What Should You Do about Rising Meat Prices?
If you are a meat lover, recent news on the prices of beef, pork, poultry, fish and eggs might have you a bit concerned. Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released data compiled on beef prices in the month of July. According to the report, the average price for ground beef rose to $3.884 per pound, which is an all-time high. In July 2013, the average price was 12% less at $3.459. If this number sounds like a lot, the price just 5 years ago was $2.147. That’s right. In just five years, beef prices rose 81%.
Pork prices haven’t fared much better. In just two short years, the price of bacon has risen more than 41%. The price of a pound of bacon today is $6.11, which again is an all-time high. There are many reasons for the higher price. For one, there is a porcine epidemic diarrhea virus that has killed 100,000 piglets since May 2013. In addition to that, the demand for bacon has grown tremendously in the past few years. Combine these factors with rising feed prices due to an extended drought, and it’s easy to see why bacon prices are so high.
The factors that are causing beef, poultry, pork and seafood prices don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Prices are staying on this upward trajectory, which means at some point meat will not be affordable for the common household. Therefore, the individual consumer will have to make some tough decisions on how he or she can feed the family. If you don’t want to give up meat completely, there is another way to eat meat-based dishes, no matter what the price of meat is 5 years from now.
Food Insurance freeze-dried and dehydrated food products are priced affordably to meet families’ long-term food storage and emergency preparedness needs. One of the biggest benefits we point our customers to is the fact that our food products can last up to 25 years when properly stored. That means you can buy food at today’s prices and enjoy those dishes years down the road when prices could be much higher. Given the severity of several recent natural disasters, this isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
In addition to long-term storage, Food Insurance emergency food products taste great too. Our products use the highest-quality ingredients to give your body what it needs: plentiful vitamins, minerals and nutrients. We also have a healthy portion of fruits and vegetables in most of our meal plans, so you can enjoy a well-balanced diet. Given the rising meat prices, individuals must be proactive in their efforts to find affordable food. Contact us today to learn more about our emergency preparedness plans.