Meat prices skyrocket. Experts warn of expensive holiday season. Supply chain disruptions continue.

Amanda Radke

October 27, 2021

2 Min Read
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Supply chain disruptions. Labor shortages. Mandates. Lockdowns. Political division in overdrive. The list of vulnerabilities and cracks in our system gets longer by the day, and the American people are paying a steep price at the grocery store.

That, and much more, awaits you in this week’s Trending Headlines.

1. “Grocer sues Oregon beef producer for $2.7 million over outbreak” published on the Claims Journal

According to the article, "Lawyers representing New Seasons Market have filed a $2.7 million lawsuit against an Oregon beef producer accusing the company of negligence for delivering beef tainted with E. coli in 2019, court records show. Several people were sickened by the bacteria, prompting a wide recall, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.”

2. “Beef, pork, and broiler prices set new record” by KPVI

Per the report, “Retail meat prices posted new records in September, according to an analysis from the Livestock Marketing Information Center. Beef, pork and broiler prices all set new records. The all-fresh retail beef price hit $7.40/lb., up 17.8% from a year ago. The previous record was set in June 2020.”

3. “Cattle emissions expert: Environmental impact of beef has been overstated” by Cara Pesek for Nebraska Today

Pesek writes, “On Oct. 25, Frank Mitloehner, a leading researcher in the realm of livestock sustainability, asked a packed auditorium on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus to picture three coffee cups — a ceramic cup, a Styrofoam cup and an insulated reusable mug.

Related:Supply chain issues hitting all segments of ag

“Coffee will stay warm in any of those cups, but to widely varying degrees. And just as different mugs trap heat differently, so do different greenhouse gasses, Mitloehner said. Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere trapping heat from the sun for about 1,000 years from emission. Nitrous oxide lasts about 110 years. Methane, which cattle produce as they digest grasses and then emit through belching and manure, remains in the atmosphere for about 12 years.”

4. “Rising food prices ahead of Thanksgiving: 'Everything is up’” by Brian Flood for FOX News

"Thanksgiving 2021 could be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday," Times food culture correspondent Kim Severson wrote.

5. “Truckers, port workers vent as supply chain frustration mounts: 'A lot of us are willing to work’” by Dani Romero for Yahoo! Finance

“The great global supply chain crisis of 2021 — which has ensnared groceries, holiday shopping and everything in between — has bottlenecked West Coast ports, and drawn the involvement of the White House to address it. As the disruption reaches a boiling point and adds to rising price pressures, longshoremen, union representatives and truck drivers have pointed fingers over which party is best positioned to alleviate some of the strains.”

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Farm Progress.

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