Washington Post just released an article that the US bought more than 320 million pounds of Brazilian beef last year and is on-track to double that amount this year.
This is coming at the cost of illegal massive deforestation of the Amazon and is driving beef prices down. This is running American farmers and ranchers out of the market. Brazil’s prices are lower because their processes are less regulated (breaking laws, or just not having them at all, is a great way to cut financial corners). What’s more, beef can come from anywhere in the world, but as long as it’s packaged in America, it can be sold labeled as “USA beef”.
All that meat is sneaking into the market and creating a false reality around what beef prices should be. Now, it is more important than ever to invest in local farmers and ranchers and we cannot thank you enough.