According to the Wall Street Journal, the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/justice-department-is-criminally-investigating-beef-companies-1f91a3c6">investigating</a> whether meatpackers engaged in criminal antitrust conduct. Last November, as consumer beef prices continued climbing, President Trump called upon the DOJ to investigate the practices of meatpackers.
Beef is among America’s most important protein sources, and understanding how beef makes its way to the grocery store reveals why consumers at the end of the beef supply chain and farmers and ranchers at its beginning are highly susceptible to foul play.
Think of the beef supply chain as a sand-filled hourglass. The sand-filled top represents the start of the beef supply chain, with the sand itself representing hundreds of thousands of widely dispersed, independent, family-scale cattle farmers and ranchers scattered across America. Now cattle grow slowly, and from the time they are born until they reach their optimal slaughter weight takes upwards of two years.
As the cattle grow, they flow downstream in the hourglass and are eventually transported from their distant, wide-open grassy birthplaces to large pens called feedlots, where they are congregated. Most feedlots are in the central and southern plains regions of the United States, and when cattle arrive, they are fed a highly concentrated diet that fattens them to slaughter weight.
<div id="attachment_1082193" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1082193" class="size-large wp-image-1082193" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1230785175-864x576.jpg" alt="A heifer and her calf in a field at the Barthle Brothers Ranch in Dade City, Florida, U.S. on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 12.0 million head on January 1, 2021. The inventory was slightly above January 1, 2020, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1230785175-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1230785175-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1230785175-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1230785175.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
When fed to their optimal weight, these slaughter-ready cattle are offered for sale to the beef packers at the choke point of the hourglass, as here there are just four dominant beef packers who purchase and control 80% of the 25 million or so slaughter cattle entering the choke point each year. Of course, these same dominant packers also control 80% of the resultant beef that passes on through the choke point, which they then sell to grocery stores scattered across America for ultimate purchase by consumers.
It is at this highly concentrated and centralized choke point — the point at which the dominant beef packers purchase cattle from the feedlots and convert them into consumable beef — that foul play can cause harm to the cattle farmers and ranchers above the pinch point and consumers below.
For example, if the concentrated beef packers unlawfully collude by agreeing to reduce the number of cattle they will collectively slaughter, cattle will back up in the supply chain above the choke point, effectively reducing demand for cattle and lowering their prices paid to cattle farmers and ranchers. Because slaughtering fewer cattle will result in less beef, reducing the number of cattle the beef packers will collectively slaughter will reduce the available beef supply below the choke point, causing beef prices to increase.
Now it could be argued that colluding to lower cattle prices could result in lower consumer beef prices if the dominant beef packers were to pass their cost savings on to retailers, and ultimately consumers. But history shows otherwise.
Going back for more than four decades, the spread between the prices that farmers and ranchers receive for their cattle and the retail prices that consumers pay for beef has grown increasingly wider. This suggests that firms standing between America’s cattle ranchers and America’s consumers are somehow capturing artificially high profits along the beef supply chain.
How these supra-competitive profits are being extracted from the beef supply chain and by whom is likely a central focus of the DOJ’s ongoing antitrust investigation.
<div id="attachment_1082197" style="width: 932px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1082197" class="size-large wp-image-1082197" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270117676-922x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 06: Beef ribeye steaks are displayed at a grocery store on April 06, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Amid persistently high food inflation, the price of a pound of ground beef has risen to between roughly $6.49 and $8.96, often exceeding the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, as supply shortages, drought, and disease affecting cattle herds drive costs higher while wages remain unchanged since 2009. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)" width="922" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270117676-922x576.jpg 922w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270117676-300x188.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270117676-768x480.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270117676.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 922px) 100vw, 922px" />Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</div>
During the past six years, several private class action antitrust lawsuits have been filed against the four largest beef packers operating in the United States – Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef Packing Company, alleging they had colluded to suppress cattle prices while simultaneously inflating beef prices. These civil antitrust lawsuits have alleged harm to virtually every segment of the beef supply chain, from cattle farmers and ranchers who sold cattle to the beef packers to consumers, distributors, and retailers who directly or indirectly purchased beef from the dominant beef packers. These private civil actions are still working their way through the court system and have so far resulted in settlements of over $170 million.
In at least one of these civil lawsuits, it is alleged that the dominant packers unlawfully colluded to suppress cattle prices from mid-2015 through early 2020. During that period, retail beef prices trended markedly upward while cattle prices trended downward, an anomaly signaling market failure in the beef supply chain, particularly since the only source of beef is cattle.
The question of whether beef packers engaged in unlawful antitrust conduct will be answered upon the completion of the numerous civil lawsuits pending against them and the result of the DOJ investigation. The outcome of the DOJ investigation alone will determine if principals representing the beef packers also engaged in criminal antitrust conduct.
* * *
Bill Bullard is the CEO of R-CALF USA in Billings, Montana.

Bloomberg Best Of The Year 2025

Who’s Taking The Prime Cut Of America’s Beef Prices?

