Food, one of the most important daily material things every person needs, next to clean water, is also one of the most mindless, careless, I-could-care-less-about-how-it’s-grown-processed-owned-and-delivered commodities, especially among Americans.

Ever play the board game Monopoly? The person who wins and controls everything, ends up with all the money, all the important properties, isn’t the one who put 27 hotels on Park Place. It was the person who slowly, methodically began to buy up and choke off everyone else in the game.

A monopoly is sorely misunderstood by the people of America. First, it isn’t a game. The government is not set up to protect us sans our involvement. Secondly, a monopoly doesn’t mean something owned or controlled by one entity, one company in America — though it is the; exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action, exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition — such as a foreign nation being permitted to end up possessing exclusive control of beef in America.

All permitted over the years by visionless, ignorant, downright stupid people in politics, in high places, in elected or appointed office. While the people were otherwise occupied.

No respect, no understanding of food. Yet it is what is required daily in order to continue on in oblivion and otherwise occupied.

Food is one of the most highly political and leveraged things on earth. Yet, in America, for decades, food has been treated as if it were on par with sock, tennis ball, and toilet paper production and insight.

Food is highly political. Also, one of the most important parts of health, quality of life, and even has the ability to be used as a weapon. Allow, over decades, utter stupidity, ignorance, blindness, and lies to be the order of the day, and before it’s realized, the entire food chain has been turned on its head. Handed over to foreign interests.

Control a nation’s food, and you control the people and government of that nation. No need to invade with troops or begin dropping bombs. Yet, in the arrogance and ignorance that have dominated American politics and government institutions and agencies for decades, we, the oblivious just-make-sure-the-drive-thru-is-open people, forget antitrust laws, forget sense, vision, critical thinking, paying attention. Just remain blind. And downright stupid.

Yes, the food chain of a nation is a most important, vital national security matter.

Why is it Americans have this attitude of invincabiltiy and everything will remain as it has? We’re above and beyond ruin? Because, well, we’re Americans!

It takes effort, work, paying attention, and doing what is necessary to maintain what was created and built. Tragically, many, perhaps most in America, with the blindness inherent in their natures, can’t even point out where their state is on a map of the United States, or have the foggiest knowledge of our founding, what’s really in the U.S. Constitution, our real history, how our government was established, and what it takes to maintain it.

A lot of folks, when asked, think Benjamin Franklin was a U.S. president, rather than who he was, and how instrumental he was in the establishment of our nation. When approached, on Monday, September 17, 1787, by Elizabeth Willing Powel, and she asked the following, upon Mr. Franklin’s exiting what is now Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Mr. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Paying attention is required. A basic requirement. Holding elected and appointed officials accountable to KEEP THE REPUBLIC. STAND FOR THE LAW.

Because it’s that important.

Otherwise? You end up where we are today.

Connected to all of this, it cannot be isolated, ignored, or separated from any of this is the spiritual health and knowledge of the people, since this nation was created only due to the Providence of Almighty God in defeating the greatest army and navy in the world at that time.

If handed the most precious stone, material item in the world, would neglect, apathy, or being lackadaisical in knowing the state of that item at all times leave the individual possessing such a rare gift?

Yet the gift that is America, given to we the people, is one of the most neglected things, after the neglect of the spiritual health and knowledge of God and how we’re to live according to His Word.

“Where’s the beef!?”

Tragically, too few Americans have a beef regarding what has become of our nation, who is in office, and what American policies have become.

Massive illegal immigration and the invasion of Islam.

Massive neglect of the churches, what a church, a pastor, a Christian ought to appear like.

Massive neglect of everything, other than apparently making sure to binge-watch the dung on Netflix, or make sure not to miss the season of The Voice, or whatever time-wasting distractions are presented to the people to occupy their time, allowing evil to do its bidding.

Yes, that $50.00 steak in your local grocery store is a political, as well as a spiritual commodity. Even though presently it’s walked by, as it costs $50.00.

