6/15 To have a beef industry large enough that regular people afford it you need

1) a large middle class
2) private property protections
3) reasonable assurance against excessive taxes and bills of attainder

Otherwise, no one would put the money necessary into these behemoths

7/15 It just so happens that these are the economic benefits afforded by English common law and capitalism. Since England adopted these systems earlier and more eagerly than most of Europe, they have been wealthier longer.

Cue the pride on one side and resentment on the other.

8/15 Both England's fans and detractors saw the widespread availability of beef in the 18th century as emblematic of their unique governance and economy. This system, of course, carried over to their American colonies.

9/15 While Euros were telling folktales about how the loss of a single cow meant the certain death of a whole family, ridiculously wealthy Americans were creating an entire professional persona around cowboys whose only job is to move hundreds of cows from one place to another.

10/15 Side story: As a missionary in a foreign land, my friends and I wanted to make hamburgers and found ground beef so expensive that we ended up eating chicken like the rest of the 3rd world.

I muttered to myself, "I'm pretty sure in my country they give this away for free."

11/15 Fast forward a few months and I'm home with my dad, just a few days after returning.. We go to Home Depot and out front I KID YOU NOT was the American Beef Council, grilling burgers and handing them out free to customers, just to remind them how ------- amazing America is.

12/15 "Yeah but they were just hamburgers."

Bruh it's called a Hamburger *steak* bc in Europe all the way up to the 20th century or more even *ground chuck* was a treat.

You, a fish that does not know it's wet, thinks eating beef is mundane, not symbolic of your insane luxury.

13/15 And yes, McDonald's may s*ck, but *any* hamburger you eat comes from cattle whose grazing lands in America are larger than some entire countries. BLM-managed public grazing lands *alone* are larger than Ukraine.

14/15 So eat an organic, grass-fed tenderloin steak if it makes you feel better, but at the very least recognize that this meal fit for a king is affordable to you bc from Runnymede to Yorktown, Englishmen have defended their right to benefit from their own industry.

15/15 And for goodness sakes, don't eat the bugs.