Affordable

Donald Trump

Economy

Farmers

Food prices

grocery prices

meat

Price Gouging

NOTE: Jeremy’s Razors pays to write these articles to spotlight wins because other brands won’t.
The market has spoken, most Americans still want meat — real meat, like steaks, burgers, and tenderloins, not the plant-based alternatives sold by companies such as Beyond Meat.
Beyond Meat, which launched in the United States 2012, had a promising start. with its stock reaching nearly $150 per share as recently as 2021. But since then, Beyond Meat’s stock price has gone beyond terrible.
This week, one share of Beyond Meat dropped to 70 CENTS. Yes, 70 pennies for one share of the “plant-based meat” company. That means if you invested $10,000 when things were going well back in 2021, you would be <a href="https://x.com/brewmarkets/status/2023094395428610402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2023094395428610402%7Ctwgr%5E2e3c82f9fae678b3e184846a87b532b5e32eec2f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.outkick.com%2Fculture%2Fbeyond-meat-stock-bottoms-out-0-41-share-huge-win-carnivores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left with $41</a> today. That’s not much better than if you had invested in Blockbuster in 2000. (RIP, Blockbuster.)
So what exactly does Beyond Meat sell? Any type of meat you could want, except none of it is actually meat. Its <a href="https://www.beyondmeat.com/en-US/products/the-beyond-burger/beyond-burger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">burgers</a> are a mixture of vegan ingredients, including pea protein, rice protein, and potato starch.
And Beyond Meat sells “steak” too — only it’s <a href="https://www.beyondmeat.com/en-US/products/beyond-steak/beyond-steak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made</a> from wheat gluten, canola oil, faba bean protein, among some other ingredients. The market has spoken, and it decided against a processed echo of America’s beloved beef.
Beyond Meat might be good for people who want some unorthodox substitute for burgers, but most Americans want the real thing. Remember when powerful leftists like Bill Gates <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-optimistic-future-fake-meats-plant-based-foods-2023-1#:~:text=Bill%20Gates%2C%20the%20Microsoft%20co%2Dfounder%20and%20philanthropist%2C,use%20cows%20but%20reduce%20the%20methane%20emissions%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assured</a> us that it would be good for the world if we stopped eating real meat and transitioned to consuming lab-grown alternatives? Or when globalist NGOs argued that eating bugs is totally normal and would save the planet? Well, if they can’t take the hint — freedom-loving Americans aren’t going to give up their juicy steak.
***
Whether it’s the meat you eat or the products you use, <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/">Jeremy’s Razors</a> knows you want the real deal. That’s why we’re committed to serving our customers with what they want — the ability to consume without compromising on values. Every dollar you spend at Jeremy’s Razors is one less dollar in the pockets of woke CEOs who only care about your money. We give you choices worthy of your business by creating true alternatives in the market.
For a limited time, <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/products/precision-5-trial-kit-2?utm_campaign=beyond&amp;utm_content=20260220&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">every razor order comes with Jeremy’s 2oz American-made Shave Cream for FREE</a> while supplies last. No catch. No coupon code necessary. Just <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/products/precision-5-trial-kit-2?utm_campaign=beyond&amp;utm_content=20260220&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order a Precision 5 starter set or value bundle</a> to try a travel-friendly size of Jeremy’s Shave Cream with Green Tea &amp; Menthol. Natural ingredients that soften your whiskers, protect your skin, and make that blade glide—and not just because it isn&#8217;t weighed down by trying to be something it’s not. Free from sulfates, parabens, and phthalates. Formulated for men who don’t back down.

Beyond Meat

SHOCKER: Company That Sells ‘Plant-Based Meat’ Is In A Stock Freefall

Jeremy's Razors

Veganism

Female lone star tick

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Disease

Food

Insects

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Joey Chestnut, the world-famous hot dog eating champion, returns to the Nathan&#8217;s Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition after taking a year off — and is expected to dominate once again.
Chestnut, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hot-dog-legend-joey-chestnut-signs-with-vegan-brand-gets-booted-from-july-4th-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">booted</a> from last year&#8217;s July 4 competition after taking a deal with fake meat company Impossible Foods, announced his return last month.
&#8220;I&#8217;m thrilled to be returning to the Nathan&#8217;s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,&#8221; Chestnut <a href="https://x.com/joeyjaws/status/1934612017052336469" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;This event means the world to me. It&#8217;s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life.&#8221;
Although Chestnut did not compete in Nathan&#8217;s 2024 competition, he still holds 55 world records for various eating competitions. According to <a href="https://majorleagueeating.com/eaters/106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Major League Eating,</a> the moderating body behind the hot dog eating contest, Chestnut also holds records for eating 121 Twinkies in six minutes, 390 shrimp wontons in eight minutes, and, of course, 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Chestnut has earned the &#8220;Mustard Belt&#8221; 16 times since 2008, the most anyone has ever won. He holds a strong lead over the competitor with the next highest number of wins, Takeru Kobayashi, who earned six belts before retiring due to health concerns.
Major League Eating <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hot-dog-legend-joey-chestnut-signs-with-vegan-brand-gets-booted-from-july-4th-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> Chestnut from the Nathan&#8217;s Famous competition last year after he signed a deal with Impossible Foods, a Nathan&#8217;s competitor.
In a <a href="https://x.com/eatingcontest/status/1800607390636875792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1800607390636875792%7Ctwgr%5Ec0d98868a70172f80ffb323be440b5ea4f586a0d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fhot-dog-legend-joey-chestnut-signs-with-vegan-brand-gets-booted-from-july-4th-competition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> last year on X, the group said, &#8220;We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan&#8217;s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.&#8221;
During his hiatus from Nathan&#8217;s Famous competition, Chestnut set the <a href="https://x.com/joeyjaws/status/1916645992176173327" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record</a> for the most Buffalo Wild Wings eaten in one sitting, consuming 14.4 pounds of wings.
Patrick Bertoletti, who won last year&#8217;s competition with 58 hot dogs, has expressed his concern over Chestnut&#8217;s return. In an <a href="https://www.sportsbookreview.com/picks/more-sports/patrick-bertoletti-interview-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-2025/?utm_content=336287137&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;hss_channel=tw-174346152" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Sportsbook Review, Bertoletti said, “I want to do better so that I can silence [Chestnut].&#8221;
&#8220;My goal the whole time was to do better than last year, and that&#8217;s always been the case,&#8221; Bertoletti said. &#8220;If Joey&#8217;s not there, then I have a very good shot of winning if I do that. And now that Joey is going, it&#8217;s the same thing.&#8221;
Major League Eating celebrated his return to the Nathan&#8217;s Famous competition by <a href="https://x.com/eatingcontest/status/1940470661396259297" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, &#8220;He&#8217;s back. The legend. The GOAT. Joey Chestnut. Watch him dominate once again at the Nathan&#8217;s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. You don&#8217;t want to miss this.&#8221;
The winner of today&#8217;s competition will take home $10,000. The runner-up will receive $5,000, and third place wins $2,500.
Online prediction market Polymarket already has a few bets on the competition live. Fans have given Chestnut about a 90% chance of <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-winner/will-joey-chestnut-win-the-2025-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winning</a>. They are also more divided on how many hot dogs Chestnut will eat, with most <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/will-the-76-hot-dog-record-be-broken-on-july-4-172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubting</a> he will beat his own record.

