operations are by far the largest customers of the meat packers. These are also the same businesses that were targeted by government shutdowns. There was a reduction in both labor and capacity but it wasn't because of the virus. It was because of the overnight reduction in buying customers.
GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM.
THE OVERSIMPLIFIED ANSWER FOR THE SHORTAGE IS THIS: RESTAURANTS, FOODSERVICE OPERATIONS (STADIUMS, HOSPITALS, CORPORATE CAFETERIAS, AMUSEMENT PARKS) ACROSS THE NATION WERE SHUT DOWN WITHOUT WARNING BY STATE GOVERNMENTS. THIS COLLAPSE IN DEMAND DESTROYED THE SUPPLY LINES.
There are over 1 million restaurants in America. And over the past month, at least half of them closed their doors until further notice. This means that there were no meat orders for meat packers to fill. This also means that the meat packers did not need all of the meat that was already being raised by the farmers.
Government collapsed the restaurant demand for meat, which collapsed the meat packer's demand for livestock, which collapsed the Farmers.
The corona narrative may simply be covering up the fact that the government is totally responsible for this meat shortage and the coming bankruptcies, defaults and price spikes.
THE GOVERNMENT DID WHAT IT DOES BEST: SCREW EVERYONE OVER AND THEN CREATE A SCAPEGOAT.
THE SUDDEN NATURE OF THE COLLAPSE ALSO MEANT SOMETHING FAR SCARIER FOR FARMERS. IT MEANT THAT THERE WAS NO MARKET FOR THE ANIMALS THAT THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS OF RAISING.
Facing loses on their present crop and their future crops, the only thing farmers could do is try to stop paying for feed for animals that could not be sold. This explains why we will see a meat shortage in the future. All of those animals that the farmers stopped feeding or euthanized will not be available when restaurants reopen.
BUT WHY ARE WE SEEING SHORTAGES NOW?
Let's go back to the meat packer. What does he do after he tells the farmer that he cannot take the net shipment of live animals? What does he do after he realizes that he cannot sell the animals that he already has?
HE TRIES TO STRETCH HIS INVENTORY.
The meat packer knows that the sharp decline in demand may bankrupt several of his farmer/suppliers. He realizes that the result will be a sharp increase in prices when he starts reordering ( less supply because of the bankruptcy equals higher prices). So, he stretches his inventory on hand to attempt to last the duration of the shut down.
THE MEAT PACKER, EXPECTING THESE INCREASED PRICES, WILL RAISE HIS PRICES TO OFFSET THE BLOW OF THE FARMER'S INCREASED PRICES. THOSE INCREASED PRICES WILL BE PASSED ON TO THE GROCERY STORES, THE FOODSERVICE OPERATIONS AND THE RESTAURANTS WHEN THEY REOPEN.
EVERYBODY LOSES.
THE INCREASED PRICES WILL FURTHER HURT DEMAND AND THE WHOLE SHIP WILL SINK. EVENTUALLY, THE MEAT PACKERS WILL COLLAPSE ALONG WITH THE INDUSTRIAL FARMERS. THAT IS, UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENES.
Ultimately, the situation will not correct itself until the restaurants reopen and customer demand is restored. So long as restaurants are closed, there will not be the demand to keep farmers in business.
Another very important point in this whole nightmarish scenario is the role of credit. Many farmers are heavily indebted and cannot afford a prolonged disruption of this sort. The same is true of restaurants.
Ultimately, all of these things spell disaster for the industrial meat system. Luckily, it spells opportunity for small, family farms and local meat clubs like ours.
To find out more information about the Local Meat Club, visit us at www.localmeatclub.com
I AM ATTACHING A FACEBOOK POST THAT UNDERSCORES THIS ARTICLE AND PAINTS A PICTURE FOR HOW DIRE THIS SITUATION IS BECOMING.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW CAN HELP THESE GUYS OUT, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
" Hogs for Sale! Please share this with whoever you can; BrennCo Inc will be selling market ready hogs to anyone who can butcher. Sale will be held every Saturday from noon to 5 at 14527 Fife Rd Van Wert OH until pigs are gone. Please bring cash or a check made out to Brennco Inc. Hogs will be sold for $140 per pig, about $0.50/lb. We sell our hogs to Tyson and IPC packers in Indiana. Both plants are currently shuttered and this has caused an unsustainable situation. We have a massive backlog of pigs that can’t be moved and we need new barn space for the piglets that will be born in the next few weeks. If we don’t move these pigs quickly, we will be forced to euthanize thousands of hogs. If you are able to butcher a hog and want pork well below whole sale price this is for you. Please support your local farms, we don’t want to euthanize our animals we’ve worked so hard to raise, we do what it takes to treat our animals well and keep America fed, and you can help us in our hour of need! Please reach out and let me know how many pigs you want, my cell is 419-905-8326, email is keaton.brenneman@brennco.net Pigs will be a guaranteed weight of 260lbs, most pigs sold will be around 280lbs.
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