> And while meatpacking companies have increased the prices they charge for their beef, there is a limit. This is because supermarkets, restaurants – and US consumers – can, and will, simply switch to buying chicken or cheaper imported beef instead.

I think you would be amazed at how cost insensitive some Americans are and how large that cohort is. Ground beef would have to exceed $20/lb before I would consider altering my routine.

If you are buying one cut at a time and not being very efficient with it, the prices are certainly ridiculous. If each gram of beef is carefully prepared and allocated across weeks of meal prep, the economic situation changes pretty substantially. Batching effects can make it easier to afford expensive ingredients.

For a bachelor lifestyle, eating at home is appallingly wasteful. If I order delivery, I'm tossing out combo meals and unsolicited sides after paying $50+. If I shop for groceries, there are cans of soup too large for one sitting, there are canned vegetables too copious for one recipe, there are too many capers to use up before they expire, etc.

I was clearly deluded about the role of a supermarket butcher. Because when I rocked up to the counter, I saw appetizing cuts of steak and pork and swordfish, all carefully portioned for two or three servings. Now butcher shops have menus and price lists, but they do not come with a brochure, or instructions or a User Manual for the Inexperienced Householder.

So I ring the bell and a guy appears, wearing white coveralls and a hairnet and knows how to use knives. And I ask the butcher man, "could you kindly cut these swordfish steaks in half please?" And the man behind the counter attempts to demur: "oh... we aren't supposed to do that... oh, sanitary regulations... I shouldn't..."

So this is understandable, if post-processing food introduces health risks, I guess, but I stopped purchasing pre-packaged meats and freshly butchered meats, and especially no frozen meat, because the portions were made for couples and families, and regardless if the "expiration dates" were real or not, I could not stand there at home and hack apart a filet before cooking or thawing.

Passing strange, these delusions, that I thought butchers could cut meats for customers. I am seeking professional help.