Like you, I am astonished by the rise in food prices every time I go grocery shopping these days. No, I am not conflating costs with prices; I notice that every product type is rising, across all food categories, especially beef, pork, and chicken. Meat prices are rising so much that it forces us to make meat/lettuce trade-offs, deciding whether to buy lettuce and carrots, or buy lower-priced vegan meat alternatives. Are these soaring meat prices forcing us to eat vegan, plant-based food? Prices have not just increased; they have soared in chicken, beef, and pork. Will these soaring prices force us to forgo meat for dinner and become vegan?

I do not want to become vegan -- maybe you do not either -- but here are the facts: the Meat Market Opportunity Forecast (CAGR) projects a 15.7 B uptick in alternative plant-based meat production, thereby making grocery store shelf space for alternative meat products as substitutes for real meat. I foresee an erosion of consumer choice in the meat aisle. These higher prices and meat alternatives come in the form of pricing meat off our dinner tables by price nudging us to increase consumption of plant-based meat products.

There are reasons why meat will be removed from our dinner tables, but price is the determining factor in 2025 through 2027. What is even more bothersome is that meat prices are expected not to decline, according to various market projections. Not only are policies decreasing our meat consumption, but there are people out there who want to see a meatless society, according to Reddit and many other sources. I mean, Meatless Mondays are fun, but I would not choose that for myself or (as a surrogate decider) for others, a meatless diet ad infinitum, unless that is someone’s own choice and personal accord.

Folks are astounded by the rising meat prices, so it is not just me switching to lettuce and carrots instead of pork chops or ground beef. Christopher Ruo, agreeable to the meat lovers plight, recently wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Grocery prices Keep Rising." Frustrated consumers Are Trying to adapt, but here is an added caveat. The caveat is this: while meat prices are soaring, people must trade off meat for substitutes, and these substitutes are enforced (not by the discipline of the market) but by policy, nudging, and or coercion to make a meatless switch, especially those who have a vision for a meatless society. However, lately, there has been a big push to entice folks to eat meat alternatives rather than be frustrated by soaring meat prices. The saying goes, you subsidize what you like and tax what you do not like. There is subsidizing veganism at the expense of the consumers who want real meat.

Here is food for thought: According to the Meat Institute, beef, dairy, and processing is a 227.9 billion dollar industry, and the US exports roughly $30 billion worth of livestock and other animal products. The Cattle Site laments that beef, pork, and egg prices are rising, attributing the rise to labor shortages, supply chain issues, and higher production costs. While sources claim the alternative meat industry is small, more informed folks can see that it is a $11 billion industry and growing rapidly.

Alternative meat, however, touted by its consumers as the plant-based, sustainable option to beef. While that may be a much-celebrated fact for folks, others, like me, are asking, 'Where's the beef? And what is up with these soaring prices?' The alternative, plant-based meat products, are not only creating shelf space at our local stores and are projected for continuous growth; however, unfortunately, meat prices are signaling for us meat eaters to buy more lettuce and carrots instead of meat. We are thereby being forced via the meatless society and soaring prices to eat vegan.

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