Editorial
Select Beef Is A Big Seller,
But For Whom And At What Cost?

By Joe McClure

The big push several years ago to change the nomenclature of some beef grades to help move the product seems to have worked, but has it been a help?

"Good" grade beef made up about five percent of the graded supply when the beef industry pushed for a new name to help move the product that was beginning to overwhelm them because some prolific beef breeds couldn’t produce Choice beef economically.

The government grading program went along with this desire, reducing the marbling requirements for Choice beef and changing the name of Good to Select.

A great P.R. bonanza.

We are now moving around 50 percent of graded beef as Select compared to the five percent BB (before Bonanza).

Last week, in a meeting of professional agriculture people, one out of eight in attendance said they thought Select was the better grade over Choice.

So, let’s continue this process of producing more Select beef and wean more consumers away from the herd.

Choice beef used to be the "select" grade because in was tender, juicy and flavorful and you didn’t have to add flavor to it; now Select is the "beef of choice" because somebody claims that marbling is fat and fat is bad for you. And you have to add flavor to it to make it taste as good as other kinds of meat. Whoa! That is the ultimate of table fare competing with a lesser-valued product.

And we wonder why people are eating more chicken now than beef? Sure, chicken is leaner than beef, at least it is after you trim all the waste fat off of it. All I say is, give us some tender, juicy beef with flavor and we, the consumer, will buy it.

Wait a minute! I forgot: the modern housewife, or home cook, prefers something that can be pulled out of the freezer and ready in 25 minutes, so give us tender, juicy, flavorful beef that is ready in 25 minutes and we will buy it.