tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801341061242443991.post8895743991543605741..comments2022-02-08T03:50:35.851-08:00Comments on The Politics of Food Supply: Meat Consumption and Food SupplyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801341061242443991.post-17463394803710779362010-05-14T21:20:00.122-07:002010-05-14T21:20:00.122-07:00Hi Huib,
Thanks for the comment. (My blog's f...Hi Huib,<br />Thanks for the comment. (My blog's first real comment, by the way!) You ask a very good question, and I'm sorry to take so long in responding.<br /><br />Explaining why many farmers focus on meat rather than field crops is the easier question to answer: they operate in a market economy, which puts a premium on profits. Sure, there are other factors, values, and beliefs that come into play, but if it wasn't so profitable, fewer animals would become "meat."<br /><br />So, you have asked the more complicated question of why consumers are willing to pay more to eat meat.<br /><br />Let me give a brief start to an answer here and then use this as a starting point for another blog post.<br /><br />The really simple answer is two-fold: (1) some consumers have enough income to eat meat, which costs more than field crops, and (2) some consumers have a preference/desire to eat meat.<br /><br />As for the first point, meat consumption rises and falls with income. Per capita meat consumption is higher in richer countries than poorer countries, for example.<br /><br />The second point, however, is much more complex. Preferences are not necessarily "natural," nor do they emerge in a vacuum. As a sociologist, I would stress the influence of how society is organized and its values on consumer preferences. This influence is apparent in all sorts of preferences from religion, diet, and automobiles to different kinds of government policies.<br /><br />I'll discuss that more in my forthcoming post, but for now let me give the example of kinds of meat. Different societies consume and refrain from consuming different kinds of animals. It's not necessarily the presence or absence of the animals that determines which get eaten. For example, cows are eaten in the US but not in India. In some countries, people eat dogs, while in other countries people do not.<br /><br />These preferences are shaped by history, social norms, laws, and even religion and/or social conflicts. Thus, we have look beneath the preferences to really understand why consumers are willing to pay a higher price for meat. <br /><br />I'll try to tackle this more soon.Bill Windershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15984584195434000881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801341061242443991.post-5969774265062971572010-04-22T14:24:35.813-07:002010-04-22T14:24:35.813-07:00Dear Mr Winders, Good article! And good arguement ...Dear Mr Winders, Good article! And good arguement that farmers convert their plants into meta because the price of meat is higher than that of the feed. But one intrigueing question I have: this can only be because consumers are willing to pay this (high) price for meat. Why are they willing to do this? Huib Rijk, organic farmer in The NetherlandsHuib Rijkhttp://www.universalfarmer.web-log.nlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801341061242443991.post-42259260750697284282010-01-04T08:12:29.168-08:002010-01-04T08:12:29.168-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bill Windershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15984584195434000881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7801341061242443991.post-17123858843131070912010-01-04T08:10:06.904-08:002010-01-04T08:10:06.904-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Adminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16594885998649390748noreply@blogger.com