Originally published October 14 2005
Business is booming in the natural beef industry
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The market for antibiotic- and hormone-free beef is growing alongside consumer awareness and fears generated by mad cow disease.
BROTHERS, Oregon (AP) -- Back in 1986, with red meat becoming a dirty word in a more health-conscious United States, a group of cattle ranchers gathered in Doc and Connie Hatfield's barn to talk about finding a new market for their beef.
After hearing from a trainer at a health club, they chose what has come to be known as natural beef -- produced without growth hormones or antibiotics, and fed exclusively vegetable feeds -- and market it directly to natural food stores, where they could get a premium price.
We were whining about how tough things were," said Connie Hatfield, one of the founders of the co-op Country Natural Beef, widely sold as Oregon Country Beef.
Thanks to concerns about mad cow disease, the success of natural foods stores and Americans' growing desire to know where their food comes from, natural meat is one of the beef industry's fastest-growing sectors.
Since the mad cow scare in 2003, production has more than doubled, with a 73 percent increase over the past year.
Under the U.S. Department of Agriculture definition, almost anyone can slap a "natural" label on minimally processed beef.
Organic beef must meet strict regulations, including the requirement that cattle eat only organic feed.
Chairman Mel Coleman Jr., the company will be pressing the USDA to make the "natural" label for beef more definitive.
Oregon Country Beef made a key move last year when it made a deal with Burgerville, a Vancouver, Wash., chain dedicated to locally produced and sustainable foods, to produce all their hamburger.
Jack Graves, chief cultural officer for Burgerville, said the chain was looking for a safe source of beef after the mad cow scare in 2003, and held back sales to give Oregon Country Beef time to meet Burgerville's demand of 35,000 pounds a week.
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