DEAR SIR,

Quoting Tara McCarthy from the Irish Farmers Journal on 7 November 2020,“It’s not about how good we are at producing it, it’s actually about how meaningful it is to the consumer who is buying it.”

I would even go further and say that the present consumers have no reason to get excited about beef for the simple reason of what is presented to them and how it is presented to them.

Disappointed

Lately, I visited a local national supermarket and going to the red meat section I was so disappointed by the selection of beef on display.

No striploin roasts, no rib roasts on the bone, no rolled rib roasts and no round roasts with fat cover.

The only roasts on display were extremely lean round roasts with no shape or make, vacuum-packed in blood, slime and water and with a Bord Bia quality approved mark on the bag. Not alone did it look unappetising, it looked downright revolting.

On further examination of the shelf contents, it was quite apparent that the meat wholesaler had put much more effort into the presentation of the minced beef under its various guises ie, meatballs, burgers, loose mince, about which they bragged, only contained 18% fat.

From what I saw, the processor has the public slowly converted over to this type of meat, to their delight, as it can be produced from the cheapest raw material ie, cull cows, bulls, boners, etc, leaving them a handsome profit but the consumer a shabby and unhealthy food experience.

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