Every Steak has a Story

May is National Beef Month. I don’t know who decides these months or why, but I’m glad we have a whole month devoted to a protein that I love to eat and raise. I have been mulling on the idea for this post for a while and figured May would be a great time to put my thoughts on paper, or technically, computer screen.

I love to do farm tours. We take a group of ladies on our annual Moms on the Farm Tour here in Northwest Arkansas, but we also do tours with students and other groups. A few years ago, I had some friends from Dallas come to town and ask me for something fun to do with their kids and I said, “Want to go see a dairy?” And we did. We toured a local dairy and had a great time!

On these tours, everyone loves to hear the farm story; how long the farm has been in operation, how many generations of this family have operated the farm, what crops have been raised there over the years. We love to see those farm stories in the grocery store, too. Several food companies do a great job of sharing the stories of their farmers with their consumers. People love to go to the farmers market or see ‘locally grown’ on the food they buy. I think it’s great that so many consumers want to know about their food and the farmers that produce it.

But, here is what I think people are missing… every steak has a story.

There are about ¾ of a million beef farms and ranches in the US, and over 91% are family owned or individually operated. The average size of a cow herd is 40 cows.

That means that most of the beef bought in the US came from a farmer with a story, just like the one you would hear from our ranch. The calves from our ranch aren’t sold at the farmers market or to a special store with our name on it. They go from our place to a backgrounder (like the Peterson Farm Brothers) or a feedlot operation (like the Feedyard Foodie). I’ve written a post about the segments of the beef industry. Then they will be harvested in a commercial facility and processed into beef that may go to a fancy restaurant or a small grocery store.

Cows on snow on the plains, on green grass here in
Northwest Arkansas, or in the arid mountains in New Mexico.
They all raise beef.

When you buy a steak at the store or order one in a restaurant, it could have come from a farm in Florida or a ranch in Montana. We visited a farm in Hawaii where the cows ate Noni fruit and lived within view of the Pacific Ocean. That’s the great thing about beef. Cows can live in very diverse climates and under lots of different conditions, but they all produce beef.

If you are interested in hearing more stories about farmers who raise beef and others in the beef industry, check out these blogs:

Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom

Cows Kids and Grass

Faith, Family, and Beef

Bovidiva

Beef Runner

Raising the calves… the American Milk-fed Veal Industry, part 2

In May, I was given the opportunity to attend a tour of the American Milk-fed Veal industry, hosted by the American Veal Association. I learned so much about veal that I decided that there was no way that I could squeeze it all into one post, so I am writing a series of posts about veal. Part 1 was an introduction to veal where I shared a few of the things that I didn’t know about veal. This post is going to cover how the calves are raised and fed.

Veal is primarily produced by male calves from the dairy industry. In some cases, the calves go directly to slaughter from the dairy farm, becoming Bob Veal, which makes up less than 10% of the US veal industry. The veal calves that I saw were Milk-fed Veal, which go to harvest at about 5 months of age and represent about 85% of the US veal industry.

Individually penned calves at an Amish farm in Pennsylvania. 

These little guys are pretty young. That metal divider 

will be removed when they are about 8 weeks old and these 

two will be housed together.

On the dairy, calves are given colostrum after they are born and are cared for by the dairy farmer for those first few days after birth. Then, they are sold to a veal farm where they are vaccinated and evaluated for health concerns. The calves are not castrated nor are their horns removed.

Calves have a very strong instinct to suckle, and they will actually suckle on each other given the chance. This can cause health problems for the calves, so very young calves are housed in individual pens. They can still touch and see their neighbors. This helps the farmer really care for each calf’s needs. If one is sick and stops eating, the farmer will know right away.

The barns I visited were naturally ventilated, meaning they had huge windows that allowed a nice breeze to cool the calves in the warm months. It was 90°F in Pennsylvania the day I toured, and it was pleasant in the barns. In the winter, the barns are heated and insulated, and the windows can be closed, so even on the coldest days, they don’t get below 50°F inside.

Dr. Marissa Hake in a veal
barn in Indiana.

