Due to the multiple issues which have lead to cattle ranchers to shrink their herd sizes, the price of beef has went up by 20% since 2020. The higher costs of raising cattle, alongside the reduced supply, is to blame for this shift to the left on the supply curve for beef. If demand remains high even with the higher costs, the price will continue to rise as it will take time for the ranchers to build back up their herds even if the cost of raising cattle declines. The substitute products such as poultry, beef, or vegetables may also experience a price increase just from increased demand from the ones who will forgo the beef for the summer to take care of their wallets. They will not rise as much as beef has, but will still rise some due to demand going up if supply remains constant.

The rising prices of beef contributes to inflation, as many consumers will not want to forgo higher protein foods, and this will make beef alongside other sources of protein prices rise. This takes more available funds out of the consumers pockets, which in turn hurts other parts of the consumer economy as people will not have as much money to purchase other goods. Furthermore, the higher prices of beef is passed onto the consumers, which in turn exacerbates the challenges cattle ranchers face financially when raising cattle, which creates a higher price overall on all goods. This starts to become a cycle of inflation that is hard to get out of.

The price elasticity of beef can be looked at in a short term and long term phase. Short term, beef is rather inelastic and people who value that protein source and source of vitamins may be willing to pay the extra money to keep it in their diet. Long term, more and more consumers will swap their beef for other protein sources as the prices will become more and more detrimental to their consumer price index. Consumer preferences will hold strong in the short run and but I believe the longer beef prices stay inflated the more elastic beef will become to consumers.

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