What’s happening on the land?
Being a passionate lover of red meat, I wanted to use this opportunity to journey with you beyond learning to cook meat to perfection. We buy our beef, take it home, cook it for a few or for many, and enjoy.
Let’s look at this further:
Sustainability is what the beef industry and the beef farmers are working on. This is the key word that governs their approach to operating now and into the future. The thinking is that better land and water management will lead to more nutritious soil which will ensure that the cattle is being well looked after. Well looked after cattle means better tasting meat.
The intention is also that the more nutrient rich the soil the better it will deal with the droughts and floods in the future.
It is so admirable to see industry figures taking this head on. I am referring to heads of the relevant associations and cattle farmers. They are dedicating unpaid time to meeting to brainstorm as to how the whole industry can raise their cattle in the most environmentally sustainable manner as possible so that everyone wins – including you and I at the dinner table.
The sustainability movement is taken very seriously. So much so that banks will fund cattle producers to the extent that they can prove that what they plan to do from the funding is for environmental sustainability and animal welfare purposes to produce a quality end result for you and I.
For us who are at the tail end of the supply chain, we have a lot to be grateful for. True – our expectations are high, and this is why more is being done to become a more efficient beef industry. That said, the industry is going to great lengths to ensure that the by product of better farm management practices is better quality meat for us to cook with.
If you want to be terrific at cooking red meat, cooking skills and knowledge are of course important. However, understanding that good rearing practices are essential for a happy life for the animal which leads to high quality meat. If you can access this quality meat then when you apply your newfound culinary skills, that extra knowledge will have you cooking red meat to the highest standard possible!
So, my advice to you is to question your butcher about his/her suppliers. Where is his/her meat coming from? How dedicated are his/her suppliers to the overall land sustainability movement and animal welfare? The answers could well be the determining factor as to whether you stay with this butcher or not.