Joey Chestnut Visits “The Claman Countdown”

Joey Chestnut Returns To Coney Island, Expected To Dominate Hot Dog Eating Contest

America

Declaration of Independence

Fourth of July

There are few things more American than firing up the grill after a long, chilly winter to cook some burgers, brats or even a massive, juicy steak. Pair it with a cold one and you&#8217;ve got a quintessential summer evening in the greatest country on Earth.
Well, you might have changed your preference in cold beer after the formerly iconic brand Bud Light decided to partner with trans-identifying activist Dylan Mulvaney last year, but you might also want to reconsider where you get your meat for that cookout.
As it turns out, the vast majority of the meat that ends up on Americans&#8217; plates is processed by just a handful of extremely powerful companies. Several of those companies are owned by foreign interests, and one, Tyson Foods, seems eager to replace its American workforce with &#8220;refugees&#8221; pouring over the southern border.
Just four companies — Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS, and National Beef Packing — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/how-four-big-companies-control-us-beef-industry-2021-06-17/">control</a> 85% of the beef market in the United States. Smithfield Foods, JBS, Hormel, and Tyson Foods <a href="https://civileats.com/2021/07/14/just-a-few-companies-control-the-meat-industry-can-a-new-approach-to-monopolies-level-the-playing-field/">have</a> about 70% of the market for pork. Tyson, JBS, Perdue Farms, and Sanderson Farms (partly owned by Cargill) <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/03/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-action-plan-for-a-fairer-more-competitive-and-more-resilient-meat-and-poultry-supply-chain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hold</a> 54% of the poultry market.
President Joe Biden called out the consolidation of the meat industry by so few firms as he tried to <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/09/white-house-blames-big-meat-for-rising-prices-alleges-profiteering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">duck blame</a> for rising meat prices amidst historic inflation.
“Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation. That’s what we’re seeing in meat and poultry industries now,” Biden <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lack-competition-us-meat-industry-amounts-exploitation-says-biden-2022-01-03/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2022 as part of a plan to encourage “meaningful competition” in the meat industry. The administration promised to use $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to help independent meat producers.
Smithfield Foods, the largest single pork producer in the U.S. (26% of the total <a href="https://essfeed.com/top-3-largest-pork-producers-in-the-usa-volume-turnover-and-market-share/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">market share</a>), is entirely <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/chinese-owned-pork-producer-smithfield-prepares-for-u-s-listing-567e6164" target="_blank" rel="noopener">owned</a> by the Chinese company WH Group, and the company&#8217;s <a href="https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/food-agriculture/companies/wh-group-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">purchase</a> of Smithfield in 2013 was the largest Chinese acquisition of an American company up to that point. Several senior executives at WH Group are members of the Chinese Communist Party, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/25/chinese-communist-party-landowner-pork/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to an investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation, and the company owns around 150,000 acres of land in 29 states through Smithfield.
JBS, the world&#8217;s largest meat producer, and National Beef Packing&#8217;s parent company, Marfrig, are Brazilian companies. Both have been <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2020/07/brazil-cattle-illegally-grazed-in-the-amazon-found-in-supply-chain-of-leading-meat-packer-jbs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> of human rights abuses toward natives of the Amazon and illegally <a href="https://forestsandfinance.org/news/bnp-paribas-warned-over-role-in-financing-deforestation-and-rights-violations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cutting down</a> swathes of rainforest to make new land suitable for cattle grazing.
Tyson Foods, which has considerable market shares in all three major U.S. meat sectors (beef, pork, and poultry), made headlines recently over its comments about hiring more immigrant labor as the illegal immigration crisis continues to unfold on the southern border.
The company has partnered with the nonprofit Tent Partnership for Refugees to hire immigrants who have moved to New York over the last two years, even as the influx of over 180,000 illegal aliens has created a crisis in the state, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-11/tyson-is-hiring-new-york-immigrants-for-jobs-no-one-else-wants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
<div id="attachment_713331" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-713331" class="size-large wp-image-713331" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559679-865x576.jpg" alt="Signage outside a Tyson Foods Inc. plant in Union City, Tennessee, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. American poultry farmers were already struggling to boost production before deadly avian influenza started popping up for the first time in several years. Tyson said it was heightening biosecurity measures after the deadly bird flu strain was detected. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559679-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559679-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559679-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559679.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
On one day in February, Tyson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tyson-foods-hiring-illegal-migrants-in-new-york-wants-more-theyre-very-very-loyal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hired</a> 17 migrants from Venezuela, Mexico, and Colombia in Manhattan to work at Tyson’s Humboldt, Tennessee, plant. In early March, Tyson reportedly hired 70 migrants. Tyson already employs about 42,000 immigrants and refugees, a third of its American workforce of roughly 120,000.
“We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them,” Garrett Dolan, a human resources leader at Tyson, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-11/tyson-is-hiring-new-york-immigrants-for-jobs-no-one-else-wants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Bloomberg.
“We’re recognizing there’s not a lot of people that are going to be working labor-manufacturing jobs that are American,” Dolan said, adding that many of the new hires “are going to come from refugees and immigrants, so we’re now in the business of strategically thinking that through.”
In addition to frontline positions that pay $16.50 an hour, Tyson is also providing migrant workers with other benefits, including on-site childcare, transportation, and optional English classes. The new hires from New York also get temporary housing, a relocation stipend to move to Humboldt, and paid time off.
The company also set aside $1.5 million for legal aid services and is providing workers with paid time off to attend court hearings. Tyson paid for 1,317 workers to become U.S. citizens last year.
“They’re very, very loyal,” Dolan said. “They’ve been uprooted and what they want is stability — what they want is a sense of belonging.”
Around the same time Tyson expressed its desire for ever more cheap immigrant labor, the company <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/tyson-foods-close-iowa-pork-plant-with-1200-workers-2024-03-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would shut down a plant in Perry, Iowa, which employs over 1,200 people, in June. The town of Perry contains around 8,200 residents, and the Tyson plant is the area&#8217;s largest employer, according to the mayor.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a big blow to the community,&#8221; Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh told Reuters. &#8220;It&#8217;s our largest employer in the area. It&#8217;s going to be tough to figure out what to do without them.&#8221;
In 2023, Tyson shut down plants in <a href="https://www.5newsonline.com/article/money/business/tyson-confirms-more-plant-closures-total-shutdowns-year/527-ec177f87-88b2-4bd5-b57d-4d6c0cc8e01d#:~:text=So%20far%20in%202023%2C%20Tyson,along%20with%20the%20newest%20two." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Missouri</a>, Indiana, Arkansas, Virginia, <a href="https://www.just-food.com/news/tyson-foods-to-shut-two-more-us-sites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida</a>, and South Carolina. The company <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2023-08-07/tyson-foods-closing-4-chicken-processing-plants-in-cost-cutting-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attributed</a> several of the closures to cost-cutting efforts. In the third quarter of 2023, Tyson reported a loss of over $400 million, according to the Associated Press.
<div id="attachment_713335" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-713335" class="size-large wp-image-713335" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559764-865x576.jpg" alt="Signage ooutside a Tyson Foods Inc. plant in Union City, Tennessee, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. American poultry farmers were already struggling to boost production before deadly avian influenza started popping up for the first time in several years. Tyson said it was heightening biosecurity measures after the deadly bird flu strain was detected. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559764-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559764-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559764-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1238559764.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
A spokesperson for Tyson <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/03/21/tyson-foods-closing-immigrants/73052486007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> to USA Today that the closing of the Perry plant and the hiring of more immigrants were unconnected and that the company thoroughly vets all immigrant applicants for work authorizations. However, cities like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-migrants-start-getting-expedited-work-permits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago</a> and <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/2023/luis-r-sepulveda/new-york-considering-issuing-its-own-work-permits-asylum#:~:text=On%20Wednesday%2C%20Mayor%20Adams%20launched,Mayor%20Anne%20Williams%2DIsom%20said." target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> have already begun expediting work permits for illegal immigrants who have flooded in on Biden&#8217;s watch.
Alongside its flagship Tyson brand, most well-known for chicken, Tyson Foods also owns Jimmy Dean (known for sausage), Hillshire Farms (deli and sandwich meat), and Ball Park (hot dogs), among <a href="https://www.tysonfoods.com/our-brands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many others</a>.
A conservative exchange traded fund, American Conservative Values ETF, gave Tyson a &#8220;refuse to buy&#8221; label and said it would pull its holding from the company in response to the comments on immigrants workers.
“We believe Tyson’s management has blundered into a political minefield (and should have known better),” Bill Flaig, CEO of the company that manages the ETF, <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/conservative-investment-fund-divests-from-tyson-foods-over-migrant-hiring" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Fox Business</a>.
“The risk of alienating a significant percentage of their customers outweighs any potential economic benefit,” Flaig added. “In a recent Pew Research poll, 80% of U.S. adults say the U.S. government is doing a bad job of handling the migrant influx.”
He also said that other companies, such as Anheuser-Busch and Target, have paid the price for &#8220;alienating customers&#8221; by meddling in politics. Both Bud Light and Target were hit hard by boycotts from conservative customers last year, but it&#8217;s currently unclear if any similar movement is brewing against Tyson.
Ultimately, the U.S. meat industry represents an intersection of several important issues, including the consolidation of an important economic sector by a few very large, very powerful companies, those companies&#8217; ownership by foreign interests, and their reliance on, and support for, high levels of immigrant labor.

