Saturday, December 17, 2011

Beef....In the News

Ok, Ok....sensitive subject here.  For me and my fellow ranchers.  Beef safety.  It's a sensitive subject because for some crazy reason, one tiny little blurb in the news can send the cattle market into complete and "udder" chaos.  And that spells disaster for us and our livelihood.

A few years ago, the great and powerful, "Oprah" made the comment, "I know I'll never eat another hamburger again."  And the beef industry went into a tailspin.  Every so often, there will be an outbreak of e-coli or someone will see a cow down at the salebarn (which nowadays can't even be sold) and "mad cow" disease is the first thing that comes to mind. 

A few months ago, in "Prevention" magazine, I read an article about a morning talk show host who recently battled cancer.  She said in the article, she was "certain".....CERTAIN....the reason she "got" cancer was because she ate so much red meat.  Pardon me, but that is one of the most irresponsible statements I have ever heard.  If the wrong person got ahold of that statement, all hell could break loose in the beef industry.  Because, for some reason, this is what the media likes to do.  They seldom report on the nutritional benefits of beef, only picking up on the negative things someone who is absolutely uninformed says.  That makes me so mad.

It isn't really just the beef industry either.  But it does seem that beef gets a terrible rap more often, just because it's beef.

A few bad producers can spoil things for many of us.  I admit, there are a few who don't care about public safety and are driven by the almighty dollar. The fact is, MOST beef producers work hard to grow good cattle who will someday contribute to the world's beef supply.  It makes sense that we would put out the best product possible, if for no other reason, than to have more customers, more people consuming our product, more return customers.  And I truly believe those "bad" producers will get theirs in the end.

We raise "Certified" All Natural, Hormone Free, Aged and Sourced cattle.  What this means is that we go to a lot more work than most producers to verify what we are doing. This certification tells buyers the cattle were raised on our place and only our place.  It tells them we have never given them growth hormones or treated them with antibiotics. There is a ton of paperwork and audits by trained professionals to make sure we are selling what we say we are.  It's a pain in the butt, to be honest, but something I feel strongly about.  I don't want to consume hormones or antibiotics unless I absolutely have to and I don't want to sell that product to someone else that way.  And honestly, the buyers pay a premium for the extra work that we do.  So to me, it's a win-win situation.   

But so much of the safety of beef is completely out of the hands of the producer.  I can sell the absolute best product available (which I do) but after it leaves our place, I can't control what happens any longer. Proper storage, preparation and cooking techniques are imperative, as with any meat.  But if some (pardon me...) DUMB ASS  (thank you) can't wash their hands before they throw a hamburger on the grill at McDonald's and someone gets e-coli, suddenly it's my problem.  Seriously.  Even though I did everything I could to deliver the safest, best product I can.  And I'm not sure a lot of people understand that.

So, for those of you that EAT BEEF, thank you.  Thank you very much.  Please don't believe everything the media tells you.  Beef is a safe product.  It's a healthy product.  As with most everything in life, common sense is necessary.  Thank you.

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