Move fast

Those in the business of beef, pork or lamb are usually watching the trends of the nation’s restaurants as close as they watch meat exports. When one part of the meat chain is not doing so well, the need for change is there. The bad part

From the is, change is harder for some parts of

Publisher the food supply chain.

Dennis Sun The restaurant side is more fortunate than other parts, as in my view, they can change management practices easier than others. While it is usually nothing more than just changing pricing, management practices usually follow.

I found it interesting reading an article on the 2022 restaurant trends, as the meat industry depends on these restaurants. The pandemic had a big effect on restaurants, and now they are trying to recover.

To provide more insight into the current and future restaurant trends, Popmenue conducted a nationwide survey of 415 U.S. restaurant owners/operators in October 2021 and compiled the findings in a new report filled with mustknow trends and real-life examples. Bear in mind, this survey was taken before the latest COVID-19 surge we are now experiencing.

Most restaurant owners/operators in the survey are feeling either very optimistic – 30 percent – or cautiously optimistic – 60 percent – about their outlook for 2022, as they are implementing strategies that will change experiences for both diners and staff.

The findings, as reported in BEEF Magazine, say that like other industries, labor is a major issue for the restaurant industry. Seventy-one percent of restaurants estimate they lose $5,000 or more per month due to the labor force deficit and 37 percent claim they lose $10,000 or more per month.

But 28 percent surveyed anticipate opening a new restaurant in 2022, so this shows many are moving forward. Eighty-two percent plan to increase wages and benefits along with offering signing and retention bonuses.

As you probably guessed, nine in 10 restaurants plan to increase menu prices as they learn to deal with supply shortages and costs. Restaurants also plan to keep increasing technology usage. Fifty-one percent plan to automate online operations over the next 12 months, while 41 percent plan to automate more on-premise operations.

Around half of all restaurant owners/operators surveyed will place greater emphasis on comfort and healthy food, which means more beef and lamb I hope. They also plan to offer more alcohol to-go and 29 percent will offer outdoor dining year-round. Outside dining will not fly in our region. Around 40 percent will increase investments in marketing and loyalty programs and offer more customized ordering experiences.

I’m not sure I want to sit down in a restaurant and order through a computer, but in some restaurants that will be normal, especially in more informal places.

It looks like restaurants, especially in the major urban cities, are having to change to stay competitive. Hopefully our western region will be slower in implementing some of these new changes, as we change less, and I like it that way. I’m not ready to deal with a robot over how I want my steak cooked, but as long as the drinks are stiff, I can change, too.

How the EPA Can Stop Food Inflation from Getting Worse

By Guest Authors

A recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed update to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) will hurt America’s food supply chain and raise prices even higher for consumers.

In the proposal, the EPA recommends a sharp increase in mandated volume levels for advanced biodiesel, a biofuel which relies heavily on the same commodity used by virtually every human and pet food company in the U.S.: soybean oil.

If the proposal is finalized as-is, there will simply not be enough soybean oil to go around. Over the past year, and well before EPA issued its proposal, the competition for soybean oil between biodiesel refiners and food makers has been fierce, with food producers often outbid and cut off from supply for this ingredient. Small and medium-sized food companies have been especially hard hit. If the agency’s plan isn’t changed, food makers, food retailers and foodservice entities that rely on their products could be completely out of luck.

The result? Fewer products on grocery shelves, in restaurants and in kitchens across America. Federal feeding programs, food pantries and hunger groups would face even more overwhelming challenges. It’s entirely within the realm of possibility that consumer prices for staples could be exorbitantly expensive, as in two to three times today’s prices.

Moreover, Americans are likely to see sparsely stocked bread, cracker, snack, sauce and frozen food shelves and even more “out of stock” signs at restaurants. Soybean oil is simply irreplaceable in the food supply chain as it exists today.

America's hardworking farmers have seen their best soybean crop yields in years, but the demand for soybean oil – driven in part by the steadily increasing RFS mandate – has far exceeded domestic soybean oil refining capacity. Already, nearly half of all U.S. soybean oil goes toward biofuel production, and this proportion is only expected to grow. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects the quantity of soybean oil used to make biofuels will increase 25 percent over the next year.

Biodiesel refiners are building new refining capacity, but it will take years for these new facilities to come online. In the meantime, biodiesel refiners must follow the dictates of the EPA’s RFS and produce a mandated level of biofuel, even if it means no soybean oil is available for food, which is exactly what’s happening.

As a result, food makers have been forced to import foreign soybean oil, which is more costly due to heavy tariffs at 19.1 percent. The U.S. was long able to meet our domestic soybean oil needs, but unfortunately and alarmingly, became a net importer of soybean oil in September and October of 2021.

For many months now, those in the food industry have sounded the alarm to

Please see EPA on page 5

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