Sustainable Stewardship Letter

At Country Natural Beef, we believe that the way plants, animals and people relate in a healthy, sustainable environment is crucial to the health and wellness of the world we all share.

We wrote the above statement several years ago, but Michael Pollan in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Penguin Press 2006 articulated it in detail. Pollan studies the food chain behind four eating experiences….

4) a hunter/gatherer meal from a pig he shot, mushrooms he gathered and vegetables he raised.

In his book Pollan does a superb job of describing a healthy grassland and its benefit to the world (he states it captures as much carbon as a forest). He goes on to very accurately describe how grasses grow and function symbiotically with a thoughtfully managed ruminant animal….and that a grass fed animal from that symbiotic system is an excellent ecologically sound food source.

Beef cattle are a true miracle of nature. A ruminant, four-stomach animal, cattle are biologically efficient in their ability to convert rough forages unsuitable for human consumption into a highly nutritious protein that people can eat.

Because of U.S. governmental subsidies for grain in America, plus our country’s history of using inexpensive fossil fuel to make fertilizers and run the machines which grow and harvest grain – a system has emerged where producers can make more dollars raising cattle in feedlots on grain than on open meadows and rangeland where natural grasses and forages are available. In addition, many consumers have developed a taste for corn fed beef which has more marbling (flecks of fat in the muscle), and a milder more consistent taste and tenderness than straight grass fed beef.

Federal subsidies, inexpensive fossil fuel (that era may be ending) and consumer tastes are only part of this picture. While cattle can live on a typical feedlot diet that’s mostly corn, it is harder on their digestive systems and antibiotics are routinely mixed into the feed at conventional operations to maintain the animal’s health. In addition the biological wisdom of converting grain into beef has frequently been questioned…… it takes approximately five pounds of corn to produce one pound of live animal of which about half is edible meat. The conversion of harvested hay is actually not that good either—----10-15 lbs fed to 1 lb beef produced depending upon quality/season.

So what is it about Country Natural Beef that helps solve the Omnivore’s Dilemma as presented by Pollan? Pollan effectively argues that Industrial Organic (a rapidly growing phenomena), while an improvement on conventional industrial food systems, still lacks sustainability. The ecologically sustainable Joel Salatin family farm Pollan describes with its many integrated meat and poultry products lacks the volume and distribution system to reach significant numbers of urban customers. Pollan’s hunter gatherer meal is very familiar to our ranchers. The fourteen family ranches who founded the Country Natural Beef cooperative twenty years ago in 1986 all had ancestors who crossed the Oregon Trail. The direct connection between a natural environment and food was an every day occurrence. It is a cultural loss that this meal and the connection with nature it represents is no longer a reality for most urban dwellers.

Some Country Natural Beef Solutions to the dilemma:

ü The organizational goal of Country Natural Beef states in part “it is an idea to be constantly examined not an entity that can be bought or sold. Neither the Cooperative or member shares can not be bought or sold—even by rancher members. This prohibits the type of consolidation and industrialization that is occurring within many natural and organic producers that Pollan accurately describes in the Omnivore’s Dilemna.”

ü Our business model allows the families of many individually owned sustainable working cattle ranches to own their beef from conception to the retail meat cooler. Most of these ranches are remote and far from any sort of consumer market.

ü All the revenues less 4% for admin/marketing from the sale of Country Natural Beef go directly to the rancher that raised the beef from birth. This flow of dollars, directly from the end customer, has a major positive impact on the sustainability of that family ranch, the open space it maintains, and the rural communities we live in. Humane animal husbandry, sustainability, and environmental stewardship are third party certified by the Food Alliance with regular inspections of every ranch.

ü Country Natural Beef market animals are on range or pasture with some winter forage supplementation for 14-18 months of their life. That is more than twice as long on grass as the feedlot calf Pollan bought and fed out on corn. The vast majority of the feed CNB animals eat is from land unsuitable to grow crops humans can eat. A point critical to our customers is that our cattle are grown from birth on a vegetarian diet without the use of hormones and antibiotics. From the cattle’s welfare this same point is important…our animals need to function in harmony with the land at a growth rate the land can sustain.

ü The Country Natural Beef “gathering lot”, Beef Northwest, at Boardman, Oregon is owned by one of our ranch families. It is the first step in the humane movement of our beef from a sustainable family ranch, into the food distribution network so beef can ultimately reach a significant number of urban eaters. CNB animals spend an average of 89 days in this gathering lot which Pollan would classify as a CAFO (confined animal feeding operation)……His book paints a picture of a feedlot as a place where the goal is to put maximum weight on a beef animal as rapidly and inexpensively as possible. Our gathering lot is different in that it’s purpose is to even out the flow of cattle and provide a consistent quality from the many and diverse Country Natural Beef ranches….the point is to make sure a guaranteed number of the right quality cattle are available each week for processing to meet the needs of our retail partners. This lot and the processing and distribution systems which Country Natural Beef partners with are critical elements in the individual family ranch’s sustainability…..ie…..on our own we have no way to reach urban customers other than though the traditional commodity market described by Pollan. (This “third path” opportunity Country Natural Beef affords family ranches to de-commodify and produce for a known urban customer has restored a sense of pride in our family ranches that is immeasurable.)

ü The gathering lot is located in the center of a very large environmental award winning farm which grows a variety of crops including some organics on a rotation basis. Corn is part of this rotation every four or five years. All manure is returned to the land as a valuable natural fertilizer.

