Ummm...you might want to start stocking your freezer with meat when it's on sale.

[Obamarama]

Had breakfast with a friend of mine this morning. She is part of a disaster preparedness committee and she went to one of their meetings/exercises the other day.

One of her fellow attendees is an agricultural expert from Michigan State University. He told her that the price of meat is going to go through the roof come late summer/early fall. He recommended watching for sales and stocking up the freezer. Also suggested it might be a good idea to stock up on protein-based meat replacements since those may be in greater demand with the swift rise in meat prices.
Does not sound good at all.

I don't normally pay much attention to these dire "sky is falling" predictions, but MSU is a world-reknowned agricultural college and they have many agricultural experts there that know their stuff. I think my partner and I are going to start stocking up.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. I am a vegetarian, but thank you for your post anyway! n/t

[MH1]

36. Yes, but everything you're eating for protein

will also be going up in price, due to substitution demand.

I'm mainly a veggie too, but I am a little worried about what is coming.

[ColbertWatcher]

39. True.

It looks like everyone is going to be priced out of damn near everything.

Why can't republicans do anything right?

[MH1]

40. There's one thing the Bush Administration has gotten right.

Looting the Treasury via the military industrial complex.

[ColbertWatcher]

41. ?

How is that right?

[MH1]

44. "right" as in "effective and productive" for the Bushies.

You see, the Bushes and their posse will come out of this mess just fine, with their bank accounts well fattened.

Sorry if that wasn't clear.

[ColbertWatcher]

46. I was hoping you were kidding!

Or at least sarcastic.

[MH1]

49. Cynical more than sarcastic, I guess

Of course it's not "right" for us, but why should we expect them to care about us? It's not like they're supposed to be public servants or anything. Oh...wait...

(yes, I share your frustration...I just don't think it's really incompetence...)

[ColbertWatcher]

53. The they is the The Party, the GOP...

...like any group, there are members who are competent, and those who aren't.

The competent ones are behind the scenes, behind the proverbial curtain, pulling the strings for the incompetent ones--who we can see--but will forgive because their ignorance and incompetence makes them blameless.

Or some such shit.

I say, give them the one thing they are trying to take from everyone else: their day in court.

Let the evidence be known and let them explain themselves in front of everyone.

[Demeter]

2. It's Already Climbing

I've been looking to stock up and finding little beef at all. Chicken and pork are more available and reasonable. Fish is expensive, and so are eggs.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Unfortunately my freezer is rather small

or I'd do that in a flash

[merh]

60. I just bought a small chest freezer.

with FEMA not giving us ice if a hurricane hits, I figure I might need to freeze some water jugs, now I have it to stock up on the meat as I see it on sale.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. Thanks for the heads-up

I've been stocking up on everything - canned goods, paper products - as much as I have space for for the past several months. The freezer has some space now, so my next trip to the market will definitely include some meat. I just buy in quantity now, since the next time I go there, the prices are sure to be much higher.

The question is, When will it end?

[elocs]

5. I don't eat any red meat, only chicken or fish, and not too much of them.

Americans consume too much meat anyways, so the irony may be that we get healthier. I think that happened in one of the Scandinavian countries during WWII when they had little meat, but their health improved.

[havocmom]

6. Only if you live where power speculators won't hit you with lots of rolling blackouts

Buy beans and buckwheat. It stores better.

[rainbow4321]

10. And areas w/ ice storms that knock out electricity for an extended time

Sis lives in Oklahoma. This past winter, like other Okies did before that huge ice storm hit a few months ago, she filled her fridge/freezer with stuff from a big shopping trip, expecting to be snowed/iced in for several days. No big deal, they do it all the time up there.
One problem. The weather people severely underestimated the ice storm which was so bad it paralyzed the state, had people in the dark for weeks (sis' area had no electricity for a week), grocery stores could not open cuz they had no electricity, even the ones that DID open, the iced over roads prevented new food stuff from being brought into the state.
All the food that people had gone and stocked up on in their freezers during those shopping trips? Rotted. They all had to try and list it on their insurance claims. Between what they all stocked up on and just the staple refrig food items, people lost hundreds of dollars in food alone.

