Egypt's Online Beef About Soaring Meat Prices

Once upon a time, a kilogram of meat in Egypt could be purchased for less than a pound. Fast forward to 2015, and the price of a kilo meat now hovers around 100 LE. The sky-rocketing price of meat has angered many in the nation, and has recently sparked an online campaign to boycott meat until the prices drop.

Hoping to force traders to lower prices, an online campaign on Twitter was launched under #بلاها_لحمة which translates to #forget_about_meat and quickly became one of the most trending topics in Egypt. Al-Masry Al-Youm recently covered the story claiming that posters supporting the boycott can be seen across the Sinai region. Supporting the call for boycott is April 6^th Youth Movement among a variety of Egyptian organisations.

Although the campaign is currently trending, several sceptics have emerged believing the boycott is doomed to fail, especially considering that Eid al-Adha is next month and revolves around the tradition of sacrificing an animal to feed the needy. At the same time, officials suggest that the boycott won’t have an effect as the soaring price is the result of meat production being low, and any drop in price will likely be taken from the income of farmers and butchers as opposed to adjusting the market price. It should be common knowledge that when demand is high and supply is low that prices will soar, however that hasn’t stopped Egyptians from using their hilarious humour to talk about the issue on social media.

Here are absolute favourites

انا تقريبا مبشفش اللحمه دي الا ف صور فيفي عبده اللي مرميه ع التايم لاين بس #بلاها_لحمه

— ♐️ (@koghee) August 22, 2015

احنا اصلا مطبقين #بلاها_لحمه اكتر من ٢٠٠ يوم في السنه...
انا مش معاكو يا رجاله في الحمله دي 😁

— Karim (@karsalib) August 24, 2015

@fawzya99 
اعمله الشيف الشربيني نفسه باللحمه المفرومه.. 
#بلاها_لحمه

— ahmedfathee (@AhmedfatheeM) August 24, 2015

بيقولك بقى الناس كانت بتتظاهر ضد السادات عشان كيلو اللحمة كان ب 60 قرش :'D..طيب
#بلاها_لحمه

— Yahya (@aboely7y) August 24, 2015

يا فرحة بتوع الفراخ فينا 
#بلاها_لحمة

— hassan radi (@hassanradi33) August 24, 2015

#بلاها_لحمه .. و كل عيلة تجيب بتاع 5 او 6 كتاكيت يكبرو و ندبحهم و نعيش ع الاكتفاء الذاتي ✋✋

— المحنكة .. سابقاً (@rowan_ramzi) August 24, 2015

الصدمة: انك يوم متفكر تاكل لحمة ب 90 جنية
وفى اﻻخر تطلع لحمة حمير .!
#بلاها_لحمة

— سلام يا صاحبى✋ (@E_G_Y_) August 23, 2015

#بلاها_لحمة 
-جدتى مشاركة فى الحملة : يا سادات ليه معلش,كيلو اللحمة ب 60 قرش ..
*كيلوا اللحمة بقى ب 80 جنيه يا تيتة ,
-قلبى قلبى

— الممتعض (@allyzeina) August 23, 2015

#بلاها_لحمه وخد سوسو

— الكونفلج (@mohamed_sabour) August 23, 2015

انا اشتريت نص خروف ومن بكرة هبتدي حملة #بلاها_لحمه

— الهرم (@_El_haram) August 23, 2015

We would have loved to translate all of this in English, but often Egyptian humour doesn't make much sense when translated.