12-18 IAN Beating Up on Beef
A recent article talked about how stress accrued during transportation of cattle can cause damage to the meat. I called Executive Director of the Idaho Cattlemen's Association, Wyatt Prescott: “Hey it always seems to me and maybe I’m just paranoid that somebody is always trying to beat up on beef. There’s an article talking about stress while transporting cattle and how it affects meat quality. That is a million-dollar question. You’re asking why people are always trying to hammer on beef eaters and I do not have a rational explanation. I think part of it is that the consumer just does not understand the amount of work that it takes to produce those animals. What about shipping affecting meat quality? Shipping does do that 100%. As an industry, we are extremely diligent in the care of our animals for part of that reason. What I am assuming you are referring to is talking about bruising on the beef carcass. Of course if you take a cow and jam him into a close space it’s kind of like somebody slugging your shoulder, you will get a little bruise there and that absolutely happens with cows.