[Robb]

13. I don't live in ice storm country

...but in the winter we keep a lot of frozen goods outside. Not an option? Is it not that cold? :shrug:

[uppityperson]

14. If power goes out in an ice storm, USE THE OUTSIDE for cold

If it is below freezing, frozen food will stay frozen outside. If it is near freezing, use the outside as a cooler. Use boxes, or garbage cans, or any other storage stuff to keep critters out. Or, bring ice IN and put it in your freezer/frig in containers like an ice chest.

[truedelphi]

50. I know, you have to wonder about how well people think these days!!

Of course maybe there were ice storms followed by a thaw, with the electrical wires down for quite a while.

But people really don't think.

[Tess49]

59. Actually, that's exactly what happened. The ice brought down

thousands of large tree limbs which ripped down electrical wires and blew out transformers on their way to the ground. My power was out for five days. There was a run on ice chests, ice, dry ice and generators. I was able to save some, but not all of the freezer food. I'll admit I wasn't thinking too well at the time. There was no place to go. Nobody had power. There were no hotel rooms. My fireplace kept us slightly warm. If it happens again I'll be better prepared.

[havocmom]

23. Where I live, power out in winter is no problem for food. Just set it outside

But people without heat INSIDE tend to go bad

Montana, where any parked car is a freezer in winter.

[Occulus]

61. Wait a minute, here...

The ice storm knocked out power for some people for weeks. That means the ice stayed for a long time, which means it was below freezing the whole time. I live in SW MI, by the way, and clearly remember our own legendary ice storm, which did much the same thing to us back in the mid '80s.

But the thing is, if the food was frozen, but there was no electricity, and the freezer was inside, thus rising in temperature and the ambient heat conducted through the walls of the freezer...

...why didn't they just put their food outside, where it would stay frozen, or in an unheated garage or shed?

Animals? ... or were people just not thinking too terribly hard?

(I'm not trying to be a dick- that's just the first and most obvious solution that came to me for losing one's food if the weather is cold enough to cause an ice sotrm. Did the temperature jack up and down so much that that solution wasn't feasible? What am I missing, here?)

[Tess49]

64. The ice didn't stay for a long time. It took a long time to repair all

of the downed lines. They first had to come in and cut up and remove large tress which blocked roads, tore electrical boxes off houses, and otherwise created safety hazards. The ice was on the trees, not on the roads (at least where I live). The ground temperature was warm. It was an odd storm. After the initial damage, it rained -- further hindering repair efforts. I used the garage initially, and later my son's freezer when his power came back on. Do you know how smart and dexterous raccoons and possums are? If I had put food outside, they would have probably figured out a way to fire up the grill.

[truedelphi]

75. As a very lazy college student, unable to deal with the thought of going

Three floors down to the fridge:

I kept a supply of food on my window sill. When there was something I might need, I'd bring it in at 11 PM so it would be thawed at 3Am if I wanted it. (For some reason, I used to wake up and drink OJ and three or four in th emorning.

Sometimes I think us lazy people will inherit the earth!

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. I only buy meats on sale. I may need to clean out my freezer and

get to the stuff at the bottom to get rid of anything that's outdated. Thanks for the heads up. I'm also hearing rumblings that gasoline could be as much as $5/gal by the end of summer.

[conspirator]

8. I think I will buy a cow instead. I will also have free milk for a while nt

[alarimer]

9. Guess I'll be eating more fish.

I don't buy that much beef anyway and I can always catch fish (well, on some days at least LOL).

[Phred42]

11. What kind of Protein-based meat replacements taht

don't require refrigeration?

Agree with one of the previous posts - when the shit hits - we will also see blackouts and the price of Electricity go through the roof too. A Freezer, attached to the grid, will be useless.

[uppityperson]

16. Canned food. Or salted.

[readmoreoften]

17. Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)

can be bought at natural foods stores. I think whole foods carries it too if you don't live in an area with co-ops and so forth.

