President Trump's Impossible Successors

#245: Are Rural America's Fortunes About To Nosedive?
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I did not see this coming, but the implications of a shift from meat-based, to meatless protein, can't be ignored.

If consumers find meat substitutes preferable--and reports are that the Impossible Burger, for example, is quite tasty--the two-step process of growing animal feed (corn and beans) that is then turned into meat, becomes outdated, and with it the entire physical layout of rural America.

Why Would This Happen?
Using a one-step agricultural model (plant protein becomes Impossible Burger) is both cheaper and requires much less land, compared to the very inefficient conversion of plant to animal protein.  Once enough people buy the Impossible Burger and other foods like it, economies of scale will drive down the price.  Lab-grown foods, according to this report,

               "...will be at least 50 percent, and as much as 80 percent, lower [in price] as
                 current products. This will result in substantial savings.... The average
                 U.S. family will save $1,200 a year...."

Won't This Take A Long Time To Unfold?
Not if the price of meat-less protein seriously undercuts meat.  If it tastes like meat, and costs a lot less, the change could be sudden and dramatic.  Smartphones, for example, took less than ten years to dominate the market for hand-held devices.

What Will Happen To Rural America's Farmers?
Ever since European settlers first plowed American soils, growing meat has been an important focus. And for the self-sufficient homesteader, nothing will change.  But for the commercial farmer--the overwhelming majority of agriculture--a collapse of the equation corn-and-beans -->> cattle-and-hogs means a glut, followed by lower prices, resulting in an unprecedented number of bankruptcies.

And The Political Implications?
Rural states with few urban areas (like the plains states of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, the Dakotas, plus Montana, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Mississippi and Alabama) will likely see dramatic decreases in population; and nearly all are Red (Republican).  This will eventually render the House of Representatives and Electoral College much friendlier to Blue candidates.  The effect in the Senate will be less pronounced, though without farm work, people in rural areas will move to in-state urban areas, tipping the urban/rural balance in those states.

Could A Lower Price For Land Change Anything Else?
Possibly.  More private hunting grounds are likely.  Larger house lots in rural areas are also probable.  Nature reserves become less expensive (huge expanses of restored prairie with herds of buffalo, for example).  Maybe a back-to-the-land movement has always been in the offing, but suffered from high land prices.

And What About All The Bankrupt Farmers?
The federal government's safety net will kick in, most likely with a transitioning program to retrain workers.

Update 2/4/24: The latest.  After a falling off in plant-based meat (that costs roughly the same as the real thing, it seems a breakthrough is at hand.