Is Pork the Cheapest Meat Out There?
It is apparent that people who are long devoted to beef and chicken are eating more pork than they have in years. People have developed a liking for pork, and bacon is the most loved of them. Pork is getting appreciated in Latino cooking, as well. But why is pork cheaper than beef?
There are simple answers to it tough. While a cow gives birth once a year, a female swine gives a litter of piglets two times a year. To reach the market size, pigs take about six months, whereas a steer can take around fourteen months. Also, pigs need a fewer quantity of feed to produce meat than steers to produce an amount of beef.
So, what is pork price? Or, why is pork the cheapest meat? Why is pork cheaper than beef? These are some of the questions that you may have asked yourself at least once in your life. In this article, you have an insight about everything related to pork cost and where it stands in comparison to beef and chicken.
Some considerations:
While the article is about pork meat and its cost, it won’t include bacon, sausages, or other kinds of processed meat as the subject of comparison. Comparing pork sausages with beef, for example, might have different conclusions from the ones that you can find here. So, read on to find facts about pork prices.
Is Pork More Expensive Than Beef?
The simple answer to this question is, no. Pork isn’t expensive compared to beef. There are lots of reasons for this. First, pork is not a lump of popular meat that you can find everywhere. There are plenty of restaurants where you can hardly find pork recipes. And, many of them don’t have one.
Swine gives birth to many piglets a year compared to a steer. Hence, the population is quite big compared to cows or steers. Also, not to forget about how much they consume as their diet. A piglet becomes a full-grown adult within six months, whereas a steer can take around thirteen to fourteen months.
So, it is evident that pigs have a better conversion rate to produce a pound of flesh in comparison to steers or cows. In short, cattle are quite expensive and hard to raise in every given way. That might be the sole reason why pork is the cheapest meat. Another crucial reason is due to the non-acceptance of meat in some religions.
Several religions in the world have banned the consumption of pork altogether. While there are mentions in the Christian Bible about not eating pig meat, the modern church doesn’t believe in that and allows people to eat. Yet, most of the Jewish communities have prohibited the eating of pork.
Kashrut, the Jewish dietary law states that animals who have divided hoofs and chew their cud should be eaten by the followers. Pigs don’t comply with the first condition and that way they make themselves to the blacklist. Pork is prohibited in Islam, too.
In Islam, they have their own list of banned foods and they call it ‘Haram’. It is based on the same approach that puts pork on the list of prohibited foods. However, steers or cows are very sacred to the Hindu religion and these animals are respected as creatures of God.
There are specialized laws in India that prohibit the slaughter of cows, and it varies in different states. You can even go to jail for slaughtering a cow in India. The sentence could be anywhere between six months and ten years.
Some Data on Pork Prices
Let us get some data on prices of pork in the USA. As you can see from below table, the biggest price hike occurs at retail level.
Date | Retail Value | Wholesale Value | Gross Farm Value | Net Farm Value |
2020 Q3 | 410.5 | 150.8 | 75.9 | 70 |
Total markup is 340.5 points.
Source: USDA
And that is how it usually is – price gets up by the time it reaches retail. In this case – grocery store. If you want to get pork even cheaper – try local butcher. They may have more direct relationship with farmers and they may have some interesting cuts which you will not find in grocery store.
The price to consumer varies greatly depending on the cut, season and other factors. In fact, the price per lab to you can be anywhere from $4.00 to $18.00 just for backrubs cut. Overall, prices as of end of 2020 ranged from $4.00 to $23.00 for pound of pork. Overall, tenderloin and sirloin chops usually cost more on average than other chops.
The pricing also depends on pork meat quality – USDA Prime costs more than USDA choice. Source:
Obviously, bony cuts cost less, and meaty cuts cost more. But at least you have price range to choose what you want.
As you can see, knowing details about pork pricing and sourcing can save you a lot of money over lifetime. Especially, if you are purchasing plenty of meat. Like, for a large family, or if you are running a restaurant, or even a food stand.
Experienced cooks know many facts about different meat cuts, etc. If there is sufficient interest, we may in the future articles describe these choices in detail.
Why is Pork So Much Cheaper Than Beef? Usually.
The first and foremost reason why pork is so cheap than beef is the way pigs breed. As compared to cows, pigs breed much quickly. Also, they easy to raise and don’t need as much feed as a cow eats. So, is pork cheaper than beef? Yes, absolutely.
Apart from these, many people think that pork is not good for human consumption and considers it bad for health. Now, that’s another reason why pork price is a bit low compared to chicken or beef. So, what makes some people believe that pork is evil and why many religions have prohibited eating of the same?
When talking about the consumption of pig meat, many people have referred to the processed meat such as salami, bacon, or sausages. Most of the processed forms of pork could be hazardous to health. However, as aforementioned, there won’t be any kind of discussion on processed meat. And, the article speaks about lean pig meat such as top loin chops, sirloin chops, or tenderloin.
A certain amount of people holds believe that pork contains more parasites and viruses. It is a common notion that all kinds of parasites or viruses die when cooked at higher temperatures. Even the USDA has published recommended temperatures best for cooking different types of meat.
Both beef and pork have the same cooking temperature, and it’s 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Hence, whatever kind of red meat you can have, they aren’t a threat at a higher temperature. Another big reason why pork is less popular among different communities of people is because of how they are raised.