Close-up of meat on barbecue grill,Indonesia

Excited To Fire Up The Grill This Summer? Here Are The Companies That Make Your Favorite Cuts Of Meat

Excited To Fire Up The Grill This Summer? Meat Companies Are Hiring Illegals Over Americans, Gutting The Heartland

Illegal Immigration

New York

Politics

Readers Pass

Southern Border

Unless you’re a climate warrior or an energy wonk, you probably weren’t aware of last week’s end of the 28th edition of the “Council of the Parties,” better known as COP28, held this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Don’t be surprised if you weren’t one of over 84,000 delegates – more than double the previous record – who got an invite. It’s probably because you are not a raging hypocrite. COP28 attendees spent the better part of two weeks in deep discussion over the “existential threat” of a so-called “climate crisis,” and how the world needs to respond before it is too late to save the planet from imminent doom.
When you add to the expansive delegate count the thousands more non-delegate support staff, media, climate-warrior groupies, and casual onlookers, the ultimate outcome is that <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/COP28.PLOP__0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 100,000</a> people – who all claim to love Mother Earth more than anything – felt the need to inundate Dubai rather than jump on Zoom sessions or conference calls to discuss how to save the planet. Remember, Zoom is good enough for kids locked out of schools, but not good enough for climate junkets.
Delegates spent two weeks in Dubai staying in 5-star resorts, feasting on gourmet meals, drinking top-shelf alcohol, being driven around in stretch limousines, “laboring” in air-conditioned conference facilities, and engaging in unknown debauchery when not working to rid the earth of traditional energy solutions, like coal, oil, and natural gas.
When not engaged in extracurricular activities, COP28’s delegates created a bunch of work-product to justify their junket.
First on the menu, pun intended, was an <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/11/28/lifestyle/un-calling-on-americans-to-cut-down-on-meat-consumption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">effort to cancel meat</a>. Keep in mind, they just want to cancel your holiday meal, not their own. Then, the delegations <a href="https://unfccc.int/event/adaptation-fund-high-level-contributor-dialogue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pledged</a> hundreds of millions of dollars toward helping developing nations impacted by the “crisis.” Forget that these dollars will never be used to help those nations grow their GDPs nor their energy independence; instead, the World Bank will administer the money to the ruling class in those countries. What could possibly go wrong giving more money and power to the elite?   
The most celebrated output from COP28 was a <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final agreement</a> calling for the “beginning of the end” of all fossil fuel development. This “global stockade” – signed by delegations representing more than 200 countries is, according to the United Nations, the vehicle by which “[p]arties take actions towards…the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner&#8230;”
Let’s take this in for a minute: 84,000 delegates spent two weeks living in luxury, and their takeaway was that fossil fuels – which, between coal, natural gas, and oil power over 80% of the world today – are the enemy of the planet?
News flash: none of the climate hypocrites, COP28 delegates, would be meeting in Dubai in the first place without fossil fuels. None of them – not a single one – made it there, stayed there, communicated to their home countries, families or each other while there, enjoyed their lavish lifestyle while there or made it home from there without direct or byproduct use of fossil fuels.
So, the next time you hear about the good work being done at the COP events – and make no mistake, we’ll see COP29, COP 39, COP49, and so on – remember that they are giant parties designed to bring powerful, wealthy ideologues together to rage against the very products that have made their powerful, wealthy lives possible.
COP should stand for the “Council of the Pointless.”
* * *
Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Contact him at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com and follow him on X: @PTFAlaska.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

