When I read Patrick Linnell’s Hamburger Nation article, several things came to mind. I feel like I am connecting the dots to what is really taking place in today’s beef industry. I will attempt to share my thoughts.
First, consumers love ground beef because it is less expensive than other cuts of beef. Ground beef always provides a very good eating experience because it has the great beef flavor without the beef toughness. Based on personal experience, I’m convinced American beef did not have any issues with toughness until the industry became single-mindedly focused on maximizing pounds per animal 40 years ago.
Second, in an attempt to bring back the lost tenderness in beef, the industry started feeding cattle to higher levels of marbling. Unfortunately, marbling only accounts for a mere 10% of the variation in beef tenderness. In other words, there is a very low correlation between marbling and tenderness. I have had many very poor eating experiences with well-marbled steaks because the steaks were as tough as shoe leather.
Third, the industry is now feeding beef animals to previously unheard of weights. It’s not uncommon to have 1500 to 1700-pound animals going to slaughter. When you feed an animal that grades choice at 1300 pounds to heavier weights, you are essentially only increasing pounds of excess fat that must be removed from the carcass. Excess fat is only worth 40 to 50 cents per pound.
Fourth, to get rid of the tons and tons of excess fat, the industry is importing large amounts of lean beef from foreign countries. We do not have any control over how this imported beef was produced or processed. How many imported animals does it take to make an 80% lean grind with the mountains of excess fat we need to dispose of? When beef is imported, American beef producers are losing out.
There is a much better way to fix the beef tenderness problem. On a scale of 1 to 10, the average beef animal in America is a 3. We now have the ability to consistently produce beef with an extreme tenderness rating of 10. A relatively high percentage of beef animals in herds that were never bred and selected for maximum growth are testing positive for Tenet®. All PCC™ herds, for example, are over 60% Tenet®. Some are pushing 80%.
It’s time for American beef producers to Make Beef Great Again! We invite you to join this movement. This is one venture you don’t want to be late to join. There are always advantages to being ahead of the curve. There will always be consequences for being late!