Rural America, prepare for Biden’s newly-proposed tax

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2021/01/23/biden-administration-is-contemplating-a-new-tax-that-would-disproportionately-impact-rural-americans-n2583595?fbclid=IwAR2ofNAS83sqRc0ANEzKP3vKyihjg6nBiKRlryEDDdILR9McgYJO9aPrf48

• When President Biden chose South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary, many questioned the president’s choice, but soon after it was clear that Biden chose Buttigieg for his idea that America should move away from the gas tax and instead opt into a tax based on the number of miles a person travels.
• As of today, the federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel.
• According to Buttigieg, the gas tax has not increased since 1993, and it has never followed inflation, which is one of the reasons why there are more funds going out of the Highway Trust Fund than coming in.
  • He believes that as America moves more towards electric cars, the gas tax won’t be effective anymore.
    • To remedy this, Buttigieg wants to consider taxing Americans on the number of miles they drive.
  • If the Biden administration does move forward with the idea of taxing Americans by the number of miles they drive, rural America would be overwhelmingly affected.
  • This tax proposal is just one of the many reasons why the deepened divide between the urban and rural populations continues to grow.

Biden administration puts brakes on faster meat plants

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/LIVESTOCK-HIGHLIGHTS-Top-Stories-of-the-Day–32272549/

• President Biden has wasted no time overturning various Trump-era policies, and his most recent move is one that will impact the chicken industry.
• Earlier this week, the USDA withdrew a proposed rule that would have allowed meatpackers the ability process up to 175 birds per minute, instead of the current ceiling of 140 birds/minute.
• According to Food and Water Watch, the withdrawal will protect food safety and workers’ health.
• The National Chicken Council hopes that Biden’s USDA will eventually allow the chain speed increase.

Canadian researchers say their cultivated meat is the meatiest

https://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/96961

• Researchers at McMaster University School of Biomedical Engineering in Hamilton, Ontario have discovered a new technique for creating cultivated meat that they claim will provide more natural flavor and texture compared to other alternative meat options.
• For this new technique, researchers stack sheets of cultivated muscle and fat cells grown together in a lab to be about the thickness of printed-paper.
  • Before the cells die, the sheets bond naturally together, so they can be combined into any level of thickness.
    • According to researcher Ravi Selvaganpathy, this new stacking method will allow cultivated meat to mimic any level of fat content and marbling; essentially, consumers will have the opportunity to buy meat with whatever fat percentage they desire, he stated.
  • So far, the project has used mouse and rabbit meat, but researchers believe that the stacking technique would work well with beef, pork or chicken.

World beef production declines

https://www.nationalbeefwire.com/world-beef-production-by-country

• In 2020, the world produced 60.28 million metric tons of beef, down 1.36 million metric tons compared to 2019.
• Notable beef production by country in 2020:
  • Australia produced 2.115 million metric tons of beef in 2020, down 317,000 metric tons from 2019.
  • The U.S. produced 12.38 million metric tons of beef in 2020, down 3,000 metric tons compared to 2019.
  • Brazil produced 10.1 million metric tons in 2020, down 100,000 metric tons from 2019.

Boxed beef prices

www.nationalbeefwire.com

• Choice boxed beef: $229.06 (+2.33)
• Select boxed beef: $217.33 (+1.12)