Where's the Beef?

The following chart shows the 5-year moving average of the consumer price index for uncooked ground beef.


Click to enlarge.

When it comes to parabolic growth failures, ground beef appears to be one of the last holdouts.

What can't go on forever, won't. That said, ground beef prices are currently growing at about a 6% annual rate (using the recent annual change in the 5-year moving average). The parabola is slowly accelerating that growth though. Who can say for sure how many more years it can continue? In theory, I could be dead and buried by the time this trend fails.

Fortunately, I like chicken. I have no problem substituting. If your life revolves around a good burger or steak though, well, sorry about that. I would advise crossing your fingers that this trend fails soon.

December 1, 2014
Beef prices soar upward

Blame a rebounding economy, which tends to push prices higher.

As seen in the chart, that's roughly 14 years of rebound! Shame on you rebounding economy!

“Everybody is getting their drought or series of droughts,” he said.

As seen in the chart, that's roughly 14 years of drought! Let them eat cake!

“The people that would slaughter the cows, who needed those cows to keep those plants open, would pay more for the declining number of cows,” he said. “The same principal applies with gold and diamonds or oil.”

In theory, higher prices should eventually fix the declining number of cows problem, especially now that the price of oil has fallen again. In practice, a little rain wouldn't hurt. Seriously.

November 9, 2014
4 years of drought: Texas dry spell unfaltering, experts say

The plans start with voluntary limits on use, such as irrigating lawns only once every five days and taking showers instead of baths, but can incrementally become mandatory when conditions warrant stricter limits on use.

Perhaps lawns in potential drought areas aren't really a good idea in general. Just a thought.

“In general, (Texas usually) has barely enough water to meet our needs, and it’s one of those things that once we use it — it’s gone,” Huckaby said.

So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

Source Data:
BLS: CPI Databases