Are the calves healthy?

The calves’ health is monitored daily by the farmer and routinely by a company veterinarian. We met the veterinarian for Midwest Veal, Dr. Marissa Hake. The calves’ iron levels are monitored so that they are not anemic and that the veal is high quality. As with all young farm animals, biosecurity on the farms is very important. We stepped in foot baths and wore protective clothing when we visited the farms.

The calves also arrive and leave with an all-in, all-out policy, meaning that all the calves come together and leave together. That way they are all the same age and stage of development which is easier on the farmer and his concerns for caring for them. Furthermore, not introducing new animals helps to minimize their exposure to diseases and chances of getting sick.

A foot bath at the door of a veal barn.

If the little guys get sick, they are treated right away. They may need electrolytes to keep them from getting dehydrated if they get scours (calf diarrhea). If they have respiratory illness or other infections, they get antibiotics. Veal calves are given antibiotics on what is called ‘extended withdrawal.’ All antibiotics have a withdrawal, or a specified amount of time between the last day the antibiotic can be given and when the animal goes to harvest. This allows their body plenty of time to metabolize the antibiotic and eliminate it from their system. Extended withdrawal means that the time is even longer.

Liquid and dried whey (above).
Soy lecithin, lard, and coconut oil
(left to right, below).

What do they eat?

The calves are fed a milk replacer made from cheese byproducts. We had the opportunity to tour two different milk replacer manufacturing plants. Calves may be fed a liquid-based milk or a dry milk, just like the liquid or dry formulas we have to choose from for our babies. In Indiana, we toured a liquid-based plant, in Pennsylvania, the milk replacer was dry.

When butter and cheese are made from milk, the sugars and proteins are removed in a byproduct called whey. Milk replacer, liquid and solid, is made from whey mixed with coconut oil, lard, and a fat from soy called lecithin. A mix of vitamins and minerals are also added in the milk replacer. In the liquid plants, the milk replacer is stored at 40° F, like milk in your fridge. In dry feed plants, it has to go through a drying process before it is bagged in 50 lb. bags.

All of the incoming ingredients and outgoing milk replacer at the plants are handled using food-grade standards and processes. They are monitored for bacteria and other quality factors like pH. The protein in the milk replacer is adjusted to meet the calves’ needs as they grow.

Feeding at the farm

Mixing the milk for the calves.

Liquid and dry milk replacer must be mixed with water before it is fed to the calves. For mixing, the water and milk are heated to 180°F, which allows it to mix well, but also helps control bacteria that may make the calves sick. Then it is cooled back down to about 102°F to be fed to the calves. The calves are fed milk replacer twice a day.

When the calves are little, they have to learn to drink out of a bucket, just like babies have to learn to drink from a cup. One Amish family we visited said they let the calves suck on their fingers and lowered their mouths into the buckets of milk. Other farms had little floating nipples that helped teach the calves to drink. Eventually, they figure it out and drink the milk right out of a bucket or trough.

At the Amish farms, water for milk
was heated in coal-fired ovens.

Growing calves

When the calves get bigger, they eat grain. Most of the calves had grain available to them all the time. Some farmers fed grain wet, others did not.

Once the calves reached about 8 weeks of age they are transitioned to group housing. In Indiana, the calves actually moved to a different farm where they were penned in groups of 3 or 4. In Pennsylvania, the calves stay where they are, but dividers between pairs of calves were removed and the calves stay in their pen with their closest neighbor. The industry standard according to the American Veal Association (AVA) is to raise all milk-fed veal calves in loose or group housing like this. AVA established a goal in 2007 to transition the industry to group housing and industry leaders indicate that goal will be accomplished by the end of 2017.

Grain for the calves.

In the barns, the calves were quiet and happy. I could tell that they were used to people caring for them because many of them came to the fence to be petted or tried to lick my clothes and hands. They happily stuck their heads out of their pens because they were curious about new people.

The calves are raised on milk replacer and grain until they reach about 500 pounds and 5 months old. Then, they are sent to the processing plant. What I learned about veal processing will be in my next post.

