It’s often said that no battles are more fierce than the ones fought over plant-based diets. Actually no one says that but the disturbing truth is that pro-tofu and anti-tofu advocates are engaged in a bitter political clash. Perhaps cooler heads will prevail as both sides recognize their common adversary.

The trouble began when a White House economic adviser named Brian Deese recently attempted to explain away rising consumer inflation. The Washington Examiner’s James Antle covered the kerfuffle:

Some...

Rep. Byron Donalds (R., Fla.) at the U.S. Capitol.

Photo: Tom Williams/Zuma Press

It’s often said that no battles are more fierce than the ones fought over plant-based diets. Actually no one says that but the disturbing truth is that pro-tofu and anti-tofu advocates are engaged in a bitter political clash. Perhaps cooler heads will prevail as both sides recognize their common adversary.

The trouble began when a White House economic adviser named Brian Deese recently attempted to explain away rising consumer inflation. The Washington Examiner’s James Antle covered the kerfuffle:

“About half of the overall increase in grocery prices can be attributed to a significant increase in prices in three products: in beef, in pork, and in poultry. And in beef and in pork, we’ve seen double-digit increases in prices over the last couple of months,” Deese said. He added, “If you take out those three categories, we’ve actually seen price increases that are more in line with historical norms.”
. . . “Thank you, Brian Deese, for again proving why the rest of America cannot stand coastal elites,” Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, tweeted in response. “NEWS FLASH: People in REAL AMERICA are impacted by the increase in beef, pork, and poultry prices. America doesn’t run on tofu; it runs on real food.”

Some consumers may agree with Rep. Donalds’s point about the impact of inflation but wish that he could have avoided besmirching the honor of tofu. Regardless, this confrontation is escalating quickly. The advocacy group which calls itself People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has issued a press release announcing:

Fort Myers, Fla. – Seething over U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ anti-tofu tweet—“NEWS FLASH … America doesn’t run on tofu; it runs on real food”—a PETA supporter in Florida urged the group to hit back and offered to cover the costs of running pro-tofu ads outside Donalds’ offices in Collier and Lee counties.

Someone who is left seething by criticism of tofu is perhaps too easily offended, and this white-hot anger may be inspiring vegans to make aggressive claims about their prevalence. The press release continues:

With the new ads, PETA shows its support for Florida’s more than 3,300 soy farmers and points out how many tofu-fueled Americans there are: The number of U.S. vegans has jumped by 3,000% in the last 15 years, and tofu sales went up 40% in the first half of 2020. As for the notion that “America doesn’t run on tofu,” vegan runners like Scott Jurek, one of the world’s most dominant ultra-marathoners, would disagree.

As a reminder, vegetarians don’t eat meat while vegans go even further and refuse to consume anything derived from an animal, including milk. As for the claim of skyrocketing veganism, PETA cites a firm called Ipsos Retail Performance, which says:

Veganism in the US has grown from obscurity to become a mainstream part of the American diet. Since 2004, the number of Americans turning plant-based has reached 9.7 million people, growing from around 290,000 over a period of 15 years.

In a country of 332 million people, a claim of nearly 10 million vegans appears to be in the ballpark, but the growth claim is questionable. According to a 2018 report from Maura Judkis in the Washington Post:

The number of Americans who self-identify as vegetarian or vegan has remained steady over the past 20 years — and it’s still a pretty small group, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Five percent of Americans identify as vegetarian, a rate that has remained unchanged since the previous survey in 2012. In 1999, when the survey was first taken, as well as in 2001, 6 percent of Americans identified as vegetarian. Rates of veganism have followed a similar trajectory. This year, 3 percent of respondents identified as vegan — a slight increase from 2 percent in 2012.
What’s remarkable is how little has changed, even as our food culture and habits have evolved over the past 20 years. In 1999, there were no “Meatless Mondays,” no Pinterest, no “Food, Inc.,” no fast-casual salad places, no Goop. Information about a vegetarian diet — at least for middle- and upper-class people who have more dietary choices — has seemingly never been more abundant. But it’s not resulting in any noticeable increase in the rate at which people adopt the diet — a fact that may prove either galvanizing or discouraging for plant-based advocacy groups.

At the risk of offering even more discouraging news to tofu evangelists, the sad truth is that they are not completely isolated from the ravages of inflation just because they prefer soy-based products. Soybean futures have risen more than 20% in the past 12 months. And the White House’s Mr. Deese shouldn’t try to argue that only meat and meat substitutes are becoming more dear. The Bloomberg Commodity Index has surged more than 30% in the last year.

Vegans may be in for an especially unsatisfying dining experience. Bloomberg’s Daniela Sirtori-Cortina warned in June:

Tofu is about to get pricey, and it’s going to test just how much Americans are willing to pay for protein.
Americans on a health kick have been actively eating more protein in recent years, but costs for all the major sources of it are soaring. Beef, pork and chicken prices are increasing as demand picks up in the post-pandemic economy. The same is happening with plant-based burgers and other imitation meats.
Now, tofu, one of the cheapest options, is next... Prices are already up. Unseasoned tofu -- the white squishy block that needs cooking -- as well as ready-to-eat flavored products have risen more than 8% in the past two years, according consumer research firm Spins LLC. Prices may increase as much as another 4% in 2021 and 2022, according to Minh Tsai, chief executive officer at Oakland-based producer Hodo Foods.

Now is the time for all consumers, whether they prefer a steak or a fake, to tell the big spenders in the White House and their enablers at the Federal Reserve to stop destroying the value of our currency.

More dollars from the Fed are chasing goods that for a number of reasons are lately more difficult to produce. Norbert Ore of Strategas Research writes in a note to clients today about his firm’s “Strategas’ Leading Indicator of Manufacturing” report:

New order activity could be stronger if supply chain disruptions were less severe (i.e. labor disincentives, chip shortages, school closures, skill mismatches, high inflation)...
The SLIM survey results indicate supplier delivery times will be tremendously stretched in September. In responding to the survey, 83 percent of the survey respondents report slower supplier deliveries, 0 percent report faster supplier deliveries, and 17 percent say they are the same...The lengthening and extremeness of delivery times is consistent with the recent news headlines about bottlenecks (i.e. halted production, port closures, astronomical freight rates, numerous cargo ships sitting at sea, worker shortages & strikes).

None of this is likely to make food less expensive.

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James Freeman is the co-author of “The Cost: Trump, China and American Revival.”

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