현재 미국 소고기 가격 추이 레전드 ㄷㄷㄷㄷ.jpg

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4 years ago, a pound (about 450g) of steak beef across the US was $8, but now it's $12. Beef prices went up 50% in just 4 years.

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This is because the total number of cattle raised by US livestock farmers nationwide is the lowest it's been since the Korean War.

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The precise reason: The spots in the US with the most grass for cattle are California and Texas, but thanks to climate change or whatever, these areas get absolutely hammered by massive droughts every single year lately. This means the grass barely grows, and even the stuff that makes it is weak sauce. There’s not enough grass for all the cows, so they have to haul in hay from other spots. The problem? Most US farmers are in the same situation, all screaming for hay bales. Plus, there’s a massive shortage of trucks to move all this stuff. So, shipping costs are multiplying like crazy—they're about to punch a hole through the ceiling. Since farmers aren't making bank raising cattle, they're doing a quick exit by dumping their expensive breeding cows at the slaughterhouses first. If you get rid of the mom cows that make calves, the total US cattle count is only going down. Here’s the kicker: demand for beef keeps climbing, but the number of cows is shrinking? Lower supply + higher demand = prices are absolutely guaranteed to moon (떡상). This is exactly why the US is looking into importing beef from Argentina. TL;DR: Expect US beef prices to absolutely explode starting early next year.