The Meat Boycott in Egypt: A call to Action

Several Facebook groups, television programs, and journalists have issued a call to action. Opposing soaring red meat prices in Egypt is now definitely a necessity. Meat prices have increased 25% in the past month!!! And of course, this is expected to continue if the vicious cycle is not broken somewhere. Our precious Minister of Agriculture came up with the ingenious idea of importing more 'frozen' meat, and some more 'live' cattle (hope they don't turn out diseases like the batch we got last year!!) In my humble opinion, the government-has-to-solve-everything mentality has to be challenged here.


There is truly a chance for the citizen sector to be mobilized into doing something that will be VERY effective. For the skeptics, I invite you to  let market mechanics , i.e. supply and demand , regulate the price. If no one's buying, prices WILL go down.

Boycotting meat goes beyond market mechanics. It sends a message to the butchers/cattle raisers/whoever-is-responsible that we, the Egyptian people, are NOT going to take anymore of their crap. They can't live withour us buying meat, but we can live without eating meat, This message is EXTREMELY crucial.  We , the consumers, are going to stand up for our rights.

I found this great link on the boycott meat Facebook group. It tells the story of a triumphal  meat boycott in Amman. It was organized by the Consumer Protection Society and they achieved what they were set out to do: meat prices went down.

So, in a nutshell, what's the deal......

• GOAL:  1.Reduce Meat prices.
                2.Show them who's the boss (the consumers).
• HOW:    Boycott fresh and frozen meat.
• BEST CASE SCENARIO: meat prices will go down.
• WORST CASE SCENARIO:  meat prices will stay the same, but you will be much healthier without all the red meat you usually eat!!!! After all, 3 oz (85 gm)of beef  gives you around 300 calories vs. 120 for a much healthier (lower in cholestrol) chicken breast.

See, it's all good!
So why don't you hop on the meat boycott wagon in Egypt?