Human Evolution
December 8, 2017Capitalism or Socialism
January 5, 2018Food Chain Radio Show #1132
Michael Olson, Author & Urban Farming Agriculturalist
Where’s the U.S. Beef, Going?
Guest:Bill Bullard, R-Calf USABryan Mussard, President, Montana Stockgrowers Association
To whom will the good food go?
China has a lot of money, but is running low on food. The U.S. has a lot of food, but is running low on money.
As Diane Boogard, CEO of Rabobank Asia, told Nikkei Asian Review, “Although the population growth has slowed down quite a bit in China, the demand for food is still increasing very, very much because of the wealthier population, the mid-market that is existing now.”
And furthermore, “Asians may be getting wealthier, but their money may not be able to buy them all the food they need, as the region faces a lack of arable land and low agricultural productivity.”
A good indication of where this demand may be taking the market came with the recent announcement by China’s largest online retailer that it would be buying $200 million worth of Montana beef over the next three years, and building a processing facility in Montana.
This sale bodes well for the domestic beef industry, which has been competing with much cheaper beef from Argentina, Brazil, Australia and others. But it does raise some interesting questions:
How can domestic beef compete in a market without mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)?
How did Montana sell their beef to China, when China can buy beef for less elsewhere?
To whom will the good food go in twenty-five years?
Leave a comment below: is it better to have food and no money, or money and no food?
Nationally syndicated Food Chain Radio airs live Saturday mornings 9-10AM Pacific.
