Marketing Integrity for Value-Added Beef Products

Marketing Integrity for Value-Added Beef Products

Marketing Ethics Aggressive but not destructive Promote positive aspects of your product No need to slander other wholesome choices Implied negative marketing Common in saturated markets Easy but not ethical if claims are unfounded Often accompanied by conjecture or undefined terms.

Marketing Ethics Human health claims Should be based on science, not perception. Even scientific citations can be misunderstood or misrepresented Often not malicious Mostly propagated by copy & paste

Misinterpretations 18 month old steers 4-7 Year Old Cows In fact, as you can see by the graph below, grass-fed beef can have the same amount of fat as skinless chicken breast, wild deer, or elk. Source: www.eatwild.com (J. Animal Sci 80(5):1202-11)

Humane Care Labels Animal Welfare Approved Third-party verified by the Animal Welfare Institute Certified Humane A program of Humane Farm Animal Care Cage Free Vegetarian-Fed

Follow the Trail. Humane Farm Animal Care is endorsed by a consortium of animal welfare organizations, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), the Atlanta Humane Society, the Humane Society of Vero Beach, the Hawaiian Humane Society, The Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCALA), and others.

HSUS Statement on Animal Agriculture A number of organizations including the Humane Society of the United States, we work on promoting veganism. Are we saying that cage-free eggs are the way to go? No, that s not what we re saying. But we re saying it s a step in the right direction. Miyun Park (HSUS VP for farm animal issues) 2006 comments as part of an expert panel on poultry organized by the Animals and Society Institute.

Conflicting Data The longer cattle are fed a corn or grainbased diet, the healthier the product will be. Source: Texas AgriLife Research grass-fed cattle products are more healthful than conventionally produced meat. Source: www.eatwild.com

Carbon Footprint Not growing corn for feed is better Every step in the development of corn as food requires using energy to operate machinery, and that means burning fossil fuels and adding more carbon to the atmosphere. Source: www.tallgrassbeef.com

Carbon Footprint while emissions from factors such as fertilizer production and application have increased, the net effect of higher yields has avoided emissions of up to 161 gigatons of carbon since 1961. each dollar invested in agricultural yields has resulted in 68 fewer kg C emissions relative to 1961 technology, avoiding 3.6 GtC per year Source: Lobell et al., 2009. PNAS

Environmental Impact

Growth Promoting Implants

Factory Farming? 7,000 corporate farms in the US 2,000,000+ family-owned farms

Year Consumer:Farmer Disposable Income (billion) Income Spent on Food (billion) Percent of Income Spent on Food 1940 19 $76.8 $15.9 20.7% 1950 27 $210.1 $43.3 20.6% 1960 46 $365.4 $64.0 17.5% 1970 73 $735.7 $102.0 13.9% 1980 115 $2,009.0 $266.0 13.2% 1990 129 $4,285.8 $477.1 11.1% 2000 139 $7,194.0 $711.4 9.9% 2010 1 155 $10,923.6 $1,034.6 9.5% Source: USDA, Economic Research Service Analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis Data

U.S. Total Disposable Income vs. Total U.S. Disposable Income Spent on Food $12,000.00 $10,000.00 $8,000.00 $6,000.00 $4,000.00 $2,000.00 $0.00 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 U.S. Disposable Income (billion) Total Income Spent on Food (billion) Source: USDA, Economic Research Service Analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis Data

Percent of Total U.S. Disposable Income Spent on Food 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Source: USDA, Economic Research Service Analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis Data

Take-Home Message Consumer choices are great! Niche markets are often VERY profitable. Sustainability of food production relies on efficiency Land usage Producer to Consumer ratio (1:155)

Take-Home Message.if consumers want brown eggs, sell them brown eggs. But market them as brown eggs, not anti-white eggs. John Maday; Drovers

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