arcadianhaven
Member
We have all seen the millions of ads and articles floating around the web space for buying local, shopping the neighborhood framers market, and supporting local businesses. I guess this post would follow in that fashion, but with maybe more of a justification rather than sales pitch.
I recently did a post that shows all the bad stuff that gets added to our food in order to "process" it etc for the masses. Most of those "necessary" additives could be done away with, if the food we purchase was grown nearby. http://www.arcadianhaven.com/images/foodissues.pdf.
I visited some friends down in Yuma this past year, the area is just crawling with cattle and feed lots etc. I made the comment that "wow you must all get some good beef prices!" Astoundingly, the reply was no. All that cattle is shipped to Houston Texas to be processed etc. AMAZING! You have Phoenix 3 hours to the north that sports a 4.5 million population, Tucson to the East, and then Yuma.
How much cost is added just transporting those 1000+ pound behemoths 1300 miles, or 19 hours! WOW the fuels cost must add a fortune. Then just think, the meat is processed, and at some point, a good portion of it is then shipped back to be sold at the local market. So that cow grown 3 hours away, travels round trip 2600 miles, or 38 hours on a semi, to get to the supermarket in Phoenix!
We then wonder why all these additives are needed. If you, as a consumer, bought your meat from the local growers (which I will show you is really not more expensive) you could increase local demand, support your neighbors, and increase your health by not having all those "necessary additives".
With Diesel fuel running a cost, right now, at 3.67 a gallon, and let's assume that truck is pulling 15 miles per gallon. Then we take the 26 head of cattle in that trailer (http://www.animalagriculture.org/Education/Pamphlets/Livestock%20Trucking%20Guide.pdf) and we do some simple math…..
Cost of fuel round trip, $929.00
Cost of drivers wages $600.00
Cost burden added to each head of cow $58.00 Divided by the net meat weight after processing we just added $0.12 per pound to the cost of that beef
Now transporting by rail could save some money, but considering each rail car can transport only 16 steers (http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/livestock_transportation.htm), I think the costs could average the same.
Now there are some costs not included here such as truck lease and maintenance, a decent percentage of the animals die during transit, the cost of adding all those "necessary additives", and let's not forget government subsidies!
"Apart from the externalized environmental costs, high-intensity feeding operations are subsidized indirectly by the federal government. This "indirect subsidy" goes primarily to corn growers — which reduces the market prices of this valuable cattle feed. Understandably, as the USDA's 2010 overview of the cattle industry illustrates, the prices of beef follow the fluctuations in corn prices closely, so if corn is subsidized and is sold short of its true cost, corn-fed beef will also be sold more cheaply. Ironically, cattle are being fed other food-industry waste because corn is still the expensive route for fattening up beef cattle quickly. So without this indirect economic boost from the government, it is arguable that much of the cattle industry would be forced to incorporate the real costs of feed and potentially the environmental costs as well, at which point the cost to produce beef under the current system would be prohibitive."http://sustainabilityandlaw.com/2011/03/30/the-beef-on-sustainability-in-the-cattle-industry-by-marie-burcham/ Translation…Our taxes are subsidizing the large producers, thus driving their costs down, which means they have the "illusion" of being cheaper. Truth is you are paying the difference, just not at the grocer, but rather in your taxes.
I have only been discussing Meat here, but these same things happen with milk, produce, etc.
I guess my whole point here is that by us purchasing from the industrial AG businesses via our chain grocer, we are undermining our health, the environment, and the local economy. If you made it a point every time you went to your grocer, to buy 1 item from the organic produce section, or buy 1 meat product from a local farm to your area, or got some cheese or milk or eggs from a local "small" farmer, imagine the impact you could make.
Don't support the large "industrial producers" support your neighbors, your hometown, and your state. These are the folks looking out for your well being. WHY? because they take pride in what they do, the end product MATTERS to them!
http://www.arcadianhaven.com/blog.html
I recently did a post that shows all the bad stuff that gets added to our food in order to "process" it etc for the masses. Most of those "necessary" additives could be done away with, if the food we purchase was grown nearby. http://www.arcadianhaven.com/images/foodissues.pdf.
I visited some friends down in Yuma this past year, the area is just crawling with cattle and feed lots etc. I made the comment that "wow you must all get some good beef prices!" Astoundingly, the reply was no. All that cattle is shipped to Houston Texas to be processed etc. AMAZING! You have Phoenix 3 hours to the north that sports a 4.5 million population, Tucson to the East, and then Yuma.
How much cost is added just transporting those 1000+ pound behemoths 1300 miles, or 19 hours! WOW the fuels cost must add a fortune. Then just think, the meat is processed, and at some point, a good portion of it is then shipped back to be sold at the local market. So that cow grown 3 hours away, travels round trip 2600 miles, or 38 hours on a semi, to get to the supermarket in Phoenix!
We then wonder why all these additives are needed. If you, as a consumer, bought your meat from the local growers (which I will show you is really not more expensive) you could increase local demand, support your neighbors, and increase your health by not having all those "necessary additives".
With Diesel fuel running a cost, right now, at 3.67 a gallon, and let's assume that truck is pulling 15 miles per gallon. Then we take the 26 head of cattle in that trailer (http://www.animalagriculture.org/Education/Pamphlets/Livestock%20Trucking%20Guide.pdf) and we do some simple math…..
Cost of fuel round trip, $929.00
Cost of drivers wages $600.00
Cost burden added to each head of cow $58.00 Divided by the net meat weight after processing we just added $0.12 per pound to the cost of that beef
Now transporting by rail could save some money, but considering each rail car can transport only 16 steers (http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/livestock_transportation.htm), I think the costs could average the same.
Now there are some costs not included here such as truck lease and maintenance, a decent percentage of the animals die during transit, the cost of adding all those "necessary additives", and let's not forget government subsidies!
"Apart from the externalized environmental costs, high-intensity feeding operations are subsidized indirectly by the federal government. This "indirect subsidy" goes primarily to corn growers — which reduces the market prices of this valuable cattle feed. Understandably, as the USDA's 2010 overview of the cattle industry illustrates, the prices of beef follow the fluctuations in corn prices closely, so if corn is subsidized and is sold short of its true cost, corn-fed beef will also be sold more cheaply. Ironically, cattle are being fed other food-industry waste because corn is still the expensive route for fattening up beef cattle quickly. So without this indirect economic boost from the government, it is arguable that much of the cattle industry would be forced to incorporate the real costs of feed and potentially the environmental costs as well, at which point the cost to produce beef under the current system would be prohibitive."http://sustainabilityandlaw.com/2011/03/30/the-beef-on-sustainability-in-the-cattle-industry-by-marie-burcham/ Translation…Our taxes are subsidizing the large producers, thus driving their costs down, which means they have the "illusion" of being cheaper. Truth is you are paying the difference, just not at the grocer, but rather in your taxes.
I have only been discussing Meat here, but these same things happen with milk, produce, etc.
I guess my whole point here is that by us purchasing from the industrial AG businesses via our chain grocer, we are undermining our health, the environment, and the local economy. If you made it a point every time you went to your grocer, to buy 1 item from the organic produce section, or buy 1 meat product from a local farm to your area, or got some cheese or milk or eggs from a local "small" farmer, imagine the impact you could make.
Don't support the large "industrial producers" support your neighbors, your hometown, and your state. These are the folks looking out for your well being. WHY? because they take pride in what they do, the end product MATTERS to them!
http://www.arcadianhaven.com/blog.html