Letter to the Editor — Beef Even Better Tomorrow, by John R. Dykers, Jr. M.D

By JOHN R. DYKERS, JR. M.D. New Hope Farm, Siler City, N.C.

Most of us have only two personal experiences of the reality of beef: the price of hamburger or steak at the grocery store or restaurant and the joy of eating.

All of us have a legitimate concern for our health and the health of our only home planet. The connection between our experience and our concern is important and varies in different parts of our world. One connection is certain, cattle eat grass (cellulose, that famous fiber humans cannot digest) and make hamburger and steak. There are many voices that make a living from multiple tiny parts of that process, some in praise and some in criticism. You already know about the high quality of beef protein and its ability to carry iron into red blood cells, a most difficult human chemistry. There are small and big businesses that make a living doing parts of that process. Most all strive to do and understand better, but some are “sot in their ways” or make a noise out of their bias. It will take time for some major changes, and collectively we will encourage those changes.

My voice is that of a biologist, chemist, physician, cow/calf cattleman turned purebred Charolais breeder, feeder, processor, and retail CharLean sales. I have helped mama get pregnant, have her calf, had her sniff at the back of my neck while I ear tagged her baby, and weighed and measured it just as I did for my human mamas and babies. I have bottle fed calves who lost their mama. I have dug rocks out of her pasture and moved rocks to the creeks so her grass would grow. I fenced ponds and streams, so her water was protected. I have cut brush into gullies, “pertectin” the land. I have weaned her baby fenced next to her, so neither was stressed or lonely while junior made a well fed change from baby to mature. I’ve made the hard choice who stayed on to raise the next babies and who went on to make your great CharLean steak, a transition I eased as much as possible, even making great leather and no waste. I tempted you with delicious samples at the farmer’s market and reveled in your bragging when you made repeat purchases.

Parts of the industry will change with new technology and increased opportunity for monetary and planetary efficiency. Today, the United States produces 18 percent of the world’s beef with six percent of the world’s cattle. I like to think I played a small part in that with early data collection for more efficient production before computers that are opening vast new opportunities. I built a meat processing plant for availability closer to production. The next plant will be on wheels, likely self driving, electric, and robotic processing. It will go to the ranch, process and sort cuts there, and ship directly to consumers. Cow/calf producers will learn new skills to finish at home. We will build new business models, perhaps using our cattle as capital (the Cow/Calf Cattle Corporation). We have already learned we can move feed to the cattle less expensively than moving cattle to feed. Avoiding comingling will mean no need for antibiotics in feed. Gathering for processing will be brief and healthy. Even the bureaucrats will have to facilitate rather than obstruct.

I disapprove of adding my voice to methane and mooloos by even mentioning them, but both have garnered attention as playing a role in climate change. In my honest opinion, climate change is vitally important. See Sex and the 21st Century:AR-W/(P-I) x ATroc = Q: Vol. l - God Made Men Too; Vol. ll - The Price Of Eggs Is Down; and Vol. III - Every War Is An UnCivil War. All are 66-100 5”x7” pages in 16 font for easy reading and hard thinking. They are all available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. Methane is CH4; there are other compounds in natural gas. CH4 reacts with O2 (oxygen) and sunlight to make CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2O (water), and a tractor engine runs it like natural gas. Cows burp methane when they chew their cud to digest grass. Humans poop methane when we eat beans or salad. In cows, both stool and urine are properly labeled together as manure. Both will compost, making great fertilizer to grow grass and make more beef faster and avoid burning forests to make pasture, a definite NO-NO. If beef cells can be grown directly from nutrients brought to the laboratory, they may become real competition for cattle, one of the prods for present beef producers to innovate. We have no fear of competition. We do scorn nonsense.

One retailer’s pearl to close: Tenderness is most important and is most directly related to youth, not marbling. Fat is the most expensive part of beef to produce. Taste wants a little fat when we are hungry, not so much if we eat slowly. See Pleasure Per Calorie on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. It’s a very helpful tool for those of us who want to lose a pound or several and enjoy eating.

NOTICE

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