{"id":55514,"date":"2024-03-04T01:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T09:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=55514"},"modified":"2024-10-25T09:12:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T17:12:51","slug":"regenerative-beef-gets-a-boost-from-california-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/03\/04\/regenerative-beef-gets-a-boost-from-california-universities\/","title":{"rendered":"Regenerative Beef Gets a Boost from California Universities"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was produced as a radio story by our media partner <\/span><\/i>Public News Service<\/span><\/i><\/a>, reaching millions of listeners. Take a listen here<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>

It\u2019s no wonder that hospital food gets a bad rap, says Santana Diaz, executive chef at the University of California Davis Medical Center, a sprawling, 142-acre campus located in Sacramento, California. As a seeming compromise between nutrition and institutional efficiency, food has long been dished up as an afterthought to patient care. \u201cThat was never the focus of hospitals,\u201d he adds.<\/p><\/div>

\n

But for Diaz, good food is key to good health. Since taking the helm of the facility\u2019s nutrition and dining services in 2018, he has worked to revamp the cuisine, including sourcing almost half of ingredients from farms and ranches within a 250-mile radius of the Sacramento Valley. Food grown in local fields, orchards, and pastures with healthy soil management practices simply make for healthier, more nutritious, and more flavorful meals, he says\u2014the perfect ingredients for changing the \u201cstigma\u201d associated with hospital fare.<\/p>\n

Diaz is not alone in making this shift, but he may be ahead of the game. In 2022, the University of California (U.C.) system\u2014a network of 10 campuses and five medical centers\u2014committed to supporting regenerative farming<\/a> as part of U.C. President Michael Drake\u2019s vision to mitigate the effects of climate change and drive a more equitable food system. And as an advisor to an initiative lead by the nonprofit organization Roots of Change<\/a>, Diaz is helping to steer the larger institution toward local agriculture\u2014through the system-wide procurement of regeneratively ranched beef.<\/p>\n

\"Santana<\/a>

Santana Diaz, Executive Chef, U.C. Davis Med Center. (Photo courtesy of Roots of Change)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

The term, a general reference to pasture management that prioritizes soil health and perennial plants by grazing livestock through rotated paddocks, encompasses a set of practices that advocates say results in healthier animals and pastures. Research also shows that beef from cattle raised strictly on grass is more nutritious<\/a> than conventional beef, although it\u2019s not yet clear how regenerative practices may impact those findings.<\/p>\n

Cumulatively, the U.C. dining system serves more than 600,000 meals a day during the academic year. By ensuring reliable demand for regeneratively raised meat, proponents of the system\u2019s new procurement pledge<\/a> see the sizable volume giving the state\u2019s independent ranchers and rural economy a huge boost, and bolstering the local and regional meat supply chain.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tall order, but Diaz knows the sway that comes with institutional demand. The former executive chef at the Sacramento Kings\u2019 Golden 1 Center and the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 Levi\u2019s Stadium is also a founding member of Beef2Institution<\/a>, a non-profit program helping K-12 schools, hospitals, and sports venues in California source beef from local, family-owned ranches.<\/p>\n

Institutions are the perfect outlet, says Diaz, for ground, braising, and stewing meat and the other lower-value, secondary cuts that make up nearly two-thirds<\/a> of every beef carcass. So featuring hamburgers, boneless short ribs, and carne asada as part of a local farm-to-fork menu offers nearby ranchers a prime bread-and-butter opportunity, he says\u2014all the while exposing a captive audience to the value of beef raised on regenerative pasture.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we\u2019re not going to change patient behavior . . . in [one] hospital stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cObviously, we\u2019re not going to change patient behavior . . . in [one] hospital stay,\u201d Diaz notes. But because diet plays a major role in raising the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, there\u2019s huge merit, he adds, in educating them about preventative and nutritional approaches to health management.<\/p>\n

And with his kitchen alone churning out 6,500 meals a day\u2014along with patients, the medical center feeds an army of clinicians, staff, and medical and nursing students\u2014the appetite of the entire U.C. system will likely have a resounding impact on the larger beef market in the state. \u201cThat\u2019s how institutions can flex their buying power,\u201d Diaz says.<\/p>\n