COP28 UNFCCC Climate Conference:  High-Level Segment Day One

Why Dubai’s COP28 Should Be Called ‘Council Of The Pointless’

Why Dubai's COP28 Should Be Called 'Council Of The Pointless'

Bill Gates

Climate Change

Dubai

Fossil Fuels

John Kerry

Here&#8217;s a stat that will blow your mind: New research shows that just 12% of the U.S. population is responsible for 50% of all <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/food" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meat</a> consumed daily in the country. Most of that group are men between the ages of 50 and 65.
The study was published in the journal &#8220;Nutrients&#8221; and its ultimate purpose is to assist in &#8220;educational&#8221; efforts on the dangers of eating meat — particularly for the planet, according to the researchers. So, these academics want to convince you to give up meat to combat climate change.
“We focused on beef because of its impact on the environment, and because it’s high in saturated fat, which is not good for your health,” the study’s corresponding and senior author Diego Rose, professor and nutrition program director at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/999770">said</a> in a statement.
As reported by the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/31/50-of-us-beef-is-eaten-by-just-12-of-americans-mostly-men-study/">New York Post</a>, Americans ate roughly 30 billion pounds of beef in 2021. The team behind the study thinks they might have a tough time trying to convince the 12% to change their ways.
&#8220;On one hand, if it’s only 12% accounting for half the beef consumption, you could make some big gains if you get those 12% on board,” Rose said. “On the other hand, those 12% may be most resistant to change.&#8221;
Interestingly enough, the authors of the study speculated men ate more red meat because of cultural norms — not because it tastes delicious.
“This may be because meat, especially red meat, is associated with masculinity, strength and power in Western culture,” they added.
One has to wonder whether or not the authors asked any red-blooded American male why he eats meat. There&#8217;s an obvious answer: Again, it&#8217;s delicious.
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To reiterate, part of the goal of this study is for others to use it to try and convince you to sacrifice your ribeyes, beef hamburgers, and more to combat global warming.
So how about a trade-off: We&#8217;ll give up all that glorious food when John Kerry, Al Gore, and every other climate warrior gives up fossil fuels.
Deal?

Steak

12% Of The Population Eats 50% Of U.S. Beef: Study

General

U.S.

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions The following five stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to listen</a>. 
1. More Charges For Trump
Special Counsel Jack Smith expanded the charges against former President Trump on Thursday evening in the classified documents case — adding new charges and one additional defendant. Read <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-charged-with-3-more-crimes-in-classified-documents-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. 
The new “superseding indictment” accuses Trump of asking a Mar-a-Lago employee named Carlos De Oliveria to delete surveillance footage “to prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury.”  The charges allege Trump, Trump aide Walter Nauta, and De Oliveira “did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and with others known and unknown to the grand jury, to engage in misleading conduct.&#8221; De Oliveira will be arraigned on Monday in Miami. 
Rapid Reaction: How did Republicans respond to this? Well, after the new superseding indictment came down, the Senate passed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-defense-bill-with-no-block-on-funding-for-abortion-travel-setting-up-battle-with-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defense bill that still funds abortion tourism</a> with many Republican supporters. As rumors flew that another indictment was coming, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tamped down expectations that he would impeach President Joe Biden anytime soon:
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Kevin McCarthy on possible Biden impeachment: &quot;If [Biden administration] do not provide the information we need, then we would go to an impeachment inquiry.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerMcCarthy</a> <a href="https://t.co/S3n4pyjSPT">pic.twitter.com/S3n4pyjSPT</a>
&mdash; NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) <a href="https://twitter.com/NEWSMAX/status/1684659175471693825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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So in short, the GOP leadership didn&#8217;t exactly flex their political muscle in response.
There is at least one GOP senator pushing back. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio is still pledging to block all Department of Justice nominees until Biden ends the &#8220;harassment&#8221; of his political opponents.
As Republican strategist Aaron Surabian said, &#8220;This is the way.&#8221;
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&#8220;If the Biden Administration wants to use the DOJ to target their political opponents, then blocking all of Biden’s DOJ nominations is the proper response,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Glad that there’s at least one Republican Senator who understands how to fight.&#8221;
There are other Republicans fighting the weaponization, of course, but Vance&#8217;s speech on the topic is worth the watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is the way. If the Biden Administration wants to use the DOJ to target their political opponents, then blocking all of Biden’s DOJ nominations is the proper response. Glad that there’s at least one Republican Senator who understands how to fight &#8211; @JDVance1 <a href="https://t.co/3Pap2PQ2l2">https://t.co/3Pap2PQ2l2</a>
&mdash; Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) <a href="https://twitter.com/Surabees/status/1684601893434032139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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2. Bud Light Laying Off 400 Workers
Anheuser Busch — the makers of Bud Light — have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-mulvaney-effect-anheuser-busch-laying-off-hundreds-of-employees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> they are laying off 2% of the company’s 19,000 employees, which means nearly 400 workers. The layoffs come months after Bud Light was replaced by Modelo as America’s number one beer as measured by sales (not volume). Since Anhueuer-Busch’s collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney back in April, the corporation has lost $27 billion in market value and has taken a hit on its popularity dropping to 15th — well behind Corona, Guinness, and Samuel Adams, according to a YouGov poll.
Rapid Reaction: There&#8217;s a phenomenal Reader&#8217;s Pass piece covering how <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-left-wrote-the-book-on-effective-boycotts-then-came-bud-light" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conservatives — not liberals — are the ones who effectively wield boycotts</a>. This is more proof of that thesis. Of course, seeing somebody lose their job is never fun. But, if companies want to continue to push their political views onto the American people, there are going to be consequences to their bottom line.
3. Missouri Sued For Protecting Children
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri">Missouri</a> has been sued over its law that bans sex change procedures from being performed on children, making it the latest Republican-led state to face a challenge over a law shielding children from transgender procedures. The lawsuit, which was filed by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-left-wing-legal-groups-backing-trans-procedures-on-kids">left-wing legal groups</a>, including the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal, <a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/missouri/2023/07/26/advocates-sue-missouri-over-law-banning-gender-affirming-care-for-minors/70422045007/">claims</a> that Missouri’s law is discriminatory. The law prohibits procedures like double-mastectomies on girls who identify as boys, and giving children cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers.
Rapid Reaction: Leftists suing for the &#8220;right&#8221; to mutilate children. It&#8217;s sick and twisted. While supporters of sex-denial surgeries for minors love to claim that it&#8217;s about &#8220;parental rights,&#8221; they forget that those rights have limits. For example, parents cannot abuse their children by burning cigarettes on their skin and claim its discipline. These gender-rejection procedures shouldn&#8217;t be an option either.
4. Politicized De-Banking Continues
The chief executive of Coutts Bank has <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/business/2023/07/27/ceo-of-royal-banker-coutts-resigns-amid-furor-over-closure-of-politician-nigel-farages-account/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped down</a> amid the furor surrounding populist politician Nigel Farage’s complaints that his account was closed because of his political views. CEO Peter Flavel resigned just days after Coutts owner NatWest Group parted ways with its CEO Alison Rose. Rose left after admitting that she had spoken with a reporter regarding Farage’s personal details.
Rapid Reaction: If Farage can be de-banked for his beliefs, it can happen to you. Don&#8217;t believe me? Read this story: &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-repeatedly-de-banked-conservative-and-religious-groups-republican-state-officials-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase Repeatedly ‘De-Banked’ Conservative And Religious Groups, Republican State Officials Say</a>&#8221;
5. Allergic To Meat From A Tickbite? Worst Nightmare.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. have developed red meat allergies since 2010 due to a strange syndrome triggered by tick bites.
 According to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-warns-of-emerging-illness-caused-by-tick-bite-that-causes-potentially-life-threatening-allergy-to-red-meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government report</a>, as many as 450,000 Americans have developed the allergy, which makes it the 10th most common food allergy in the U.S. Health officials said they are not aware of any confirmed deaths, but people with the allergy have described it as bewildering and terrifying. Despite its Texas-themed name, the lone star tick is most common in the eastern and southern U.S. and about 4% of all U.S. cases have been in the eastern end of New York’s Long Island.
Rapid Reaction: This is a &#8220;worst nightmare ever scenario.&#8221; Not being able to enjoy a steak all because of a tick bite? Oh, the humanity. And on that note, make sure to buy some meat from our good friends over at <a href="https://www.goodranchers.com/shop?utm_source=g&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_id=18568444723&amp;ad_group_id=145909549601&amp;ad_id=627727583906&amp;placement_id=&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwzo2mBhAUEiwAf7wjkurS1eWEbVUghmjmiUkOIverTJa94IUm8cb1ykyc3qZpTCqXcIvPIBoC6rMQAvD_BwE&amp;gad=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Good Ranchers</a>.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Rapid Reaction: At Least One Senator Is Fighting Back Against Biden’s ‘Political Harassment’

