When did meat become meaningless?

Meaning for me has two forms, the meaningfulness of how it is presented to the consumer, and it’s true meaning in terms of its provenance. Ninety-nine per cent of the beef and lamb in the country is anonymous. It has no story to it, no link to the farmers and farms producing it. It has no meaning. It’s then presented with a marketing spin suggesting meaning, but unfortunately, too often that’s all a little hollow.

Let’s consider many of the phrases seen regularly, that are effectively meaningless marketing spin. Yes, to some degree they are informative, but there is no alternative, so their true ‘meaning’ is questionable.

 “Grass Fed”. Of course it is!!  With the exception of two Wagyu brands based in the South Island who grain finish cattle for 150 days pre slaughter, all beef and lamb in New Zealand is Grass Fed. It’s the norm, it’s not exceptional, it’s what we do. New Zealand produces some of the finest grass fed beef and lamb in the world, it also produces a lot of beef and lamb that is really just beef and lamb without it being exceptional. Being grass fed is not a point of difference, it’s a given.

“Hormone – free”. Of course it is! Growth hormones are banned in New Zealand by all of our major meat processors. All of our beef is hormone free.

“Antibiotic free”. Most animals are able to live out their lives without the need for antibiotics, and because they are grass fed, receive no feed with antibiotics included. On those occasions antibiotics are required by an animal for health purposes, there is a withdrawal period, and that animal cannot be presented to a processor until those drugs have cleared it’s system. The same applies for drugs used for worming purposes, fly and lice control and the like. Where utilised, that animal is withdrawn from the system for the duration of the withdrawal period. There are no antibiotics in our beef and lamb.

My biggest gripe is with terms thrown around such as ‘Premium” or “Reserve”. Genuinely, what does that even mean! We do not have a formalised grading system in New Zealand beyond basic carcass grading at the works. These are terms thrown around the world of butchery that have no meaning, and cannot be substantiated.

It frustrates me, because Reserve is a term we use ourselves for our Heritage Beef. However, this is because we implement a stringent in house grading process, and only those cuts that meet a very strict criteria are reserved for our online and in-store customers. This is the cornerstone of being able to develop a reputation for exceptional quality. This is hard earned, not a marketing term we apply. It has meaning to us, and should have meaning to our customers.

So what does real meaning, mean to me. Meaning is an understanding of where your meat comes from, an identifiable pathway from paddock to plate (now there’s a phrase we see a lot of that can rarely be substantiated). An understanding of the farms and farmers involved in that process, their care and attention not only to their animals, but to the soil, water, and wider environments they care for. It means confidence in the ageing and presentation of the product that is put in front of you, the customer, because meaning empowers you with knowledge and understanding, and ultimately trust. Trust that meaningless marketing phrases can only erode.

So that is the platform Heritage Meat stands upon. The three pillars that I have built this brand upon are exceptional quality, meaningful and authentic provenance, and points of difference from other meats in the marketplace.

It is journey that is always progressing, I will never be complacent that the final destination has been reached. I look forward within the next few weeks to describe to you how we are taking that to the next level.