Meat Markets Go Local, Organic
Written by Maria Gaura
SANTA CRUZ (March 2010) - The fast-evolving market for organic meat has caused a shakeup in grocery store meat departments locally, with some stores switching to California-grown organic meats and others adding organics for the first time.
In the past few months, New Leaf Community Markets have begun stocking California-raised natural and organic grass-fed beef, replacing a line of organic meats produced in Uruguay. Staff of Life market has also jettisoned its Uruguayan organic beef in favor of a California-raised brand. Even venerable Shopper’s Corner, which has sold prime conventionally-raised beef for more than 70 years, has recently added a small selection of organic beef to its popular meat counter.
What a change from 2008, when the only organic beef in local stores came from South America or a feedlot in the Midwest, and shoppers who bought organic were mainly concerned about drug or pesticide residues in the meat. Few worried about their burger’s carbon footprint, humane treatment for the animals or how many miles their steak traveled between pasture and market.
But in recent years, a number of factors have combined to reshape the market for organic beef, both increasing the number of customers for organic and making those customers more particular in their choices.
DISTURBING DETAILS
Popular movies such as “Food Inc.”, and best-selling writers like Berkeley’s Michael Pollan have galvanized consumers by reporting disturbing details about modern food-production practices. A burgeoning “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” movement is urging shoppers to support family farms by buying local products. And federal Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations took effect in 2009, requiring many imported foods, including unprocessed meat, to bear labels revealing the country of origin.
In addition, competition amongst natural food groceries in Santa Cruz ratcheted up dramatically with the arrival of Whole Foods Market, the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods. When Whole Foods opened on the Eastside in early 2009, it was the only grocery in town to offer California-raised grass-fed organic beef.
Complicating the situation, butchers at New Leaf and Staff of Life say that the quality of the Sommer’s brand Uruguayan beef they had stocked for years suddenly declined, causing them to seek a new product.
“When we began selling Sommer’s the quality was good, the price was right, and the product was grass-fed and organic,” said Scott Roseman, co-owner of New Leaf Markets. “The best of all worlds.” But when the quality of Sommer’s meat declined, Roseman switched to a locally-grown product.
CALIFORNIA GROWN
New Leaf and Staff of Life now carry Eel River brand grass-fed organic beef, raised in Humboldt County. New Leaf now also carries Pacific Pastures brand natural beef, which is owned by Eel River Organic Beef, Inc. Pacific Pastures’ grass-fed cattle are raised organically except that the cattle are given worming medications to prevent parasites.
Roseman hopes to eventually stock a full line of Eel River organic beef at New Leaf stores, but is currently on a waiting list because Eel River’s organic program is at capacity right now, and could take another year or two to increase its production. A spokesman at Staff of Life could not be reached for comment.
Butchers behind the counters at New Leaf and Staff of Life say that the new beef is selling well, and that customers like it. “This is a really great product, it’s raised in California and we’re selling a lot of it,” enthused one butcher at New Leaf’s Westside store, as a crowd of customers jockeyed for position at the meat counter.
Bill Carman, co-owner of Pacific Pastures, says sales of his company’s organic and natural beef has soared in the past year, and that he is working with his ranchers to make the switch from “natural” to completely organic production.
BOOMING BUSINESS
“It’s funny, but when we started this business four years ago, it was a very hard sell, with a higher-priced product and the recession and all that,” Carman said. “But now all hell has broken loose, I’m getting calls every day, and we’re right up to our capacity.
“I think what made people see the light was the Country of Origin Labeling, which the Democrats brought out of the dustbin of the Bush administration,” Carman said. “People really want to buy products from the U.S., and beyond that, they want to buy locally-grown.”
Dan Neuerburg, regional meat and seafood coordinator for Whole Foods, expects sales of local, organic and grass-fed beef to grow 30 percent this year, despite the lingering recession. He believes the increase is due to better-educated, compassionate consumers who are willing to pay for higher quality and environmental protection.
“I think more people are concerned about where their meat is coming from, and that is a big factor,” Neuerburg said. “People are more informed about food issues, and they’re concerned with all the recalls and food safety issues."
COMPASSIONATE CONSUMERS
“Another thing we’re hearing more from consumers is that they’re concerned about animal welfare,” Neuerburg said. “People are concerned about whether the animals are abused, or forced into small spaces, and they’re asking more questions about that now.”
In response to customer concerns, Whole Foods is introducing a new five-step animal welfare rating system in all of its stores, with a higher number ranking indicating more humane treatment for the animals, Neuerburg said.
Despite a surge of consumer interest, not every local market has been successful selling organic meats. Safeway has apparently dropped its O Organic line of organic beef, a feedlot-finished product produced in the Midwest. The only organic beef to be found at a local Safeway recently was one-pound bricks of ground beef from Organic Prairie.
According to Carman, Organic Prairie produces ground beef from organic dairy cows who are past their peak production. Safeway officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
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