tervuren:
Squirrel moment: Glycophosphates (round up ag) is a whole different discussion, but one worth having.
As to the OT, I don't think this is an issue with skyrocketing meat prices. Looking at the CPI, sirloin steak in 1913 was 24 cents a pound. Using the CPI index calculator,
https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=0.45&year1=196001&year2=201310,
that gives $6 a pound today corrected for inflation. Given my area, that is a bit less than what I see at Costco.
This link has more dates for hamburger:
The Changing Prices of stuff in 80 years comparison of prices over the last 80yrs
12 cents in 1930 is only $1.64 adjust for inflation to 2013. A bit less than the $4.68 a pound listed.
Given that growth promoting antibiotics didn't really start till the 1950s, that 45 cents per pound in 1960 is a healthy $3.59 in 2013 dollars. Closer to the actual 2013 price of $4.68, but still less.
Guess what I am trying to say is that if GPA were that big of an improvement in output, shouldn't meat be much more inexpensive now than in the past? Since it isn't, doesn't that imply that other factors are at work, thus removal of GPA shouldn't be a huge issue?
Currently, several mechanisms of action are attributed to antibiotics, but no clear understanding has been achieved. The use of antibiotics to enhance growth and feed efficiency was introduced without rigorous testing ~50 years ago. being first described in the mid 1940s.
A few papers on GPA:
[SIZE="2"] National Research Council. Washington: National Academy Press; 1999. The use of drugs in food animals: benefits and risks. [PubMed]
Woodward SA, Harms RH, Miles RD, Janky DM, Ruiz N. Influence of Virginiamycin on yield of broilers fed four levels of energy. Poult Sci. 1988;67:1222–4. [PubMed]
Leeson S. Growth and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens fed virginiamycin. Nutr Rep Int. 1984;29:1383–9.