The contented cow: why foodies will pay top dollar for ethical beef

DPA International ^ | December 23rd, 2016 | Anne-Sophie Galli

[Mariner]

(dpa) - There was once a Hereford cow that ate "100 per cent grass" in the green, green meadows of Ireland. Its demise was painless. Its meat was dry-aged for three weeks to give it lots of flavour.

You can also check every detail of its history by using a smartphone to scan the QR codes affixed to its package at the newly opened Meat Market store, a top-tier meat emporium in Hamburg, Germany. And it's eye-poppingly expensive.

"Lots of people have had enough with the mistreatment of livestock and scandals in the meat industry, like when horsemeat is passed off as beef," explains Meat Market chief Oliver Winter.

"They have a right to know what's on their plates," adds Winter's business partner Georg Sotmann.

Transparency, traceability and animal rights are the ideals that set their business apart from a regular butcher's shop. The meat at their store comes from animals slaughtered under as little stress as possible - one at a time with an electric shock to the head.

[Mariner]

While keeping young beef steers on grass until slaughtered is important for health reasons, there's nothing wrong with starting them on grain supplement at one year. Slaughter at 15-16 months.

You can buy such beef, even in California, at $12/lb for a prime rib roast.

$20/lb for filet.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We’ve raised two steers so far; grass fed all spring, summer and fall and then on grain for the winter, until butchering the next spring.

So far we’ve enjoyed, ‘Dinner’ and, ‘Supper.’ Next up is, ‘Weber.’

Nothing like it. Seriously awesome.

Our neighbor raises Buffalo. It takes FIVE YEARS until they’re ready to go to market. He gets top dollar for his meat...and he should!

[billorites]

I’ve been eating beef sirloin for the past month from Market Basket @ $3.99/lb.

[rey]

Most people forget, grain IS grass. Yes, there are problems with a heavy grain diet, but remember, some of these steers are going to slaughter around 14-18 month. That is nearly twice as fast as grass fed/finished, depending on the quality of your grass.

[Robert DeLong]

I used to love ground beef (hamburgers), but now it is rare that I get ground beef that even tastes like ground beef used to taste like. I know it is not my taste changing because every now and then I will get ground beef that tastes good.

[tbw2]

I heard Dr. Haidt (sp?) say that while liberals mock conservatives for retaining traditional morality regarding sexual purity, liberals have that purity form of ethics, too, but increasingly about food.
Thus the demand for vegetarian/vegan, locally sourced, ethically raised everything - akin to Kosher but without the standardized rules and people adding more layers of exclusivity or perceived morality to try to outdo each other.

[arthurus]

Do these foodies understand that all that information they can get as a printout to verify all the gentle treatment of their beef can be generated by a computer program that is simply digital fiction?

[PLMerite]

“So far we’ve enjoyed, ‘Dinner’ and, ‘Supper.’ Next up is, ‘Weber.’ “

Nothing like telegraphing your intent. Good thing they’re dumb cows. :)

[Jonty30]

They are trying to be good without God.

[Sivad]

The author needs a lesson on the difference between
steers / heifers and cows.

[Vendome]

I’ll do it for a special meal, at a restaurant but, other than that, I’m okay with Elsie being taken the way her ancestors have always been taken...

[Gay State Conservative]

I love beef...LOVE IT! A $15 piece of sirloin at Outback is heaven to me.I've even eaten at Ruth's Chris once...about 5 years ago.IIRC my steak was something like $40....best I've ever had.But I'm price conscious.I'm not willing to pay much more that $15 at Outback or $40 at Ruth's Chris.

[Rio]

Interesting... Ours are slaughtered in the fall at the end of grass season. The heifers who remain and one bull and the yearlings eat hay all winter, then back on grass pasture.
We love our home-raised beef!

[Little Bill]

Buy a Chuck Pot Roast and have it ground in to Hamburger. I see a lot of people doing that lately.

[GreyFriar]

I recall that, in the 1970’s, the Army commissaries in Germany put up signs stating where the fresh beef was from. I remember seeing signs for Ireland and Yugoslavia. The prices were not extravagant.

[KarlInOhio]

But at the same time the food industry fights against country of origin labels.

[Bob]

...akin to Kosher but without the standardized rules...

What's really meant by that is "without that yucky religious stuff". They are leftists after all.

[Mean Daddy]

I worked at a Omaha packing plant that processed utility cattle (e.g.: dairy cows, bulls etc.) for grinding. I remember telling my farmer father-in-law about buying boxes of dairy cow t-bones and he wasn’t surprised that they were so go since they had been mostly grain fed all their lives.

[Robert DeLong]

I’ll try it I guess. I miss not having good burgers.

[Parmy]

I was a journeyman meat cutter in a meat packing plant in my younger years. I did everything from push the hanging sides into the cooler, putting the blue shields on the sides after the inspector had graded them, to cutting the sides into quarters and finally cutting the meat into specific cuts.

I could tell a steer or bull sides from heifer sides. But, I will be darned if I could tell if the carcass was angus or herford after the skin was off.