Chapter 2 was all about the operation of markets. We talk about supply and demand, quanitity exchange, and of course elasticity. We learned how are prices set and why they are the way they are. Lets not forget the infamous supply-demand graphs where we discovered the equilibrium price, does 'buy' and 'sell' and '$29' refresh your memory? It should!

November 7, 2006
Meat products recalled after discovery of syringe. Maple Leaf Foods had to recall their turkey and ham from Ontario grocery stores after a woman discovered a syringe slightly embedded to their product. Security has been increased after the incident, and we are still not informed how the syringe really got there. Ironically enough, their slogan is "The difference quality makes."

I'm guessing after this whole incident, the demand for Maple Leaf products would decrease. If I was a consumer of this product I would be horrified at the thought of a syringe being near the production of my food. Unless they need it for reasons I don't know about and I have not been clarified, but for now I'll just think they're using taste enhancing drugs even though no needle was said to be found in the site. This is a great opportunity for the meat market, since Maple Leaf is a huge competitor, this might just open doors for other brands who haven't had much business. People might consider trying new products and start shopping around. The change in quanitity demanded, I believe, would change drastically since ham and turkey are such common products and can be found elsewhere. Since ham and turkey have easy product substitutes, the demand for salami or bolonga might just go up. Supply of Maple Leaf ham and turkey would eventually go up due to the lost of sale, in which case the smart thing to do would be to lower the price until you regain the trust of your customers. The supply of Maple Leafs would remain the same, but the quanitity supplied might change if small grocery stores don't want to risk holding that certain product. Therefore, the demand-quanitity exchange graph would shift to the left. Ham and turkey are inelastic. Meaning, if the price changes by a small amount, the outcome of quanitity exchange would just be affected slightly. Ham and turkey are usually inexpensive, and they are pretty much in an average person's regular grocery lists. Especially to those who makes their own lunch everyday either for school or work. So having prices fluctuate by 10-20 cents, wouldn't change the mind of the consumer buying it. But having a news article questioning the health security during your production could do extensive damage. I'm pretty sure Maple Leafs could up their advertising and this whole thing would be wiped out of memories in no time. Syringe, what? We'll hear that response in a month or sooner.

News Article:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2006/11/07/meat-cfia.html


I remember watching this story on the news and then picturing the Maple Leafs commercial. How they say they make quality meats the old fashion way and how they're so proud. Hah, what nonsense. But these things tend to happen all the time, it all depends on the aftermath promotions and public relations. If I was a regular buyer of Maple Leafs, I'd probably stop buying it for awhile just to be on the safe side. Eventually, once they reassure nothing like this would happen again, I'd be a sucker and give in.