What's in a food label? Where is the Angus?

To continue my blog series on What’s in a Food Label? I thought I would talk about ANGUS. Angus is one of the most popular claims you’ll see on beef, both at the store and at restaurants.

Angus is a breed of cattle. Just like dogs, cats, and horses, cattle have breeds, and one of the most famous and most popular breeds of beef cattle is the Angus breed. (Side note: a cowboy at the NFR right now is sponsored by the Angus breed. That cowboy is from my hometown!)

These are come Angus-cross steers on one of our
 research projects at the University of Arkansas.

Angus cattle originated in the Northeastern region of Scotland. They were black (although a few red ones pop up every now and then) and polled, meaning that they naturally do not grow horns. For years, farmers chose the Angus cows and bulls that produced the best beef, and now the breed is known for its high quality carcasses. Today, beef from Angus and Angus cross cattle are known for their high marbling and good eating quality. 

Certified Angus Beef. In the 1970’s the Angus Association took a big leap to market their cattle and started Certified Angus Beef.  Certified Angus Beef is a USDA Certified Program which means that the company (CAB) sets the requirements that beef must meet to qualify for their program, but USDA graders certify that all the criteria are met and literally give it a stamp of approval.

For Certified Angus Beef, those criteria include:

·        A minimum marbling score of Modest or higher (meaning it is at least Average Choice)

·        A ribeye area of 10.0 to 16.0 square inches

·        Less than 1.0 inch of fat thickness

·        A carcass weight of less than 1050 pounds

These are not the only requirements. The cattle must also be of Angus influence which can be shown through their genotype and traced to their parents. Or, more commonly, the cattle must be at predominantly (51%) solid black, and they may not display certain non-Angus characteristics like dairy-type or Brahman humps.

That means that CAB cattle are not 100% Angus. However, Angus are the only major beef breed of cattle that were originally black, so if a calf is 51% black and meets all the other requirements of CAB, chances are, it has some Angus in its pedigree.

Other Angus. We see Angus on lots of packages and products that are not Certified Angus Beef. In fact, there are 109 USDA Certified Beef Programs and 71 of them use the word ‘Angus’ in their name. All of them have different criteria for beef quality. Some are high quality programs like CAB, whereas others are for lower quality beef (Select, Commercial, and Utility).

Additionally, there are several Angus claims on packages and menus that are not USDA Certified Programs, but remember that USDA must approve claims on meat labels, and that includes claims about breed, such as Angus.

On a personal note, we raise a few Angus cattle. One of my favorite bulls is an Angus named Moses. Several of our Simmental (another beef breed) cows are black, which means that there is an Angus somewhere in their pedigree. That is actually the case for lots of cattle. Because of CAB and the rise in Angus marketing, farmers have selected for cattle with black hides because they can be sold at a premium. In the past couple of decades the number of black cattle going to harvest has risen substantially.

This is our daughter showing her
Red Angus calf, Milly. 

Red Angus. Yes. The Angus cattle carry a recessive gene that causes some of their calves to be red. A whole new breed of cattle has risen from those cattle known as Red Angus. We have a few Red Angus cattle, too.

One of my favorite Jack-In-The-Box commercials is the one where Jack explains to all of “those of you NOT from Texas” where on the cow the sirloin beef comes for his new Sirloin Burgers. At the end of the commercial, one of the employees says that their competitors are advertising an Angus Burger and asks Jack to point out the Angus part of the cow. Jack looks to the floor and says, “I’d rather not.” So Funny.

The antibiotic age

Last month, I attended the Alltech ONE ideas conference. Alltech is a global company that produces lots of different products that may be used in many segments of agriculture. Every year, they host a group of bloggers to their conference and ask us to write about what we learned. This was my fourth year to attend, and I would love for you to see what I’ve learned at previous Alltech conferences.

This year, several of the sessions I attended covered the topic of antibiotics. Alltech is a forward-thinking company that is working to reduce the use of antibiotics in food production. They offer feed supplements that farmers can use to keep their animals healthy and productive rather than using antibiotics.

