Suspicions confirmed…

…for some time I’ve felt we as an industry have been harvesting our beef at too young an age.

First let me say I am skeptical of the results of the Mad Cow scare of some years back. Even more skeptical of the cure…permitting bone-in cuts only for animals under 30 months. Whatever triggers Mad Cow may simply not be apparent in younger animals.

No matter…30-months has been the trigger for slaughter dictated by the USDA and the industrial beef people love it because that supports their rush to harvest.

Finally along comes a cattleman to speak out…and let us know what we’ve been missing. He’s been taste-testing some of his older steaks…15-year old steaks…and posted the results on a YouTube video.

It was a few years ago…on one of our Devon visits that I had a steak that was about 10 years old. The farmer wasn’t sure. What was certain was that it was the most delicious, and yes tender, steak I’ve ever had!

It is past time that we revisit the whole Mad Cow Syndrome. And I have to note that no more than there’s ever been any recall of grass fed meat, there’s never been a case of E.coli or Mad Cow in a grass fed and finished beef!

Know your farmer.  And yes we do follow the USDA guidelines…begrudgingly.

David