Pigs are considered dirty animals because of the fact that they eat whatever they are given. Although it is a fact that pigs were raised in a very dirty environment and they were even fed with wastes from different animals. However, this isn’t the scenario these days. And, pigs are fed with high-quality foods.
It is a matter of concern about how each animal should be fed regardless of the kind of meat. All these facts contribute to the pork cost and make it a cheaper option compared to the others.
Is Pork Cheaper Than Chicken?
Pork price as compared to chicken isn’t always a cheaper option, and it depends on factors like demand and supply. However, chicken is cheaper than pork because it is easy to process. Chicken is forced to be prolific breeders, whereas pigs give birth to around twenty piglets in a year. Chickens can raise eight to ten chicks within three months.
Moreover, chickens consume less food compared to pigs and other cattle. Also, they reach maturity much faster and you can raise plenty of chickens in a specific area than swine or cattle. In certain parts of the country, there has been a demand for pork than other forms of meat. There you can find the price of pork less than chicken.
On rare occasions, there occurs certain types of diseases in poultry farms. As such, people abstain from consuming chicken. Because beef is always an expensive option between chicken and pork, people consume pork more than chicken. Yet, according to the reports, chicken is consumed more than pork.
Another factor that plays an important role in determining the cheapest option between pork and chicken is the taste. The more fat, the tastier it gets. But, recently pigs are breed more to fulfill the demands of the market. As such, pork has become less flavorful and much drier than it used to be earlier.
So, that makes pork a lump of lesser favorable meat to many people. That causes the pork price to remain low than other forms of consumable meat. However, there has been a constant endeavor by pig farm owners to recover the true flavor of pork by injecting flavor solutions into the pigs.
Pork vs Chicken Price:
The right answer to this question is quite difficult. That’s because the pricing depends on a market that is constantly shifting. If you compare the price of pork and chicken, you would find that chicken is a bit costlier than pork. Fluctuating demand and supply of both these types of meat causes a difference in their pricing.
In some regions where people consume less pork, the price of chicken would cost more. Moreover, the pork vs chicken prices is more affected when there is a pandemic going on. During these times, the pricing of meat products such as pork, chicken and beef are higher.
So, does a pandemic situation causes a meat shortage? Well, the answer is both no and yes. Farmers can still breed chicken, swine, or cattle. Yet, with very little demand from the market, the usual supply chain gets disrupted. And, meat is readily available.
Even they are made available, you still have to buy them at elevated pricing. Whole chickens can give you more value for your money. You can have two legs, two wings and breasts, skin, innards, and bones. The skin and meat are completely edible and you can cook the bones into bone broth.
As per the reliable sources, the pricing of a whole chicken is about $1.28 per pound. For a 150 pound pig, the pricing could be anywhere between $2.50 and $3.70 per pound. From this comparison, it is evident that chicken costs low. But, the pricing varies on multiple factors, and on special occasions, you can get pork at lower prices.
Why is Pork Cheaper Than Chicken?
From a religious point of view, certain religions abstain from consuming pork. But from a farmer’s perspective, it’s a big loss to them. Since not many people want to eat pork, they won’t make it expensive. And, it appeals more to those people who consume pork.
If you look at some of the meat-based food, you would be wondering why is pork cheaper than chicken. The price of pork is less expensive as compared to beef and chicken. At first sight, you may think that because chicken is a breed in a lot of numbers, it could be the cheapest meat to consume.
Literally speaking, the production cost of pork is quite lesser because they eat almost everything. It costs little to deed pigs. Their bodies are capable of converting everything into protein. Even, wastes from different sources and human waste get converted to fat. Also, you get a lot of meat from a single pig as compared to a chicken.
In many regions, the wholesale prices of pork sometimes experience a major fall than poultry prices. The prices can even fall to around $1.8 per pound. Another comparison could be made from the diced portion of each type of meat.
You know that diced chicken constitutes the breast portion of a chicken. Therefore, it costs you more as it is the expensive part of a chicken. Diced pork, on the other hand, costs you much less. That’s because, it is taken frequently from the shoulder, and considered as the cheaper cuts.
Why is Pork the Cheapest Meat?
Still, wondering, why is pork the cheapest meat? As aforementioned, there are lots of reason that makes pork the cheapest option you can have in comparison to beef or chicken. Pigs are very to raise and they mature much faster. Also, they require less feed as a whole compared to other animals like a cow.
Moreover, pigs can be raised in less space. The overall process of growing chicken or cow takes more time and it comes with a higher price tag. A pig, however, takes less time to grow. Also, the overall process takes minimal management from the farmer.
Another factor that adds to the price tag is how fast the animals can multiple. A swine can produce around ten piglets two times a year. Now, that’s a minimum of twenty piglets a year, which is quite impressive. Also, don’t forget about the special community that considers pork as a portion of bad food. So, if you live in those regions, pig meat would cost you less.
When you take into consideration all the things mentioned above such as taking lesser space, cheap to feed, the age to market, and son on, swine is a much cheaper option. Pork tastes better because of the fat content in it.
Conclusion:
Hence, it can be concluded that pork is the cheapest form of meat you can consume. In recent times, more people are eating pork than they had in decades. And, brand new farms are making their way to produce much meat to fulfill the supply-demand aspect.