From The Winter 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Organic Beef Hits Mainstream Stores

A herd of producers are gearing up to meet demand

Elaine Lipson

As I began to write this column, another possible, though unconfirmed, case of mad cow disease had just been reported in the United States. Just shy of a year ago, the first case of mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, turned up in this country, giving consumers a new reason to think about how beef is produced.

That first discovery of BSE was pivotal for many meat-loving American shoppers and helped fuel the growing demand for certified organic beef. While most consumers understood that the risk of contracting BSE from their next hamburger or T-bone steak was very low, they also got an eyeful and earful of the reality of conventional meat production. Animals eating feed made with parts of other animals? Slaughtering practices that could only be called less than hygienic or humane? It was all there in vivid detail, in newspapers and on television, demonstrating how BSE could occur.

Organic beef offered something different, with clear production standards that eliminate risk factors for BSE. Animals must be given organic feed, in which no animal byproducts are allowed, and third-party certification is required to assure that standards are indeed followed. Additionally, organic practices address other concerns about how beef is produced.

“What mad cow did was give us the opportunity for education and awareness,” says Michael S. Levine, president of Organic Prairie Family of Farms, the meat subsidiary of LaFarge, Wis.-based Organic Valley Family of Farms cooperative. “Prior to [the first mad cow occurrence], the market for organic beef was developing and interest was growing, but [the incident] exponentially increased awareness of what we were trying to accomplish and offer.”

But a year ago, certified organic beef was pretty hard to find. What a difference a year makes; today, organic ranchers and producers have a much stronger presence to meet new and still-growing demand. As a result, retailers can confidently initiate organic sales programs for beef, pork and lamb.

Organic versus natural
Though organic meats are a last frontier in the organic marketplace—the organic label wasn’t allowed on meat until just a few years ago, so the category lagged behind others—natural meat brands are widely available and accepted. So what’s the difference between natural and organic, and why should retailers offer both?

For meat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture defines natural only as “a meat product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and that is only minimally processed,” and does not regulate the label. In other words, “natural” doesn’t mean much by itself; natural brands range from those that are basically conventional in their practices to those that have stringent and carefully monitored standards. Retailers and consumers who want more from meat must opt for those brands that go well beyond USDA’s definition. Colorado-based Coleman Natural Meats, for example, eschews the use of growth hormones and antibiotics, and its animals eat a vegetarian diet.

But organic standards go further still, requiring that animals be given organic feed (grown without pesticides or herbicides, without genetic modification, and without prohibited methods such as processed sewage sludge as fertilizer, on land free of chemicals for at least three years). Animals must have access to pasture. Antibiotics and growth hormones are prohibited throughout the animal’s life cycle (sick animals are treated, but removed from the herd). And all organic producers must be certified by an independent third-party accredited by the USDA.

“When we get a chance to talk to people, we explain [organic] isn’t just about antibiotics and growth hormones; it’s [also about] chemical fertilizers in the pasture,” says Seldon Moreland, vice president of marketing for Dakota Beef, a vertically integrated, all-organic beef company based in Chicago. “The whole chain of production is organic. When people ‘get’ that, they look for certified organic.”

Raley’s, a California supermarket chain, carries Dakota Beef; so does the Williams-Sonoma catalog, and Moreland says the company is in talks with other grocery chains.

“I think a percent of consumers are ready for organic and branded beef,” says Organic Prairie’s Levine. “Quite a bit of education is still necessary [for them] to understand the difference between natural and organic, but the difference is night and day. Organic is positioned as the gold standard, which it is. Organic supply and organic protocol are rigorously enforced.”

Consistency, quality, price
As organic producers expand supply to meet demand, they’ll be competing on consistency of product, quality and price. Retailers can also expect to see finer distinctions based on how the cattle are raised, standards of humane animal treatment, how the meat is delivered, whether it’s domestic or imported, and whether it comes from small or larger ranches.

For example, Albert’s Organics, a subsidiary of natural and organic distributor United Natural Foods Inc., offers organic beef under its Grateful Harvest brand. Raised in Uruguay, cattle in this program are 100 percent grass-fed, says Jim Hagen, vice president of fresh foods for Albert’s. While organic will be the leading market claim for the product, Hagen says, “grass-fed will be front and center,” too. “Grass-fed beef has to be prepared differently, because it will cook about 30 percent faster,” he says, “so we need to make sure customers understand that.” Hagen notes that by importing its products, the Grateful Harvest beef program will produce six to eight times the quantity of organic beef that anyone else in the country currently sells.

Denver-based Mesquite Organic Foods also offers certified organic grass-fed beef, and the company’s Web site focuses on the health aspects of grass-feeding. But not every producer is ready to bet on fully grass-fed beef; though interest is growing, its flavor is unfamiliar to many Americans. Organic Prairie’s beef is pasture-raised and grain-finished, though Levine says that in the long run the company could move toward a fully grass-fed line extension.

If large programs like Grateful Harvest’s Uruguayan beef are at one end of the organic meat spectrum, Iowa-based Wholesome Harvest represents another. This coalition of 40 ranchers focuses on its priorities of supporting fair trade for small farms, social responsibility and farm practices that “voluntarily exceed the organic standards,” the company says. Though a small brand, Wholesome Harvest products are available in Hy-Vee stores and even some SuperTarget stores in the Midwest. Wholesome Harvest also offers a unique subscription service direct to consumers, modeled after community-supported agriculture programs.

Most organic meat producers offer case-ready items, largely to help retailers easily stay in compliance with National Organic Program regulations, which require that organic meats be protected from contamination by nonorganic products. Retailers who prefer to cut their own organic product for the butcher case must be familiar with these regulations and prepared to meet them.

Watch organic grow
In 2003, according to the Organic Trade Association, sales in the organic meat and poultry category increased 78 percent (though it should be noted that this growth came from a very small base). Organic meat producers expect to see that pace continue and even increase this year. Hagen says his program could grow 100 percent in the next year. Levine has similar expectations to double sales, saying, “We haven’t come close to fulfilling the demand that exists.”

In 2003 organic meat and poultry sales increased 78 percent.

So, retailers, start your engines for the race to offer certified organic beef. Choose your brand with care, according to your store’s and your customer’s needs. For those just getting started with organic meats, Levine recommends “keeping it simple”—start with basics such as ground beef and chicken breasts, and “let the market become educated from the ground up.”

Finally, whichever brands you choose to sell, ask your purveyors to help you make your organic meat program successful. They’re the experts, and they’re acutely aware of the need for education, promotion and store support. And each has success stories to help pave the way. “At Raley’s, the stuff is flying off the shelves,” says Dakota Beef’s Moreland. “We think there is more demand than supply and look forward to a strong working relationship with all of our buyers.”

Elaine Lipson (emlipson@aol.com) is a Colorado-based writer, editor and organic educator. She is the author of The Organic Foods Sourcebook (McGraw-Hill Contemporary, 2001).