[Phred42]

19. Tx - never had TVP - I will tomorrow!

[readmoreoften]

24. I think it's good as a meat substitute in spaghetti sauce.

The bits are good in sauce mixes. Takes a lot of spicing.

[pitohui]

85. TVP is vile, don't say no one warned you

a friend brought over some "katrina" TVP the other day, i could only take one bite and had to spit it out

they dumped us on it because no sane person would voluntarily eat that crap

it was nasty in the 70s and it's still nasty


even for free it's not worth it

[End Of The Road]

94. Is it the stuff that looks like "poop in a jar"?

I think I tried it once, when I briefly experimented with macrobiotics.

[MH1]

37. Beans and rice

Supposedly make a good protein combination. (The issue with veggie protein is most isn't complete - doesn't contain all the amino acids - so you need to serve a combination of sources that complement each other's amino profile).

[kcass1954]

42. Mmmmmmmm... beans and rice.

I grew up eating beans - not all the time, but usually one a week. As an adult, I started eating them with rice. It gets a so-so reception in my house, but it things get too tough, they'll start eating it.

[MH1]

45. I actually like beans and rice, especially with cheese

but then, I'm weird that way. :)

[upi402]

67. does cheese and ice cream make a whole protein?

go vegan, i say. and be done with it.

[Mojambo]

12. This is where being a vagabond slacker has its drawbacks

I have no room to store anything.

[cui bono]

15. Or you could alter your diet and eat healthier.

And help the environment at the same time. The world and all of its inhabitants would be better off if people ate less meat.

[readmoreoften]

18. everyone needs protein

if there is a run on protein alternatives as well, that's not good.

[Codeine]

87. "Protein alternatives?"

That's silly. Just about everything has protein, and with a wide variety of healthy foods you'll get more than enough protein with the full range of amino acids. Seriously, have you EVER met a person with a protein deficiency?

[Lorien]

22. Amen to that! My mother manages to get by on $300 a month

(That's for everything; food, shelter, bills-everything). Beans are a huge staple of her diet. She'll eat eggs and cheese, but she rarely eats meat, and when she does it's usually just sliced turkey for a sandwich. She's 66, still wears her clothes from college, and last year she re-roofed part of my home and rebuilt a section of my carport alone (she loves doing projects like that). Going meatless can keep you slim and trim and save your bank account at the same time.

[Schema Thing]

35. Admit it!

you have her chained in the basement, don't you!?


:freak:













:hide:

[Lorien]

57. ...

:eyes:

Yeah, voluntary simplicity is a SIN in our gluttonous, consumer driven soulless society. Consume. Obey. Die fat, broke and lonely-it's the AMERICAN way!

[roamer65]

20. With high grain prices, livestock farmers will be reducing herd sizes.

Once that meat supply is pushed throught the system, the supply will be dwindled and through the roof prices will go. Hyperinflation here we come!

[The Straight Story]

21. Some useful data from usda on this:

http://ers.usda.gov/Data/meatpricespreads/

[lonestarnot]

43. Thanks, but I don't understand it. :)

[Tashca]

25. It's inevitable

I agree with your message. Liquidation of pork and poultry in particular is going on right now. There are bargains out there. The grain price is putting tremendous pressure on meat production. I think the prediction for late summer prices on meat going through the roof is abit early, but it is going to happen. This of course is a final straw for many small family farms......many will not survive this....

[CountAllVotes]

26. it doesn't keep that long is the problem

maximum freezing times:
chicken no more than 6 mos.
beef - up to one year
fish - 3 months

You may end up with an freezer full of too much food that will get freezer burn and you'll have to dump it if you buy more than you can consume.

It might be wise to have a supply on hand yes, but stockpiling won't solve the problem (been there done that already).

Best to try cutting down or cutting out these products if possible.

[Ghost in the Machine]

27. I've got deer, turkey, rabbits & squirrels all over my property...

and a great big lake (and the Tennessee River) 2 miles down the road that's full of fish and has an overpopulation of geese... my family & friends won't starve....

