01/16/2024
This is some really great, factual information! Never buy into fear based marketing, no matter what they are trying to sell.
THIS IS LAZY MARKETING 101
and it's sleazy, too.
This meat color, "local" vs "grocery store" image and idea is making the rounds again and being quiet is not my forte. So first, I'll address the misinformation👇🏻
1. Grocery stores do not add things to ground beef. If a flavor, marinade, liquid etc., is added to a meat product, it's clearly indicated on the label and this applies to beef, pork, chicken etc. Ground beef is just that - beef and fat mixed to a specific ratio.
2. Beef sold in a grocery store is the exact same nutritionally as beef bought from a local butcher or purchased from a rancher. On our ranch, we sell beef into the grocery store chains - commonly called "commodity beef." We also sell a lot of beef direct to consumer. The cattle that go into these two supply chains live together, eat together, play together, p**p together, etc. They are raised the exact same way! It's the exact same beef and it's also the beef we eat. There is no difference nutritionally or safety-wise between the beef on the shelves and the beef from a local farmer. None. It's all USDA FSIS-inspected and approved before it gets to the shelf!
3. Yes, purchasing beef from a farmer or rancher who sells direct to consumer supports that family farm or ranch. I live that reality every day - purchasing a 1/4 of beef from our ranch, High Bar Cattle Company, pays for flag football uniforms, 4-H fees and art supplies. But guess what?! If you purchase beef from Wal-Mart, Price Chopper or Kroger, you're also supporting family farmers and ranchers! I am supremely grateful for anyone who chooses to purchase beef. Period. Because a rising tide lifts all ships and if you're eating beef, thank you so much for supporting my family and the industry I love.
Now, to address the larger, overarching problem:
Bashing someone else's product to sell your own -- like in the picture below -- is fear-based marketing 101. To my dying day, I will call this out for what it is, whether it comes from anti-agriculture activists or within agriculture from my fellow producers. It's lazy and sleazy and I will die on this hill.
Thank you for being here, commenting, sharing and supporting this page. But also, thank you for supporting my family's ranch and so many other farmers and ranchers by buying beef.
addendum: the irony of me hiding the name of this page to protect their privacy and keep people from going to their page to comment, only to find that they have blocked me AND taken infographics from High Bar Cattle Company without crediting me is just [chef's kiss] and 😂
