The developing grass fed beef market (Part 2)….

Bill Roberts’ dissent from the old bromide perception is reality reminded me of another:  “Each man is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts”.  It’s generally attributed to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan but goes back a lot farther than that.

And while we have some serious concerns over Bill’s article (see Part1 just below), we accept his basic fact:  to meet the requirements of the commercial meat trade a steer must have a hanging weight of at least 600 pounds and that requires a live weight of more than 1,000 pounds.  That’s Bill’s major concentration right now….putting together trailer-loads of grass steers…to be sent to processors.  To borrow the phrase of the commercial meat trade, that’s what fits “in the box”.

So there’s no disputing Bill’s facts.  Except….except….

First, I am reminded of another old bromide…from boxing?….I worry that in launching into a debate with my old friend I am “punching above my weight”.  Bill Roberts has more experience than I in every phase of both the commercial and grass fed business and if he says you’re not going to make a profit by ignoring The Box, you better pay attention.

However, my own basic “fact” is that raising what “fits in the box” is what got the meat industry in trouble in the first place.  Some years ago size and how fast you got your steers to the target weight became the predominant fact in the beef industry.  Quality became subordinate; taste so unimportant that was not even discussed, not then, not now; not even by most of the advocates of smaller cows.  For them, it’s all about feed efficiency.  Whether you’re feeding grass or corn, the requirement is for the most efficient converter of feed into beef.

As a result the commercial beef industry has produced the cheapest, most consistent product for more people in history.  And with a taste which approximates cardboard and with side effects that can kill you.  Is that really the model the grass fed farmer wants to follow?

And do we really want commercial processors—even those as good and as ethical as Bill—telling us how big to raise our cows?  And, inevitably, telling us what we’ll be paid for those cows?  In short, do we really want to see grass fed beef turned into a commodity like the rest of the food industry?  That, I fear, will make us just one more cog in the machine and, don’t kid yourself, that machine will adulterate our product as it has done all others.

Those big producers aren’t buying up all the organic labels they can find because they believe in healthy food.  It’s because they don’t want the indictment staring them in the face at the supermarket and, more important, in the blogosphere.  And, in my opinion, once they possess our credibility, they know exactly how to cut corners to get around oversight and produce what’s beneath those labels for less.

Healthy food takes time and that increases costs and reduces profit.  Healthy food requires transparency and accountability.  Even Bill will admit that the grass fed steak you buy at the supermarket is never going to be from the same cow as the one right next to it in the display case.  No label won’t tell you that.

Just a week ago, one of our neighbors said he had bought some grass fed burger (according to the label) at Wegman’s, an upscale prominent food chain in the east that’s reputation is based on purveying healthy products.  The feel and the taste of the burger was so bad he had to spit it out!

There is no one he can really complain to—certainly not the farmer—and no way he can know whether the next package of burger he buys will be any better or worse.  Do you think the Wegman’s store manager cooked up some of that burger before he sold it?  At Thistle Hill, we do; with every animal.  At Wegman’s, it wouldn’t make any difference; their burger is a composition of not only many animals, but almost certainly many herds.

So what our neighbor did was buy a full half a steer from us.  Probably only 250 pounds instead of 300, but he knew where it came from and he knew who to call if he was unhappy.

And believe it or not, we worry over every package of meat we sell and whether our neighbors will be happy with it.  Much easier to ship a bunch of steers and not worry about them ever again.

But that’s not why we’re raising cows and not why we chose Devon.  Like most farmers in the grass fed movement, we believe in food that is healthy, produced locally, at a decent price and a benefit to the families who consume it.  And we believe Devon beef tastes better.

It’s tilting at windmills, I suppose, but no more than those Devon breeders trying to boost the size of their bulls for the elusive western cattle rancher.  It can’t be done, not without “help” in the form of crossing with another breed or with some miracle supplements.  And then you wind up with the same slab-sided, tasteless monstrosities that eventually can’t be finished on grass but need a lot of grain (and hormones and anti-biotics) to make it to the slaughterhouse.

Finally, having dabbled a little in cognitive psychology, I do think you can change reality.  It’s hard and it requires perseverance but you can perceive of something and make it true, not only for yourself but for others.  And my reality is a network of farms across the country making healthy food available for those neighbors who want it and are willing to pay a fair price for it.

So while I wish those who are pursuing “The Box”, Godspeed, I’ll stick with my own reality…my own facts.