Above are two rails of retail market beef carcasses; in a chill cooler that could contain as many as 80 to 100 rails. A good many people today might find this image of wholesale beef harvest a bit disturbing, and would really rather not be made to think about where this desirable protein source originates from. “Out of sight, out of mind” has increasingly become the meat norm as more and more people become disassociated with livestock production and/or processing. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with not raising and harvesting your own livestock, but the unintended consequence of this welcomed ignorance of our daily bread has left too many open to other people’s food type agendas and/or marketing manipulations.
Expert level formal education falls into 2 broad categories: Hard Science and Soft Science/Art. Hard Science degrees are about the why & how of physical workings; while Arts degrees attempt to explain the why & how of human interactions. Near the top rung of true science degrees we have medical doctors, who like insurance companies, rake in tons of money by playing upon people’s fears. Lawyers (the majority of politicians are also lawyers) top out the Social Science arena and often knock-down mega jack by making, interpreting or manipulating the laws that govern us. Add the truly wealthy into this mix, who have the means to influence public policy in their own favor, then societal rules & norms can get hard to understand for the busy masses who are trying to keep their head’s financially above water while raising future workers. I once heard an auctioneer say that his family had wanted him to become a banker because they had never seen a poor little old banker. Retirement investment companies and lobbied for governmental rules keep the working masses in the rich man’s stock market game to add stability to it. Those working in the massive little people’s retirement arena do very well financially by way of playing on other people’s hopes.
It irks me when Soft Science “experts” cite selected Hard Science facts in order to spin why everyone should live out their lives in a way that such experts decided was best. Our public policy makers all too often lack both the Hard Science and working world backgrounds needed to make even semi-equitable rules. Greed and egos routinely find their way into the mix. Further, today’s mainstream media outlets are instrumental in broadcasting the progressive’s agendas around the clock. Media is owned by the rich and sells ad time to companies wanting to sell you things.
The preceding situations are why I feel is important for us to know as much as we practically can about the big 3: Food, Transportation and Shelter. Of those 3, food is inherently different because everyone needs to eat everyday and the types of food we regularly ingest can affect our health; for either better or worse. Further, it’s financially prudent that one should know enough about their food to avoid needlessly paying more solely due to half-truth marketing claims. The personal transportation vehicle market is very lucrative because “dealers” collude to hold price lines; while routinely claiming to “not be under-sold.” The illusion of being a dealer is merely to get people in the door so they can work their confusion magic on them. Buying used cars from private parties can save you from paying a new car premium, plus level the playing field by not dealing with well trained vehicle sales professionals. Pretty much every time a home is bought relators get $6,000 for each $100,000 of the sales price. If practical, buy directly from family or other home owners. If you can arrange to build your own new home you can save about half the cost and then live in it for many years before having to spend time & money on rehabbing it.
No one takes care of your business like you can.