ü Cooked waste potatoes from nearby food processing plants which would probably go into a landfill without a ruminant to eat them make up over half the ration for the 89 day average stay in the lot. The balance of the ration is hay, by products from the human grain milling industry, and corn most of which is grown on the surrounding farm. This diet is user friendly to our cattle’s rumen’s and requires no antibiotics to artificially assist digestion.

Is the Country Natural Beef model as ecologically balanced as the integrated Salatin farm Pollan describes??….not quite, but it is far more sustainable. The diversity of 100 geographically scattered individually owned ranches provides much more stability than one ranch. But the big key which makes the CNB model sustainable is the direct rancher connection with urban customers at affordable prices. The farmland in close proximity to most large cities lacks the capacity to feed its residents on a seasonal basis let alone on a year around basis. The reality is food must be shipped in to feed our cities residents who have become accustomed, almost addicted, to fresh fruits, vegetables and beef every day on a year around basis. Large efficient food distribution systems exist today in the United States, and Country Natural Beef through a cooperative effort is able to utilize that distribution network for our sustainable product.

But how about the health of the eating experience…… Pollan extols the virtues of grass fed beef while accurately noting that true grass fed in the United States is only available fresh “in season” and frozen the rest of the year. Does the 89 day average time in the gathering lot destroy the valuable healthy fatty acid composition of the beef (omega 3 / omega 6 ratio and CLA levels)?..........not according to a controlled study conducted by Dr. Jim Males at Oregon State University. All the cattle in the study were from the same herd and of a similar age……half the animals were taken off pasture and fed through the CNB gathering lot. The other half were finished on grass.

Numerous analyses of long term grain fed beef have shown a drastic reduction of the desirable omega 3 fatty acid levels. This reduction did not occur with Country Natural Beef. The omega 3 / omega 6 fatty acid ratios were only slightly better on the grass fed product than on the CNB product.

The interesting finding in this study was the significantly better levels of CLA found in the CNB product compared to the grass fed. Fatty acids were evaluated on 4 oz serving size portions with external fat removed. Dr. Males stated the following: “The actual daily consumption of CLA would be 22.7 mg. for the CNB product vs. 14.4 mg. for the grass fed product. The interest in CLA by human nutritionists has been primarily because of its antioxidant properties. It has been shown in experimental animals to reduce the incidence of cancerous tumors. In a Finnish study women with intakes greater than 200 mg per day of CLA had a lower mammary cancer risk. Enhanced immune function also seems to be related to CLA intake. Again the response in humans on cancer risk and immune function appears to be dose dependent.”

Today sustainability is viewed in some circles as a popular buzzword. It’s real in Country Natural Beef. Eleven young ranchers have returned to family ranches over the past twenty years to carry on our sustainable lifestyle. And while family based agriculture across the country is in decline many of our ranchers are making modest land expansions to accommodate the next generation. Country Natural Beef, while not perfect certainly provides a viable solution to Pollan’s , The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Sometimes, C.N.B. / O.C.B. is compared to ‘Organic Beef” or other ‘Natural Beef’ companies. There are some similarities and a few key differences, which we’re proud to share!!

Growing Practices and Beef Production	Country Natural Beef / Oregon Country Beef	Organic Beef	Other “Natural” Beef programs
Grown from birth without hormones or antibiotics	YES	YES		Varies. Most cattle are bought on the open market from various ranches using second or third party affidavits.
ALL rendered animal by-products are banned from the feed	YES	YES		Varies
Individual ranches own, finance, care for and manage each animal from birth to store level	YES	Most have an intermediary vendor between the ranch and the market		NO
All beef is from animals under 24 months of age	YES	NO		Maybe, depending on brand
Dairy breed cows prohibited	YES	NO		Maybe, depending on brand
Ranches are Third Party certified for meeting environmental goals, land sustainability and equitable labor practices.	YES	Maybe, depending on brand		NO
All feed is organically certified	No,…next to impossible on over 4 million acres	YES		NO
Are all the cattle graded U.S.D.A. ‘Choice’?	Absolutely not! C.N.B. / O.C.B. uses cattle that grade high Select to low Choice. Taste and Tenderness are a result of how the animal was raised and fed, not how much fat is in the meat. We will not feed excessive amounts of grain for long periods of time just to fatten up an animal past the point of health for both the animal and the consumer in order to hit a meaningless marbling score in the meat.	Varies with brand		Most other ‘natural’ beef companies aggressively promote a U.S.D.A. ‘Choice’ grade. The words ‘choice grade’ seems to have market appeal due to consumer perception that the higher the fat marbling the more tender the meat. This notion unfortunately does not address the health of the animal or the health of the consumer.
Are cattle bought on the open market from suppliers based on need?	NO! C.N.B. / O.C.B. member ranches raise all the cattle used in the C.N.B. / O.C.B. program from birth. Cattle needs are projected out 18 months in advance.	Varies with brand		Yes. ‘Natural’ beef vendors regularly buy cattle on the open market with an affidavit in order meet sales demand.

We welcome your comments and communication. Feel free to contact Doc and Connie Hatfield at 541-576-2455, Mary Bradbury at 541-947-2711 or send us an email at OCBanswers@aol.com. Also please visit our OCB website at www.countrynaturalbeef.com or www.oregoncountrybeef.com