I've probably got a years worth of canned goods stocked up... carrots, peas, corn, green beans, white potatoes, kidney beans, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, soups...

I think we'll get by... I've been looking into getting a cow or two and some chickens, also...

[truedelphi]

51. I want me a horse.

Save a bundle on the trip to the grocery store. And I think I handle horses bettr than Mark's idea of a motorcycle or scooter.

[csziggy]

68. Feeding a horse is going up as fast as the cost of gasoline!

But if times got really hard, you could eat it. (Just kidding)

Horse prices have dropped through the bottom, since hay has been hard to get for the last year or so and feed costs way up. And if you aren't using it, you still have to feed it, watch out for it's health and get it's feet trimmed or shod.

[soothsayer]

72. yeah, but if you have lots of property with grass on it, horses are practically free to keep

[truedelphi]

74. People in cities don't understand that. I look around me and the cows are

Eating grass, the horses are eating grass. Etc.

As far as what I believe economically, it is speculation driving the market pure and simple. Yes, oil may have peaked three years ago, but we are hardly at the bottom of the supply.

If the car manufacturers and the oil industry had not been in our way, we'd have some awesome technologies available to heat and cool our homes, and to drive our cars.

THe oil bubble is just that - our economic society has been enron-ozed - and the recent reports that oil is only going higher is just like Ken Lay saying, "Hey Employees of mine, this is a great time to buy more shares." The system will capture a lot more money, the bubble will burst, and the pension fund managers will have eggs on their face. And this means no retirement for all the people with pension fund hopes for retirement.

[csziggy]

76. Nope - not so. Horses are expensive.

I have about 25 acres of decent grass with five and a half horses (the half is a three month old colt still nursing). I still have to feed grain or my horses would be undernourished/malnourished. Most pasture in the Southeast US is deficient in minerals and inadequate for keeping horses in good condition even in the summer.

In the winter, they must have hay for roughage. At least here, we only have to feed hay 3 to 5 months a year - the farther north you go, the more hay you would have to feed. Horses need about 20 pounds of hay per day - 50-60 pound hay bales cost about $5 now straight out of the field, more during the winter when they have had to be stored.

I estimate it costs me about $100 per horse per month during the summer and about $150 per horse per month during the winter to feed the horses. For non-breeding horses, the cost might be slightly less, but my horses are not being worked so for a working horse, the cost would go back up - calories cost money.

Every six weeks their hooves need to be trimmed. The farrier is now charging a $25 trip fee no matter how many horses are getting worked on and $25 for trimming each horse. If the horse is being worked regularly or on hard surfaces, it would need to be shod - I do not know what shoeing is running these days, maybe $75 per time.

They need to be de-wormed every two months - wormer costs $3-10 per dose. They need regular vaccinations against diseases - Equine Influenza, Eastern and Western Encephalomyelitis (sleeping sickness), Rhinopneumonitis and Tetanus are the basics, but now West Nile Virus and other recently (in the last 10-20 years) diseases must be protected against. Vaccinations need to be done at least twice a year and cost about $20 for a combined basic dose, more for the newer additional one. Unless you are going to keep up with the newest diseases and vaccinations, you should have a veterinarian administer the vaccinations - more $$$. The good news is that if your horse gets sick, a vet who has treated your horse regularly will be more likely to respond quickly and be willing to work with you about paying for that emergency treatment.

If you are working the horse regularly, you would want to keep it stalled to have ready access - nothing more frustrating than trying to chase a horse down in a large pasture when you are in a hurry. When stalled, the horse will need more hay - they need a continuous supply of roughage - they will need bedding to cushion their feet and absorb urine. Of course that means cleaning out the stall daily, cleaning the horse's feet daily and supply feed and water, generally twice a day. All that will take more of your time or cost you more $$$$$.

Oh - all that land costs money - purchasing it, paying taxes, establishing and maintaining the pasture and fences is all expensive. Horses do not eat all the things that come up and many of the volunteer plants can be toxic to horses, so you have to mow the pastures regularly.

