Marginal Revolution points to an interesting piece in Slate on the economics of beef and dietary trends. The question concerns how to explain the boon in beef and the bust in bread. ”Is there really an Atkins economy?” asks Charles Duhigg, and he attempts to disprove the idea that the Atkins craze is responsible. Instead the trend is due to the growth in beef-based convenience foods like “frozen and heat-and-serve beef.” However, why should these be mutually exclusive explanations? The popularity of Atkins has removed the beef taboo and made it more popular to eat beef more regularly, thus inspiring entrepreneurs to make it more available in more accessible forms. Duhigg says: “When supply becomes more prevalent, demand is easier to satisfy”—but this is a backwards, treating the growth of convenience foods as an exogenous change. It’s more correct to say that in a market economy, producers chase profits to supply what consumers demand. Why tastes change is anyone’s guess, but Atkins is as good an explanation as any.
Is Atkins Driving Meat Sales?
