Middlemen Screwing us, and we pay for the honor.
I just spoke to a person involved in the production of red
meat for consumption in South Africa, and was shocked to hear that he is
getting R17-18 per kilo for lamb and R10-11 per kilo for beef, while we are
paying R69-R140 for lamb, and R49-R100 for beef(depending on area).
I called him a barefaced liar, but had to apologize when he
referred me to this article about a meeting of the Northern Cape Red Meat
Producers’ Organisation in August 2015. The same is applicable to those farming
vegetables and fruit, so being a vegan is also not a solution. This is the
price we pay when the middle man is in control of the price to the end user,
instead of the producer.
The biggest embarrassment is that we as consumers allowed
this to happen, losing sight of the fact that almost all middle men and
retailers are corporations. We wanted the comfort advertised by malls and
supermarkets, so now have to pay through our noses for it.
Time to give back the economic power to those that actually
grow and raise what we eat, not those leeching of the logistics of getting that
produce to the consumer. Support your local farmers by buying direct or attend
farmers markets. In this way we pay the farmer his due while paying a fair
price, giving value to those on whom we depend for our sustenance. And in the
process you just might enjoy the day while saving money.