Horses are not like a car - you cannot just park it and forget one when you don't need it. They need care every single day. And for transportation in our suburban country, they really are not practical. Let's say you want to run down to the store for groceries. How far away is the store - five miles? That is at least an hour ride/drive with a horse. Do you go down the regular road, or on the side of the road? Most roads/highways do not have safe areas for horses - ask any bicyclist how safe it is on the roads, then consider a bicycle does not spook at the stupidity of the drivers, at horns or loud engine noises or unexpected events.

You get to the store - where will you "park" your horse? How will you secure it against theft? Will the store allow you to leave your horse (and it's droppings) in their parking area? (I've been thrown out of convenience store parking lots when riding cross country.) Then there is the hour ride/drive home, trying to keep your refrigerated items cold so your milk doesn't turn - and milk cows are not much less expensive to maintain than a horse. Forget ice cream or frozen foods

I've owned horses for 40 years and would not consider them as a primary transportation mode these days. The obstacles are just too great.

[Ghost in the Machine]

78. I haven't been on a horse since I was 10 and one got spooked & threw me off...

... right into a canal with gators & snakes out in the Everglades... I'd rather ride a bicycle if it came down to it...

[truedelphi]

81. I'm glad your survived!

All my bad-assed experiences ahvve been with motorcycles.

But I've never had the bad luck to encounter snakes and gators!

[NNN0LHI]

28. I still have all that tuna fish under my bed the Bush regime told us to stock up on years ago

Anyone want to buy any?

I will make a deal on the entire lot.

Don

[uppityperson]

31. Hence the bird flu post. Got it. Make sure it stays under your bed.

You won't be safe otherwise. I forget. Where am I supposed to keep that duct tape and plastic?

[mnhtnbb]

29. I already buy only on sale. Hardly ever pay full price for any meats.

[KaryninMiami]

30. Here's an idea- how about if we all STOP buying meat all together?

Saves money, saves on cruelty to animals, saves valuable farmland that can be used to grow food to feed millions of people and- guess what-- will also save the planet from greenhouse gasses! What a concept.

I stopped eating meat a very long time ago and recommend it highly.

[flvegan]

34. Quit with the common sense.

Just knock it off.

[natrat]

48. yea that's just crazy talk

[LeftyMom]

58. Lady, leave the life rafts alone, we're busy and the deck chairs don't rearrange themselves!

;)

[K8-EEE]

77. If people eat less meat and burn less gasoline

As far as I'm concerned those are the silver linings in the BushCo economic storm. Not that it doesn't suck to be driven into an economic ditch but there are a couple of things about it that might make us healthier.

[BreweryYardRat]

86. Unfortunately...

Some of us can't tolerate eating the amount of soy that's necessary to get the same amount of protein we'd get from meat.

Tried it several times, and got a horrible case of the runs each time. I refuse to live like that. If you can eat huge amounts of soy, more power to ya, but I can't.

[Codeine]

89. That's ridiculous.

You don't need to eat soy for protein. Fuckin' absurd.

[ret5hd]

90. As someone posted "upstream"...

Have you EVER met anyone with protein deficiency?

[Codeine]

92. Yep, that was me.

I've been vegan for over twenty years and have a job involving a fair degree of physical labor. My musculature is fine. People aren't really clear on the nature of protein and it's widespread availability in many different foods.

[ret5hd]

91. Have you tried that new-fangled stuff called "peanut butter"?

[BreweryYardRat]

93. That's as fattening as most cuts of meat.

And while it's okay, I sure don't want to live off it.

[Codeine]

95. You can't "Live off it"

any more than you can "live off" meat. It's an element of a healthy, varied diet. You don't need meat or a soy-based "protein alternative," whatever the fuck that is.

Eat a wide range of plant-based foods and you will have all the protein a body could want.

[mia]

32. Hurricane season here

I tend to keep the freezer relatively empty given the chance that the electricity will go out. I've been stocking up on tuna and other canned goods - also soaps and paper products.