There were also several discussions about sustainable energy and the use of fossil fuels. During one of those discussions, the speaker, Ramez Naam, shared a quote from a former oil minister of Saudi Arabia.

He said, “The stone age came to an end, not because we had a lack of stones, and the oil age will come to an end not because we have a lack of oil.”

That discussion was about oil and energy, but I think that the premise can be applied to antibiotics.

Agriculture has changed a great deal in the past 6 decades. Our population is growing at a staggering rate, and farmers have had to adapt to meet the demands for food in our world. Getting to this point in agriculture has taken lots of tools and one of those tools has been and still is antibiotics.

I have written about antibiotics before. People have trouble understanding the use of antibiotics in food production; the fact that some bacteria adapt to become resistant to them, and that farmers use antibiotics to help keep their animals healthy and are careful to treat their animals in such a way that antibiotic residues don’t end up in our meat. Farmers and consumers have concerns about bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, and, in food production, antibiotics are at the front of everyone’s mind.

We have to remember that the Stone Age didn’t end overnight. People slowly figured out new and more efficient ways of doing things. They found new materials and new ways to use old materials. Then, their ideas spread around the world.

We can’t expect the use of antibiotics to end overnight either, but things are happening quickly. Farmers are using a whole-systems approach to improve animal health. Meanwhile, animal scientists are figuring out new ways to help farmers produce healthier animals without the use of antibiotics or with a vastly reduced use of antibiotics.

At the conference, Dr. Aiden Connolly, talked about several ways that animals may be managed to help reduce or eliminate the use of antibiotics.

Genetics: Everyone has that friend who never gets sick. The same happens in the animal world. Some animals are just better at fighting disease on their own. Now, we have the ability to find those specific genes in animals and select for them. By breeding the healthiest females to the healthiest males, and eliminating the more sickly ones, fewer animals will get sick and fewer will need antibiotics.

Biosecurity – health management: In a previous post about antibiotics, I jokingly mentioned that you can’t teach pigs to wash their hooves, but we can manage the humans and the equipment going in and out of farms to keep disease from spreading.

In April, I went to two pig farms in one day, and I took four showers that day. On modern swine and sometimes poultry farms, humans are required to shower in and shower out. That means you take a shower, and only wear clothes that belong to the farm. Even underwear (TMI, sorry). Other precautions included washing the vehicles that we drove every time we entered a new farm, keeping wildlife away, and limiting visitors.

Sanitation and reduced contamination will reduce the exposure of animals to bacteria that cause disease, and will reduce the need to treat those animals with antibiotics.

Nutrition: Keeping animals well-fed and healthy will help their bodies naturally fight disease. Scientists are also learning how to create an environment in the animal that promotes health and fights bacteria without antibiotics.

Gut health and the Microbiome: Last year I wrote a post about the human microbiome, but animals each have their own microbiome. Dr. Stephen Collett, from the University of Georgia, spoke at the conference and he said that when we choose animals for breeding, we are not only selecting their genetics, but also their microbiome. Mothers pass their healthy bacteria to their babies, and all animals share it in their barns, pens, and fields.

The interactive effect of a healthy gut and nutrition is so important. Farmers are learning to feed the good bacteria to fight the bad ones. Dr. Collett said, “We can’t win the war on disease by killing, we have to win by multiplying. We have to nurture what we want.” Using nutrition to feed the healthy bacteria will lessen the need for antibiotics to fight the bad bacteria.

The day after the conference, I watched a webinar by some animal scientists from Texas A&M. They spoke about bacteriophages, viruses that kill specific bacteria. They exist everywhere in nature. Some animals naturally carry them in their guts to help them fight bacteria that might make them sick. Obviously, bacteriophages are part of the microbiome. Scientists are learning more about them and how they can help fight bacteria every day. 

Keep moving forward.

Farmers and scientists are adapting every day to how we fight disease and pathogens in food animals. With every new break through, we have another tool in our toolbox to fight dangerous bacteria. One of the exciting things about working in the food industry is that it is constantly changing.

