在供给端，餐厅与零售商正透过重塑产品来维持可负担性：使用较低等级部位、机械嫩化、盐水增嫩、炖煮，以及把较便宜部位在菜单上重新定位为招牌。每年销售超过 9,525,000 kg（21 million lb）牛肉的 Omaha Steaks，推出了经 USDA 认证、熟成 35 天的嫩上腰肉菲力；储存成本约为每月每 lb $0.15-$0.20，但该公司表示，选用后腰上腰肉而非 tenderloin，能让 4-pack 的 170 g 切片（4 x 6 oz）售价大约便宜 $50。消费者也在牛肉内部降级替代，像是更多选择 top sirloin、fajita-style sliced steak，以及餐饮服务中增加使用绞肉混合。
结构性限制在于牛群规模：在多年高饲料成本与鼓励屠宰而非留养小母牛的诱因之后，美国牛群规模已降至 1951 年以来最小，即使政策试图提升可负担性，价格仍持续承受上行压力。需求持续性也受到强化，因素包括经修订后提高肉类地位的联邦饮食讯息、社群媒体蛋白质趋势，以及 K 型经济下跨收入族群的广泛购买。企业与家庭行为支持这一模式：ButcherBox 回报 2025 年 fillet 年增销售 49%、top sirloin 年增 118%，而 Ariel Merhav 将 rib eye 从每周最多 4 次改为每月约 2 次，并以 picanha 或炖煮 24 hours 的 chuck roast 替代，显示在牛肉内部替代强于远离牛肉的替代。
US beef prices have surged to record levels, yet demand remains resilient because beef is tied to culture, diet goals, and protein-focused habits. The article opens with Mesa Khalil, a 25-year-old Chicago hairstylist targeting 130 g of protein per day and still buying a New York strip for about $15 once a week despite higher costs. USDA-linked data cited in the piece shows beef and veal prices were up 15% in January year over year, while 2026 per-capita beef consumption is still projected to reach its highest level in more than 15 years, signaling that many households are adapting rather than quitting steak.
On the supply side, restaurants and retailers are reshaping products to preserve affordability: using lower-grade cuts, mechanical tenderizing, saline enhancement, braising, and menu repositioning of cheaper sections as house specialties. Omaha Steaks, which sells more than 9,525,000 kg (21 million lb) of beef annually, introduced a USDA-certified tender top sirloin fillet aged 35 days; storage costs are about $0.15-$0.20 per lb per month, but the firm says choosing lower-back sirloin over tenderloin allows a 4-pack of 170 g cuts (4 x 6 oz) to be sold for roughly $50 less. Consumers are also trading down within beef, with more top sirloin, fajita-style sliced steak, and increased use of ground beef blends in food service.
The structural constraint is herd size: the US cattle herd is at its smallest level since 1951 after years of high feed costs and incentives to slaughter rather than retain heifers, keeping upward pressure on prices even amid policy attempts to improve affordability. Demand persistence is reinforced by revised federal dietary messaging that elevates meat, social-media protein trends, and broad cross-income purchasing in a K-shaped economy. Company and household behavior supports this pattern: ButcherBox reported 2025 year-over-year sales gains of 49% for fillet and 118% for top sirloin, while Ariel Merhav shifted from rib eye up to 4 times weekly to about 2 times monthly and substitutes picanha or chuck roast cooked for 24 hours, indicating substitution within beef is stronger than substitution away from beef.