ONS #2

Local butcher is changing the way Vancouverites think about meat Posted on November 21 by Shannon Waters Do you know where your meat comes from? If you shop at Pasture to Plate, a butcher on Commercial Drive, then the answer is yes. The shop offers organic beef, pork, lamb and poultry, all raised and harvested on a single farm and celebrates its 2 year anniversary this month.

Pasture to Plate is an effort to educate consumers about the realities of meat production. Animals are pasture-raised and finished on forage, not grain, allowing them to grow at a natural rate. Rafter 25 Ranch has its own abbatoir, saving animals the stressful trip to a faraway slaughterhouse. Even the harvesting process is different. “A conventional slaughterhouse can do 4 cows every minute on an actual conveyor belt,” says Amanda Colville, assistant manager at Pasture to Plate. “Our maximum…is 12 cows in a day.”

Hane Wuthrich is the general manager at Rafter 25. He says the biggest challenge he faces is maintaining supply while preserving its standards. “We are trying to feed a growing demand,” Hane says. “But consumers need to understand that [meat] supply is seasonal, just like vegetables. Customers come to understand this if they believe strongly in the philosophy.”

Asking customers to adjust their expectations is tricky. Currently, Pasture to Plate has no fresh pork due to a shortage of mature animals at the ranch. “That’s risky because you disappoint people,” Colville says. “But meat doesn’t grow on trees. It’s not as readily available with a system like this.”

Nevertheless, business is increasing. Regulars, curious passersby, the health conscious and even former vegetarians come into the store. Colville believes the growth is because people like to know where their food comes from. “Business models like this one are the only way we’re going to be able to take back the food chain in terms of meat production.”