There is no way our industry is ready to completely stop using antibiotics, but we are finding ways to use fewer antibiotics all the time. The whole industry will continue to keep moving forward to a new age of total animal health. 

The founder and CEO of Alltech, Dr. Pearse Lyons, has a great quote that I think can be applied to the transition away from antibiotics, “Don’t get it right. Get it going.” Changing the tools we use to produce food for 9 billion people is not going to be easy, but we have to keep moving forward. Get it going.

You will never be lonely again ~ a Meathead’s take on the Microbiome

I was invited again this year to attend the Alltech Symposia to learn about new and emerging technologies in agriculture and food production. Alltech is a global food and Ag company that produces feed ingredients and supplements for all parts of agriculture including cattle, swine, fisheries, equine and crops. They view agriculture as a whole food system, and are very interested in tackling global health issues with solutions applied to food and crops.

One of the most interesting sessions I attended covered the Microbiome, led by Dr. Rowan Power, an Alltech scientist.

He said that we used to say, “You are what you eat.”

But now, he says, “You really are what 100 trillion and one of you eat.”

Each person plays host to about 100 trillion bacteria (that doesn’t even count fungi and viruses). These bacteria live on and in your body, including on your skin, in your nose, mouth and eyes, in your lungs, and, of course, in your digestive tract. Over 1,000 species of bacteria live in your intestine, mostly your lower intestine. Yummy.

A few more facts about your microbiome:

• Bacterial cells out number human cells 10 to 1
• The microbiome comprises 1 to 3% of your body mass (that’s 2 to 6 lbs on a 200 lbs person)
• The total microbiome may consist of 10,000 species
• The bacteria in our gut allow us to digest foods
• The number and variation of the bacteria will vary from person to person

Microbes and weight loss

Doesn’t everyone have that one friend who can just think about going on a diet and lose 5 pounds? Scientists like Dr. Power are finding that the way our bodies react to changes in what we eat is largely dependent on the bacteria in our gut. What we eat is not as important as what the bacteria in our gut do with the food we eat.

In one study, scientists removed the gut bacteria from some lean mice and introduced it to mice that were completely germ free.  They did the same with bacteria from obese mice. The mice that were given bacteria from the lean mice became lean, and those given the obese mice bacteria became obese. So, the bacteria in your gut may have an impact on how lean or obese you become.

Dr. Power also said that when scientists looked at the bacteria in lean people, there was more variation in the bacteria in their guts than in obese people. People with more variation in their diets had more variable bacteria to digest their food and were leaner. (Makes me second guess my oh-so-consistent breakfast routine.)

Microbes and feelings

You know how some foods make you feel so good? Most neurotransmitters (the chemicals that send signals within and from our brain) are derived from nutritional factors. So, the way our microbiome breaks down food can actually affect how good we feel. Get me some happy bacteria!

How do we change our microbiome?

The microbiome will change based on what you feed it. If you eat a diet of fat and sugars, your microbiome will adjust to digest fat and sugar. If you eat more leafy greens and vegetables, the bacteria will change to digest those. So, the more variety in your diet, the more variety in your microbiome.

Medicines like antibiotics can also change your microbiome. Everyone has been a little sick to their stomach after taking antibiotics (or you’ve had a sick child that has developed a nasty diaper rash after being on antibiotics). Even the bacteria on your skin can be affected by antibiotics. This is why doctors suggest that you eat yogurt after you’ve had to take antibiotics. Yogurt is full of healthy bacteria and you need to re-populate your gut with healthy bacteria after you’ve had antibiotics.

Scientists are figuring out new ways to alter the microbiome in humans and animals all the time. There are foods and supplements that can encourage the growth of good bacteria and discourage the growth of bad bacteria. Of course, we all know the benefits of eating yogurt and drinking acidophilus milk. Cattle farmers have been using feed additives called ionophores to optimize the microbiome in their stomachs and help cattle digest feed more efficiently for years.