Why does it cost $50.00?

The following article begins to explain.

Thankfully, President Trump is making the effort, doing something about the breaking of antitrust law and permitting a foreign nation to create a monopoly regarding a vital food item.

Neglect of the basics.

Neglect of the spiritual part of each person, THAT is the ETERNAL part, neglect of the gift of this nation’s government.

We all will give an accounting one day.

Doesn’t mean we need to march in the streets, join a political committee or movement, it just means we all need to take a wee bit ‘o time to pay attention. Then respond accordingly.  Turning off the autopilot and putting hands on the control stick, in fervent prayer and thankfulness to Almighty God, repenting of our sin, and it has been, is a period of great individual, thus national sin in America.

And, yes, the food chain is all part of this.

Nothing is isolated in a vacuum. It’s all threads woven into the fabric of history.

What design, what quality of fabric to clothe ourselves are we, have we woven?

A Republic, as designed, or through neglect and ignorance, to become a slave people to foreign powers?

Read the Holy Bible. Those people who were greatly blessed by God, given wonderful gifts made possible only by the grace of God, when those people neglected and took for granted those gifts — what happened to them.

We’ve all been given a Brazilian, and ouch, does it hurt!

So, what are we going to do about it? Because we can do something about everything — if only…

Read on…

Ken Pullen, Friday, January 23rd, 2026

Inflation didn’t eat your steak. A cartel did

Friday, January 23, 2026

By Peter Navarro

Reprinted from The Washington Examiner

Once upon a time, you paid fifty bucks for a steak only if your waiter wore a tux. Now you pay it under fluorescent lights at the supermarket.

That’s not inflation. That’s a Brazilian beef cartel squeezing American families. Here’s the part no one ever explains:

Beef prices aren’t set on the ranch. They’re set in the slaughterhouse — the place where cattle are turned into the burgers and steaks you buy at the store. Control that step, and you control the price. Period.

And right now, America’s slaughterhouses are controlled by a foreign-dominated cartel tied to Brazil.

The United States has over half a million cattle ranches. But almost all of their cattle must pass through a tiny number of meatpacking plants before reaching your plate. Just four companies control about 85% of U.S. beef processing — and two of them, JBS and National Beef, are effectively controlled from Brazil.

That’s not competition. That’s a choke point.

That’s because Brazil isn’t just another beef producer. It’s the largest beef exporter in the world. And China isn’t just another customer; It’s the world’s biggest beef buyer.

When Brazilian-controlled firms run major U.S. processing plants, American beef prices stop reflecting public conditions. Foreign demand sets the floor — and China ends up setting the price of dinner in America.

That’s how a backyard barbecue turns into a luxury item.

This Brazil–China beef axis squeezes Americans from both ends. Ranchers get paid less. You pay more — while the profits pour offshore.

That’s not a free market. That’s market muscle.

The danger of this Brazil–China chokehold became impossible to ignore last summer, when trade tensions flared and Brazilian exporters shifted beef away from the United States and toward China. Supplies tightened. Prices jumped. Your grocery bill followed weeks later.

No cartel or foreign power should have that kind of leverage over what Americans eat. That’s why President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to launch a full antitrust investigation into foreign-dominated meatpacking firms.

We would never tolerate a foreign-aligned cartel embedded in our power grid, our ports, or our telecom networks. We shouldn’t tolerate one embedded in our food supply.

Trump has always understood that economic security is national security — and food security is part of that fight.

If America raises the cattle, the public should set the price, not a Brazil–China export axis operating through a cartelized-processing bottleneck.

Antitrust law exists for moments like this. When concentration becomes coercion, the answer isn’t hand-wringing. It’s restoring competition. And if that means breakups and divestitures, so be it.

The people didn’t vote to have their dinner prices set overseas.

They voted for leaders willing to break cartels — and bring steak back to the dinner table without a tux.

Peter Navarro is White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing.