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May 20, 2004 As a diabetic, I can surely understand the desire to reduce carbohydrates in the diet. I always am looking for cereal with less than thirty grams per serving. I was doing fine on a reduced carbohydrate diet until this Adkins craze struck the general population; this seeming miracle way to lose weight by eating fat and protein. Who wouldn’t want to lose weight by eating plenty of the foods that for the last thirty years everyone, including the government health professionals said would lead you to an early grave? Yeah man. Give me a slab of red meat topped with a healthy scoop or two of rocky road ice cream. I can always have a pill prescribed by my doctor to reduce my cholesterol, so pile on the beef and chicken don’t trim the fat either. Being a diabetic has no pleasure, I have to check the level of glucose in my system every four or five hours, and give myself a shot when necessary to adjust those levels. Sometimes I over medicate. When that happens I go into a hypoglycemic state which means my glucose levels have gone to low so I have to eat something full of carbs to bring it back up. The key is knowing just how much insulin to inject and all of the factors that affect that particular injection. It is a balancing act that with practice, one is able to have a good quality of life. A life that had one simple pleasure; I, as a diabetic was instructed that I could increase the amount of red meat I was able to eat. This was a compensation for the carbs I had to reduce. A simple trade off that at least let me have some pleasure food. Then America re-discovered Dr. Adkins diet. Much to my chagrin more and more people discovered what most diabetics know. A good steak is a great meal. One to be savored and enjoyed, but…isn’t there always a but? Because of this new found love of red meat, the price increased. The price increased to the point now where I used to be able to have a decent rib eye, or even occasionally a porterhouse now I can’t even touch a piece of sirloin with out adding a second mortgage to my house. It really is capitalism, a system that is the best in the world; one that still is working after most others have changed or adapted the basic tenants of our economic faith. As the demand goes up-the supply goes down-the supply goes down-the price goes up. The only problem with that is as the price goes up fewer people can afford the product, which then reduces demand which theoretically will drive the price down. It rarely works this way though, at least prices never seem to go down as fast and as far as they went up. People get used to seeing fifteen dollars a pound, and while complaining, still buy the product. At least them that can afford ten ounces of meat and six ounces of bone for that price, still buy the product. Take gasoline, for reasons that seem to be based more on fear than reality, the base price of oil is now stretching towards forty two dollars a barrel. Ok has the amount of oil that is able to be delivered changed? No, as a matter of fact the worlds production capabilities have increased, so why the meteoric rise in price that not too long ago was eleven dollars a barrel? War is one reason, and another bigger reason is fear that the supply will be cut off. Them that speculate in such things are willing to pay more and more for oil that has not even been pumped out of the ground yet, driving the price up and up. As one thing affects another this fear driven spending drives the cost of gasoline to the, in today’s dollars, of over two bucks. Well over in some places. As the price rises more and more, people are able to afford less and less gas, but…there is always a but. People get used to seeing those prices and them that can afford it pay it without comment other than “It’s terrible, but (there’s that but again) what are you going to do.” The sad fact is that them that really need to have gas are the ones least able to afford it. The people who live in areas where there is no public transit, them that are un-employed who need to get to job interviews, them that are disabled who need to get to treatment. And even the schlubs that have, in better times bought houses a million miles from their jobs who now are locked in and have to commute every day. These are the one who really feel the pump pinch. Not the guy with the Lincoln Navigator and the Gal with the GMC Suburban used to haul her one child to day care. We won’t even mention the Hummer owners. If you can afford to buy it you must be able to afford to run it…right? And thus it is with meat and beef in particular. Them that actually have no other way to reduce carbs in their diet are forced out of the loop by them that sustain the higher prices. Them that say “gee that’s a nice cut of beef, give me three.” Meaning that I can maybe eat high fat ground beef and hot dogs for the for seeable future to get my meat fix, but you know as well as I do that in those meals it is often the bun that is the tastiest part. Do I expect the government to step in and say; “Hey you make over a hundred grand a year, eat less well!” No I don’t. I would expect them that supply the meat to increase production which would also have the effect of driving prices down but…there’s those three letters…as long as demand is up and profits with them why increase supply and drive the profit per unit lower. It is easier to feed and maintain two cows than it is to do the same for two hundred. With high prices the profit is about the same as with low prices but more units to sell. In other words a supplier controlled shortage keeps the prices high. The same with gasoline, refiners say they are working at or near capacity but the government could now, temporarily flood the market with oil it has stockpiled but won’t do this, as other administrations have done. Even though it would drive prices lower due to increased supply. Ok the strategic reserve is at 96% of capacity and still taking a hundred and fifty thousand barrels a day off the market, at least the administration could quit that, but it steadfastly refuses. I can speculate, after all the president is both a former rancher and oilman, but I won’t. What I will do is investigate and see of my doctor will prescribe so ounces of red meat per day and then I will see if my new prescription drug card from Medicare will let me buy generic red meat at a discount. I already know that I can’t import it from Canada. ------------ About the author Mark C. Durfee: 49...stopped doing what I was doing before to become an unpublished, unemployed writer. Any interested agent or publisher can contact me at the addy listed. I have four manuscripts complete and two more underway. I am willing to listen to proposals. Email: mcd5255@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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