Dr. Power said that pretty soon, human health efforts will encompass care for the human as well as care for the microorganisms that live on and within the human. We may be able to treat chronic diseases in humans by treating and altering the bacteria that live within them.

Personally, I am excited about this emerging science in microbiology. I think it will be neat to see the medicine and treatments for diseases like Krohns and diabetes that might emerge from our new understanding of the microbiome.

Tales from the Livestock Barn ~ Washington County Fair

Although I live in neighboring Madison County, I was thrilled when I was asked to write something about the Livestock Barn for the Washington County Fair. Full disclosure: In exchange for this post, the Washington County Fair is supporting the promotion of local agriculture by making a donation to my Moms on the Farm program – but my words and enthusiasm for the fair are all mine.

When you bring your family to the fair, it may be a little intimidating to enter the livestock barn. There are sure to be a few sights and sounds (and smells) that your family may not be used to. Since my 4H kid is only 7, we are new to the world of being a livestock show family. So, I reached out to some other, more seasoned livestock show moms from Northwest Arkansas and around the country to get their input on the things they think you should know about the Livestock Barn.

Poop.

My little 4Her with her
first calf, Water Lilly.

The kids showing the animals are in charge of cleaning up the poop, but it’s a full time job. The first year my daughter took her calf to the fair, she was especially excited about getting to clean it up! She was about 3 or 4 and that excitement hasn’t really faded… yet. Here are a few tips:

• Don’t wear your favorite pair of white shoes.
• Poop can be a little slippery, so be careful. 
• Wash your hands or use hand-sanitizer after you leave.

A sheep isn't truly clean until
everyone in the family is soaked

Family time.

When I was growing up, we didn’t go on vacation to Disneyland or the beach. We went to livestock shows. The animals are the kids’ projects, but it’s really a FAMILY endeavor. Hundreds of hours are spent together (mom, dad, brothers and sisters), working for a common goal of presenting an animal at the fair.

Success in the Livestock Barn is a family accomplishment. When our family won at the show, it wasn’t my ribbon or my trophy, it was OURS.

Small kids – BIG animals 

My daughter loves to show off her
show calf and have her friends pet it,
 but not all animals are so gentle
and tolerant of little people.

Livestock can be a little scary! The kids showing animals have spent hours and hours working with them getting them ready for the show. They know each other quite well and the animals are used to being handled by their owners. But, even gentle animals can bite, and even when an animal is comfortable with some kids, he or she may not be ok with all kids. Always ask for the owner’s permission before petting any animal in the livestock barn.

Good to know: There is a great petting zoo at the Washington County Fair where your kids can pet ‘til their heart’s content. 

Jenny sent this picture of two of
her boys with the their dairy cattle
at the county fair in Illinois.

Teachable moments.

The kids who are showing animals want to show off their hard work to everyone at the fair, not just the judges. If the kids are around, be sure to ask them about their animal. Ask the animal’s name, what it eats, where it came from, how old it is… You will be amazed what you will learn from these kids.

My friend and fellow 4H mom, Jenny Schweigert said it best, “Last week's county fair was very successful, but my favorite moment wasn't the ribbons or trophies. It was when our middle son kneeled down with a little girl he didn't know and started explaining the difference between dairy cattle and beef cattle.”

Lots of smiles. Maybe a few tears.

Vallie and her calf last year

For the kids showing animals at the fair, it’s like the District Championship game for kids who play sports - It’s a Really Big Deal. They’ve been working all summer in the heat and the mud getting their animals ready, and some will go home with lots of ribbons and trophies, but some won’t. Sometimes the animals act up and sometimes the judge doesn’t see it the way we do. It’s hard and frustrating (for kids and parents) when it doesn’t go the way you wanted it to.

But at the end of the fair, it’s not the prizes that matter. It’s the sense of accomplishment. It’s the family time. It’s the lifelong friendships. It’s the lessons learned. It’s teaching new people about how their food is produced. 

When you visit the livestock barn, you are not just seeing the animals. You are seeing the next generation of agriculture. You are witnessing the development of the people that will feed the world for years to come.