[Swamp Rat]

70. You got dat rite!

I lost two fridges full of food because of Katrina (including the fridges), one of 'em had a freezer filled with salmon steaks. :(

[NancyG]

33. No room...house filled with TP from Y2K

Not really, but I did inherit $10k in cash from an uncle who stocked up cash for Y2K. Someone's gonna inherit a freezer full of meat.

[mzmolly]

38. EEK!

I'm glad we have a freezer.

[Arugula Latte]

47. Oh, crap. I hate meat, but I don't want the price of non-meat stuff to rise so much.

:(

[pitohui]

52. not during hurricane season my friend

i learned the hard way that meat not used before august/september is meat that will be spoiled when the power is out for weeks and weeks

would love to live in michigan and not be part of the real world but it ain't gonna happen

[yellowcanine]

54. Stock up on rice and beans instead. Cheaper and costs less to store - and you don't have to worry

about an extended power failure wiping out your stash of meat.

[Indenturedebtor]

55. Peanut butter. Stuff lasts forever and is full of protein. Cheap too!

We always stock up when there's a sale. Last week I bought 10 packages of pre-cut 1 lb portions of stirfry steak for $2.15 a package!

Can make 4 portions of stirfry with each package. More if I eat more rice. Right now beef seems to be really cheap :shrug:

[Joe Holmes]

56. Can't Nancy Pelosi save us?

Isn't she fighting for the working man?

[Occam Bandage]

79. Yes, she'll snap her fingers and create hundreds of millions of bushels of wheat and corn tomorrow.

[unsavedtrash]

62. we will be splitting the cost of a deep freezer with another member of my family.

We are sharing three gardens, eggs from family owned chickens, and the price of locally raised beef. Also, grocery shopping is done for the households in one trip.
My mom has been trying to remind me of things she and her sisters did to save money in the 1970s and they seem to be helping.

[Fox Mulder]

63. I don't eat meat.

And I have plenty of beans and tofu. I'll be fine. :)

[tuckessee]

66. Yeah, but starving meat eaters can eat you.

Plus my kitties need chow too.

[tuckessee]

65. If there's another drought like last year we may be in deep doodoo. n/t

[high density]

69. The time is now to hoard macaroons

A friend in the coconut trade told me the Nigerians are getting ready to flood the Dominican Republic with fake pitsney snissle. Of course, pitsney snissle is a big ingredient used for growing coconuts. Without real pitsney snissle the macaroon market is going to explode. Buy now or forever hold your peace!!!!!! It also might be a good idea to stock up on other coconut products like those Edys Coconut popsicles and coconut donuts. Man, they're tasty.

[krispos42]

71. Well, there's always deer hunting

If I had a chest freezer to store it in.

All-natural, free-range, and very tasty as a jerky.

[Lars39]

73. My dad remembers a time when the forest he lived near was hunted out.

The game became very scarce to non-existent in some places during the Depression. :(

[Occam Bandage]

80. Eh, we'll have to switch to enriched vegetable proteins within the next few centuries anyway.

Might as well get a head start.

[krispos42]

82. How are Soylent Green futures looking?

Mmmmm... Soylent Green... :drool:

[Cleita]

83. If we run out of energy, ergo electricity, wouldn't that spoil what's

in the freezer? I think canned goods and packaged goods with a long shelf life would be the way to go. When my family lived in Chile in the forties, food shortages were frequent as the world recovered from WWII. My family always kept a well stocked pantry of food that didn't need refrigeration, including powdered milk, canned hams, canned butter (used to be available) not to mention liquor.

[bobbolink]

84. So, those of us who can't "stock up" can eat shit. Again.

It's sooooo much fun being poor.

Eat hearty, affluent ones.

[Rowdyboy]

88. Thank you my friend...I actually have an empty freezer....

my partners mom's. Sounds too logogical not to be true. Will start filling tomorrow.

[WindRiverMan]

96. I will be fine....

We have two chests freezers, a generator if need be, a vacuum sealer, and two elk tags, four pronghorn tags, and two deer tags...meat will not be a problem. Been doing it this way for years and will continue. I will stock up on canned goods, rice, beans, and a few other things, but meat will be available to us, for at least the next year.