Rapid Reaction: At Least One Senator Is Fighting Back Against Biden's 'Political Harassment'

Bud Light

JD Vance

Joe Biden

Missouri

Republicans

Senate

A little-known illness caused by a tick bite gives victims a serious allergy to red meat and affected an estimated 110,000 people between 2010 and 2022, according to a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0727-emerging-tick-bites.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Thursday. 
The illness, called alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), comes from the bite of a Lone Star tick, which can be <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tick-species/sls-20147911?s=7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> mostly in the South as well as many Eastern and Midwest states. AGS causes serious allergic reactions to red meat such as pork, beef, rabbit, lamb, venison, and even mammal products like milk. 
“Alpha-gal syndrome is an important emerging public health problem, with potentially severe health impacts that can last a lifetime for some patients,” said Dr. Ann Carpenter, an epidemiologist and lead author of one of the papers released Thursday on AGS. “It’s critical for clinicians to be aware of AGS so they can properly evaluate, diagnose, and manage their patients and also educate them on tick-bite prevention to protect patients from developing this allergic condition.”
Many doctors and health care providers are still unfamiliar with AGS, according to the CDC, which added that the allergic reactions caused by the tick bite can be “potentially life-threatening.” 
One study asked 1,500 family/general practitioners, internists, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants across the U.S. about AGS and found that nearly half of them had never heard of it and around one-third of respondents said they were “‘not too confident’ in their ability to diagnose or manage patients with AGS,” the CDC said. The CDC estimated that the number of people who might be affected by AGS could be as high as 450,000. 
“The burden of alpha-gal syndrome in the United States could be substantial given the large percentage of cases suspected to be going undiagnosed due to non-specific and inconsistent symptoms, challenges seeking healthcare, and lack of clinician awareness,” said Dr. Johanna Salzer, who authored both papers on AGS released by the CDC.
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The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-tick-bite-that-makes-you-vegan-eating-in-a-restaurant-was-out-of-the-question" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last year on how people with AGS deal with the symptoms. One woman described the struggles of eating out at a restaurant, noting that even a veggie burger prepared on the same grill with meat patties is problematic. Another person said that even breathing in fumes from red meat causes a reaction.
Symptoms of AGS include “hives or itchy rash; nausea or vomiting; heartburn or indigestion; diarrhea; cough; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; drop in blood pressure; swelling of the lips, throat, tongue, or eye lids; dizziness or faintness; or severe stomach pain,” according to the CDC. There is currently no known cure for the illness, and the CDC says that “preventing tick bites” is the most important action one can take to “reduce your chances of developing AGS.”

Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma Americanum

CDC Warns Of ‘Emerging’ Illness Caused By Tick Bite That Causes ‘Potentially Life-Threatening’ Allergy To Red Meat

CDC Warns Of ‘Emerging’ Illness Caused By Tick Bite Causing ‘Potentially Life-Threatening’ Allergy To Red Meat

A nutritionist is warning of the lack of public information available on lab-grown meat, going as far as to say she’d rather eat her shoe than meat grown in a lab. 
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usda-approves-sale-of-lab-grown-meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the sale of “lab-grown” meat for commercial sale. In an <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/28/nutritionist-slams-lab-grown-meat-worse-than-mcdonalds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with the New York Post, Diana Rodgers, a registered dietitian and author of “Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat,” warned of the unknowns regarding lab-grown meat and advocated sticking to the natural form of meats and food. 
“I’d rather eat my shoe than lab-grown meat,” Rodgers told the Post. “McDonald’s is still better because the meat is a better option for vitamins,” she added later. 
Two California companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, are now approved to sell chicken created from animal cells in the United States. The U.S. is just the second country in the world — after Singapore — to allow the commercial sale of lab-grown meat, which is also referred to as “cultured” and “cell-cultivated” meat.
Rodgers told the Post that she is concerned about a lack of publicly-available nutritional information regarding lab-grown meat. When asked whether lab-grown meat was healthy or not, Rodgers said, “We just don’t know.”
“I have yet to see a life cycle assessment on the production of it,” she said. “We don’t have any public data.” 
According to Good Meat, its lab-grown meat is made from the cells of chickens, salt, and a base of soy and wheat. They were reportedly unable to provide the Post with a nutritional label because, as of now, the product will only be served in restaurants, not grocery stores. Nevertheless, the company said its product was protein-rich, had “essential amino acids,” and was antibiotic-free. 
“The specific nutrition profile varies for each of our consumer products,” a Good Meat spokesman told the Post. “We use unmodified (non-GMO) chicken cells, which occur naturally in animals.”
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Similarly, Upside Foods told the outlet that their product was real meat that could be digested the same way as traditional meat, and sent the outlet a document detailing how the product was made. 
Rodgers argued that lab-grown meat is not the same as eating traditional meat. “They’re taking mono-crop plant sources, taking them into a factory and using high-energy processes to convert them into meat,” she said.
The FDA had already given the green light for lab-grown meat for the two companies, and the approval by the USDA means it can now be sold commercially, though the companies will not be bringing it to grocery stores yet due to high production costs. The product will reportedly cost upwards of $20 per pound when it comes to stores.
In March, Italy moved to ban the sale of lab-grown meat to protect its food heritage, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65110744" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the BBC. The companies argue that lab-grown meat is a more environmentally sustainable option than animals from farms and ranches, despite a preprint <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/lab-grown-meat-carbon-footprint-worse-beef" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> published in May, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed, that found lab-grown meat may actually be worse for the environment than regular meat. 
The product, which is not vegetarian, is cultivated from animal cells, which are incubated and grown into masses of meat in steel tanks, then cut and made to look like traditional meat, Fox Business <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/usda-approves-first-lab-grown-meat-sold-public" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>. Lab-grown meat is not the same as plant-based “meat” products, such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.

BBQ Chicken Feast

‘Rather Eat My Shoe’: Nutritionist Explains The Issues With Lab-Grown Meat

Health

Science

“You’re sick, you’re starving, you’re scared.”
That’s how one woman explained the first stages of suffering with alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a rare, tick-contracted disease that can cause an infected person to become highly allergic to mammalian meats – even just their fumes – and dairy.
“You need to sit with the suck a little bit,” Courtney from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxY0c4sEBMg">Alpha-Gal On A Dime</a> told newbies. “This does suck. It’s going to be a life-changer. But it’s doable.”
And that’s what AGS seems to be: a life-changer.
<h2>What is alpha-gal syndrome?</h2>
AGS is a type of food allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals, often caused by a Lone Star tick bite, as <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alpha-gal-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20428608" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described</a> by the Mayo Clinic. 
A bite from the Lone Star tick can transmit a sugar molecule called alpha-gal, or galactose-α-1, 3-galactose, into a person&#8217;s body, which triggers an immune system reaction that later produces mild to severe allergic reactions to red meat &#8211; such as beef, pork, or lamb &#8211; or other mammal products, according to the medical center. 
Though some folks say they have found relief from the allergies with things like acupuncture, the Mayo Clinic says there’s currently no proven treatment for the syndrome, aside from food restrictions.
The emerging syndrome has been reported in 17 nations worldwide, according to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.680264/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frontiers</a>, one of the world’s largest research publishers. Data show the number of cases in the United States has risen from just 12 confirmed in 2009 to 34,000 by 2019.
<h2>What are the food restrictions?</h2>
People suffering with AGS have varied symptoms and reactions, but, overall, it seems red meat is effectively off-limits. Some people, though, also develop an intolerance to dairy.
A <a href="https://dietitiansondemand.com/rare-conditions-with-nutrition-implications-alpha-gal-allergy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> from Dietitians On Demand noted the food restriction challenges. “Once alpha-gal allergy is diagnosed, all mammalian meats and by-products should be avoided,” the post outlined. “Again, this includes, beef, pork, lamb, venison, mutton, goat, and bison, plus any food that contains red meat extracts. Some individuals with alpha-gal allergy must also avoid dairy products made from cow’s, sheep’s, or goat’s milk.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/alpha-gal/products.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that some people with AGS can also be allergic to products made from or cooked with mammalian fat – such as lard, tallow, or suet – as well as meat broth, bouillon, stock, and gravy.
Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, poultry, eggs, and seafood are acceptable food sources.
<h2>Daily Struggles </h2>
Digging a little deeper on open <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/alphagalsyndrome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online support groups</a>, it seems those with severe allergies have much more to worry about. 
One woman <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2025804830995966?multi_permalinks=3265003180409452&amp;hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described</a> the struggles of eating out at a restaurant, noting that even a veggie burger prepared on the same grill with meat patties is problematic. 
“Eating out at restaurants has got to be the hardest problem for us with Alpha-gal,” the woman said. “Usually there is very little I can have. And if there is something, half of it has to be taken off.”
“I am also shocked that most restaurants grill veggie burgers on the same grill as regular meat hamburgers. Dangerous for us,” she added. “I feel totally out of control.”
Another person described a severe reaction from just fumes of mammalian meat.
“Just breathing it in causes a reaction,” the person said. “My fume reactions were almost immediate and respiratory. So I could not go into a grocery shop or a store with ready-to-go food. Eating in a restaurant was out of the question.”
“In our town we have a bike path that goes by restaurants,” the sufferer continued. “I would have a reaction from just riding by the area.”
“Final straw was when my son opened a can of chili in the house (to cook it outside) and I had a reaction,” the person recounted. “I wasn’t even in the same room.” 
Others in the support group echoed their struggles with “fume reactions.” 
There were also shared struggles about medications and vitamins being intolerable. 
“Joint pain? I have removed all red meat, dairy, and pork from my diet,” one woman explained. “The only thing I can think of, which I have just recently found out, is the gelatin in my medicine I take. I take daily vitamins/fish oil and they have a lot of gelatin caps. If I remove it, will it go away? Should I take anything for it?”
One group member replied “YES,” adding that they “go vegan on the vitamins.” 
Another post discussed struggles with blood pressure medicine that wouldn’t cause a reaction.
<a href="https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/medications-that-contain-animal-byproducts">According</a> to GoodRX Health, there are medications that “may contain animal byproducts that are important for their effectiveness or production.” Though, there are alternatives in some cases.
Sugar can be a struggle, too. 
Radical Animal Rights group PETA <a href="https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/are-animal-ingredients-included-in-white-sugar/">said</a> some sugars, including white and brown, can be processed through animal bone char. Folks in support groups online expressed reactions to some sugars, with some completely cutting it out of their diets.
<h2>Can it ever go away?</h2>
The Mayo Clinic says no cure is currently available for the life-changing allergy, but some of the “research is optimistic,” one diet site said. 
“Research is optimistic, indicating that some individuals may be able to reintroduce mammalian meats back into their diets after a period of abstinence, as long as no additional tick bites have occurred,” Dietitians On Demand <a href="https://dietitiansondemand.com/rare-conditions-with-nutrition-implications-alpha-gal-allergy/?fbclid=IwAR23O-7yRoIue7oNyS47UAsMX9kWfsHJDjPY95jHoO7_mGigrFAOAZenfc0">said</a>. 
Some AGS sufferers seemed to promote types of acupuncture to quell their reactions, specifically Soliman Auricular Allergy Treatment (SAAT), but it’s unclear if the treatment is proven effective.
A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35003502/">case series</a> on the treatment, published in the National Library of Medicine, however, found that the “SAAT method showed effectiveness in the large majority of patients.”
“This alternative medicine approach to AGS management should be further studied in prospective trials with laboratory confirmation both before and after the procedure,” the abstract said. “This low-risk treatment shows promise in treating a medical condition that causes distress in an increasing number of patients.”

