Beef’s a trip day 15: It’s not all about the beef.
When you think about the end product of beef production, what do comes to mind? A tender, juicy steak —preferably seasoned with no more than salt and pepper and grilled to medium or medium rare?
But there’s a lot more to a finished steer (or heifer, or cull cow) than just the middle meats. There’s ground beef, roasts, brisket — even non-branded items like organs, glands and intestines — being served on dinner tables all over the world tonight.
We can’t talk about this journey through the beef production chain without also pausing to take a look at those non-beef items that come from our herds.
They are the less-thought-about, the byproducts we use every day without even thinking about how they might have started out on our very ranches and feedlots.
Just a few examples are:
• Air filters
• Anti-aging cream
• Boots
• Candles
• Cement
• Chewing gum
• Cosmetics
• Deodorant
• Detergent
• Fertilizer
• Handbags
• Imitation eggs
• Medications
• Pasta
• Paint
• Plastics
• Rubber
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Textiles
That calf you see grazing on wheat pasture right now? He might not only grow up to produce cuts for the Certified Angus Beef® brand, he might also show up in the drugstore or department store!
Beef’s a Trip Archives:
Day 1: Starting at day one
Day 2: Who are these people?
Day 3: Stockholders
Day 4: The cowherd’s purpose
Day 5: Deciding to care
Day 6: Quality focus doesn’t have to skip the middleman
Day 7: Stocking for quality
Day 8: SOLD!
Day 9: What have you done today?
Day 10: Working together to make ‘em better
Day 11: Keep on truckin’
Day 12: Packers want quality
Day 13: The target
Day 14: Packers up close & personal
Day 15: It’s not all about the beef
Day 16: Further processors
Day 17: From here to there–and a lot more
Day 18: He’s on your team
Day 19: Beyond prices, grocery stores uncovered
Day 20: Getting quality in the carts
PS—Holly Spangler is in New York, but her “30 days on a Prairie Farm” series goes on, and so does everybody else’s. Check out the full list on her blog.
You may also like
Progress from small steps
Every day is a chance to learn and get better. Thousands of others like my new friends in Alabama are taking steps to meet the shifts in consumer demand, and to know more. Small steps in the right direction can start now. Even if it’s just recording a snapshot of where you are today, a benchmark for tomorrow.
Not perfect, but working to get better
The CAB Cattleman Connection team heard its name called more than once in the virtual ceremonies, and each time came a sense of personal accomplishment, but even better: confirmation that we’re getting better at our craft. I hope that means we’re doing a better job for you.
Beefed up findings
Frank Mitloehner presents his findings on the animal ag sector’s impact on global warming. He explains how cattle counterbalance other fossil fuel sectors, proving that cattle are a solution and not a threat.