Yes. American Beef Still Ranks #1 on Earth.
Netflix might not agree, but here is the hard truth.
Countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Spain consume nearly three times as much meat as Americans do on an annual basis. They know a thing or two about quality beef. Australia and Japan also produce some of the highest quality cuts with their Wagyu and Kobe beef being the most notable from Japan and Australia’s production of some of the most marbled ribeyes and sirloin in the industry. Anthony Bourdain openly stated he believes the US still produces the greatest cuts of beef and steak on earth. I’d like to delve into the accuracy behind his statement.
Chinese Vs. American Beef
China continues to hold its place as the second largest producer of beef on earth, but it is widely known that their animal practices have not been the safest. Their sanitation continues to be an issue and the majority of beef we import from them is not considered prime. In fact, the majority of it is used as animal feed and fillers for frozen foods. Quality, therefore, is determined by four core factors. The first being quality of life and well-being the cow experiences while being raised. The second is the grade of feed they consume during the raising process. The third is the slaughtering and trimming process. The fourth is the aging, if any, and efficiency of distribution.
Local Distribution Reduces Spoilage
As an example, food distributor’s such as MadeYouHungry based out of Jupiter, FL source their meats centered around these four principles. All beef is sourced from sustainable cow farms where they rotate the cattle around the farm to allow for grass to regrow and the cows to roam more freely. All beef is grass fed for 80% of their lives. This causes higher amounts of Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats and Conjugated linoleic acids, both are fatty-acid chains, which promote heart health and create better tasting fat in the cow. All cows are never injected with hormones and only receive therapeutic antibiotics when sick. When the cows are butchered, the entire supply chain is guided by USDA and FDA employees overseeing the process from butchering all the way to packaging and distribution, ensuring safety and quality.
Statistics
“Numbers don’t lie, check the scoreboard” as Jay-Z once said. The data around American beef is as follows. 91% of the 913,000 cattle farms in the US are family-owned operations. You might argue just because they’re operated by families doesn’t make them better quality then their international counterparts, but it usually holds true in business that an operation with smaller management and less moving parts typically functions more efficiently. The US consumed 26.7 billions pounds of its own meat in 2018. Beef exports totaled $8.3 Billion in 2018 which is $6.3 billion over that of second place, Japan. On a relative percent-basis, we have driven our methane byproduct down more than any other country.
The bottomline is simple- cows living happier lives produce better tasting meat with higher fat content. In the US, meat producers who focus on sustainability and humane animal practices also produce less methane gas. It’s a win-win for everyone. By supporting American farms and American meat distributors we continue to drive the tradition of creating the best beef on earth.