Hiking through the Redwood forest.

The Tick Bite That Makes You Vegan: ‘Eating In A Restaurant Was Out Of The Question’

Steak <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prices</a> are trending downward as consumers appear to be favoring cheaper forms of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protein</a>.
Though overall food prices have increased 10.9% from July 2021 to July 2022, prices for uncooked beef steaks have decreased 1.2% over the same period, according to data from the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/averageretailfoodandenergyprices_usandmidwest_table.htm">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>, while prices consumers are paying for sirloin steaks and round steaks have fallen 1.4% and 2.6%, respectively.
Although the downward movement may appear to be positive news for American households, other categories of meat and poultry have trended upward. A whole chicken is 3% more expensive, chicken breast is 0.9% more expensive, and pork chops are 2.6% more expensive. Prices for grade A eggs have likewise risen 8.5%.
“The demand for chicken is extremely strong,” Tyson CEO Donnie King <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tyson-sales-up-8-on-higher-chicken-prices-11659962463?mod=article_inline">told</a> analysts earlier this month, noting that average sale prices for beef are falling as customers select cheaper cuts.
Indeed, families have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walmart-ceo-inflation-will-be-with-us-basically-forever-at-some-level">adjusting consumption habits</a> as inflation continues to outpace wage increases. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon noted that the grocery giant is finding more consumers among wealthier families struggling to contend with higher prices.
“Right around the middle of the first quarter is when we saw food inflation reach a level where behavior started to change,” McMillon explained to CNBC. “It got to a level where people making less than $50,000 household income started behaving differently, and then to the $75,000 level and then to the $100,000 level.”
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-changing-the-way-they-buy-groceries-as-inflation-soars-study-finds">survey</a> conducted by BMO and Ipsos earlier this summer, 42% of respondents indicated that they &#8220;are changing how they shop for groceries” by choosing cheaper items, avoiding brand names, or buying only essential items. Meanwhile, 31% are driving less to offset elevated gas prices, 23% are trimming vacation budgets, and 22% are canceling subscription services.
President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-740-billion-inflation-reduction-act">signed</a> the Inflation Reduction Act earlier this month in a purported effort to slash prices for consumers. Yet administration officials have pointed to renewable energy tax credits as a primary mechanism through which Americans can experience relief from higher prices.
“If you are low income, you can get your home entirely weatherized through the expansion from the bipartisan infrastructure laws,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-dont-know-how-they-sound-critics-roast-energy-secretary-for-telling-poor-people-to-buy-solar-panels">said</a> this weekend on Fox News. “If you are moderate income, today you can get 30% off the price of solar panels. Those solar panels can be financed, so you don’t have to have the big outlay at the front … If you don’t qualify for the weatherization program, you will be able to, starting next year, get rebates on the appliances and equipment that will help you reduce your monthly energy bill by up to 30%. That is all about reducing costs for people.”
Critics noted, however, that a 30% tax credit would leave struggling homeowners liable for 70% of an expense that they are not presently able to afford. Granholm has nevertheless said that the “only way out” of “boom-and-bust cycles” in energy prices is greater adoption of renewable sources.
“The real truth is that as long as our nation remains overly reliant on oil and fossil fuels, we will feel these price shocks again,” Granholm <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/energy-secretary-lays-out-the-only-way-to-avoid-high-gas-prices-and-its-not-producing-more-oil?fbclid=IwAR1Cc9CsrYptSBtkmkYmredgSlRdFYFiX554Ytn9VTLPAxFihVOXh2biE5Y">asserted</a> earlier this summer. “This is not going to be the last time. The next time there’s a war, the next time there’s a pandemic or another hurricane, these extreme weather events we are experiencing — they will impact the access that we have to fossil fuels.”

Woman doing BBQ Steaks on a flame grill.

Steak Is Now Less Expensive As Inflation Pushes Consumers Toward Cheaper Protein

Steak Prices Fall As Prices For Other Proteins Rise

Inflation

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