Let’s go to the fair!

The fair is letting me give away some ride tickets to a lucky local reader! Share a comment on this post about your favorite memory of a county fair to be entered to win $50 worth of ride tickets

(Info about entry prices can be found here). If you haven’t gone to a fair before, tell me what you hope to see or do at the Washington County Fair this year on your first visit. I’ll choose a winner at random from the folks who enter and be in touch to get your tickets to you.

The Washington County Fair has posted a schedule online, and also provides information about being a part of the fair by entering their contests and competitions through their Exhibitor Handbook.

Keep up to date on happenings at the fair by following them on social media at one (or all!) the links below:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mywashingtoncountyfair

Twitter - https://twitter.com/mywashcofair

Instagram - https://instagram.com/mywashcofair

Be sure to search the #MyWCF15 hashtag on social media to see what other folks are doing at the fair.

Ten things you didn’t know about ground beef

Ground beef is one of our favorite cuts of meat in the US, but I’ll bet that you have lots of questions about it. The USDA dictates what can and cannot be labeled as ground beef and that information is published in the Code of Federal Regulations. They call those rules ‘standards of identity’ and they apply to labels of ‘chopped beef’ and ‘hamburger’ as well as ground beef.

Here are a few things that you may not have known about ground beef:

1.       Ground beef must be from cattle. Any other animal would be considered misbranded and would be illegal.

2.       Ground beef is made from only muscle. It must be skeletal muscle. No eyes, skin, guts or anything but muscle. (As of 2017, heart is allowed in ground beef, but its really just another muscle.)

3.       Ground beef must be at least 70% lean. No more than 30% fat. It is usually leaner than that, though.

4.       Ground beef is not made from ‘leftovers’ or ‘scraps off the floor’. The fact is, not every cut of beef is equal. Some make great steaks on the grill. Others make great roasts in the oven. Some pieces of the beef carcass are either the wrong size or too tough to be tasty as whole muscle cuts. So, to get maximum use out of the entire animal, butchers collect those pieces in clean containers called lugs and grind them up into ground beef.

5.       Ground beef is the most popular cut of beef. In the US, we enjoy lots of ground beef. In fact, we like it so much that butchers are now grinding up cuts that used to be sold as steaks and roasts. In a large processing plant, the decisions on what to grind up and what to leave whole are made based on price and demand.

6.       Ground beef may not contain any added water. Beef itself contains water, but processors are not permitted to add water to the ground beef.

7.       Ground beef may not contain any phosphates, binders or extenders. Some processed meat products use non-meat fillers such as texturized vegetable protein to stretch the protein portion of a processed meat. If these ingredients are added, it cannot be labeled ground beef.



8.       Ground beef is not all the same. Some dishes work best with really lean ground beef, whereas other are tastier with fattier ground beef. Generally, the more lean the ground beef, the more costly it is. Just like people, not all animals are the same in fatness, and just like people, different parts of the animal have different amounts of fat. Think about how your thigh compares to your abdomen. (mine are different, if yours are not, congratulations) When formulating ground beef, the processors mix some of the leaner cuts (like leg muscles) in with some of the fattier cuts (like abdominal cuts) to get their target fat content.

9.       Ground sirloin, ground round, ground chuck are also ground beef, with more requirements. Those labels not only let the customer know from where on the carcass their ground meat comes, they also give the consumer the percent fat. Ground sirloin and ground round are usually labeled as 15% fat and ground chuck is usually 20% fat. You can look for the fat percentage on the label.   Special ground meats like these must be at least 50% from the source specified. (For example, ground sirloin must be made from at least 50% sirloin cuts.)

10.   Ground beef should always be cooked to 160°F. Because ground beef is ground and mixed, bacteria may be found anywhere within the patty (not just on the surface like in a steak or roast). To make sure all those bacteria are killed, you need to cook your burger to 160°F and check the temperature with a meat thermometer! Checking the temperature will also keep you from over-cooking your burgers so they will be juicy and flavorful!

I hope you have learned something about ground beef and that you enjoy your burger this summer.