Alberta Beef Magazine - BeefNews.com

The truth hurts by Roy Rutledge
May, 2010

It seems like every cattle magazine that I picked up during the winter ran a story about some new beef marketing scheme. They all talked about "value added", "branded beef", "natural", "organic" and more or maybe even some special breed of beef. For example, we saw television ads promoting the "Angus" wiener. I was really thrilled to see that the main breed of cattle that I raise and even promote was so good that they could make wieners out of them. Yeah, tube steak. Not a bone in it. It is so tender and juicy that you can cut it with a fork. Next we will have organic wieners, maybe we already do. We could have organic natural Angus wieners too. Isn't that the pinnacle of value added?

One thing that I have observed over the years in every story, is that all of the niche market meats of all species are far tastier, healthier, and nutritious than what they all refer to as "commodity beef". Yeah, and Labatt's beer is better than Budweiser's. They both make you smarter if you drink enough at one time.

You have to admire those that get out and fill a niche that no one else has seen or taken the time to look after. However, when they are promoting their products by implying that theirs is much better than the main stream products I have to wonder how much collateral damage they cause intentionally or unintentionally. Why?

The one really goofy gimmick is the blatant statement "hormone free beef". Those people should be arrested for false advertising. Every living thing has hormones, so how does their product become hormone free? I am sure they mean implant free but would rather stretch the truth than be specific. Even then, there have been dozens of studies done to test the difference in hormone content in beef from implanted cattle and non-implanted cattle. It is almost immeasurable. It is down to a few nano grams. It is basically a non-issue when you consider that the coleslaw, peas or beer with the meal have far more natural hormones than the beef. But as long as these "hormonally challenged" beef promoters keep the factoid story going, more and more gullible consumers will start to believe them. (A factoid is a falsehood told so many times that people start to accept it as a fact.)

Some think that they will sell beef to Europe if they do not implant. Good luck! It will work as long as you don't have any significant amount to sell. As soon as you do, they will find some other reason to shut the door. They are protectionists and will not relent. They have found reasons not to accept our Canola and Flax too. How many Canadians and Americans died rescuing them from Hitler? Canada should stop accepting products from Europe.

Another prevarication is the statement that people want to know where their beef comes from. Sure they want to be confident that it is free from pathogens but I can not see why they would want to know or care what ranch or even province it was born or raised in. In fact, they never thought about it until some genius started telling them that they wanted to know. If Suzie house husband buys beef with my ranch name and picture on the package in downtown Toronto, are they likely to know me or care? (If they want more of it, there won't likely be any from my place the next week anyway. It might be in Vancouver or California.) The fact is, they want a product that is CFIA inspected, tasty, tender, convenient and above all reasonably priced. The idea that they want to know all that other stuff is some niche marketer's idea to promote their own product. It only works until everyone starts doing it. Then the consumer couldn't possibly keep track of everyone. It is logistically impractical, if not impossible.

I believe that the few people who make a lot of noise and think that they are changing the whole market place have no idea how insignificant they and their entire production is. According to the Canadian Cattle Buyer bulletin (printed by the George Morris Center) the average weekly kill of cattle in Canada is over 50,000 head. In the US it is about 650,000 head. Now, if you and/or your group of niche people, combined, have 5000 head or less, that is only ten percent of one week's kill or about a half a day per year's kill. One "special" group has a goal of 100,000 head per year. That would be two week's kill in Canada or not even a half day's kill per year in North America. That is hardly enough to start one upping the main stream product or "commodity beef". Why not get off of the soapbox and raise cattle that will fit the box? You will net more money long term.

Beef is the commodity. Niche marketers can fill a hole or two here and there. They remind me of the guy using a spade on a road construction crew. He works the hardest, gets paid the least but doesn't move nearly as much dirt as the Cat operator but just listen to him in the bar.... If they ever get big enough to be a major supplier they are no longer a niche. Why not carry on in your own little world and keep your head down as long as it is working for you? All of us in the cattle business have a vested interest in seeing all beef sell well. We want it to out sell other proteins. I'll stick with the main stream high volume business.

We should be fighting PETA and the Paul McCartney's of the world not each other. McCartney is always knocking animal agriculture and fur traders. Apparently he is quite sensitive, after the skinning Heather Mills gave him. He got his butt kicked by a skinny one legged little girl. A fellow vegan. He couldn't even keep her from running away. It looks like vegans can be aggressive too, even if they don't have a leg to stand on.

Roy Rutledge opinions and stories (written from his ranch at Kayville, SK) are his opinions alone and do not represent those of this magazine or any trade organizations he belongs to nor anyone who has contracts with any of his companies. He thrives on controversy.

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