A Premium Product<\/h4>\n<\/div>

Despite research showing that eating less beef has significant health<\/a> and environmental benefits, including shrinking an individual\u2019s carbon footprint by as much as 75 percent<\/a>, America\u2019s steak and burger consumption is on the rise<\/a>. <\/p><\/div>

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Currently, the vast majority of U.S. beef comes from cows raised on pasture for about the first year of their lives, then moved to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)\u2014large-scale industrial facilities that grain-finish cattle in confinement for six to eight months before slaughter. Along with concentrated levels of environmental pollution, critics<\/a> deride beef feedlots as places where hundreds if not thousands of cattle are crowded together. These conditions typically require antibiotics to prevent herds from getting sick; subsequently, this \u201csubtherapeutic\u201d use has also been linked to antibiotic resistance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, CAFOs are also the basis of a \u201chyper-efficient\u201d commodity system, says Renee Cheung, managing partner at Bonterra Partners<\/a>, an impact investment advisory firm for regenerative agriculture and co-author of a market analysis<\/a> of grass-fed beef. These operations pump out a consistent, year-round supply of beef for the meatpacking industry, a sector dominated by a handful of multinational giants<\/a> that control more than 80 percent<\/a> of the country\u2019s beef market.<\/p>\n

Grazing cattle on pasture for the entirety of their lives, on the other hand, is far less productive. As such, strictly grass-fed or grass-finished operations tend to be modest in scale, says Cheung, with the majority of ranches in the U.S. herding around 50 heads. The smaller volumes and seasonality of pastures create more variability in slaughter weight and harvest windows, running counter to the conventional year-round commodity model.<\/p>\n

As a result, non-CAFO operations don\u2019t benefit from the economy of scale built into the heavily consolidated processing and marketing infrastructure, Cheung says. With limited access to centralized meatpacking facilities, these producers are often saddled with high overhead for transport, cold storage, and market delivery\u2014all of which add to premium prices at the meat counter.<\/p>\n

The cost, however, also reflects a more superior product. Compared to conventionally raised beef, studies show that strictly pasture-fed beef contain higher nutrients<\/a> with less fat, often with lower levels<\/a> of antibiotics, hormones, and risk of food contamination<\/a>. And grass-fed cuts simply taste better, according to Chef Dan Barber<\/a>, sustainable and ethical farming advocate and author of The Third Plate<\/em>, who extols its rich, complex, and \u201cundeniably beefy\u201d flavor.<\/p>\n

Not all pasture-based ranchers have adopted paddock-based regenerative practices, but the number appears to be growing. That\u2019s in part because the holistic principles of regenerative ranching go hand in hand with land stewardship and animal welfare, says Michael Dimock, executive director of Roots of Change. By \u201cmimicking nature,\u201d the grazing patterns of ruminants benefit from natural forage and room to roam, all the while \u201cmaximizing soil health and biodiversity\u201d of plants, insects, and other animals.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Preparing<\/a>

Preparing grass-fed beef for serving at the Meat Summit. (Photo courtesy of Roots of Change)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Regardless, recent research shows that 100 percent grass-fed cattle have a larger carbon footprint <\/a>than those finished on grain because they fatten at a slower rate, yet also weigh as much as 20 percent less at maturity. And while regeneratively managed pastures have been shown to sequester carbon, the science behind the potential for \u201ccarbon-neutral beef\u201d has been overblown<\/a>. Still, Dimock adds that well-managed, rotational grazing enhances pasture productivity<\/a>, helps restore spent cropland<\/a>, and prevents wildfires<\/a> by keeping invasive grasses and dry brush in check.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a highly efficient use of marginal land, notes Dimock\u2014a classification of the 70 percent<\/a> of the world\u2019s arable regions unsuited for crop production due to poor soil, aridity, or steepness. As he sees it, regenerative ranching is also accessible and practical for smaller operations because it\u2019s scalable, and lowers the financial risks associated with compliance-centered practices like organic farming.<\/p>\n

The Power of Procurement<\/h4>\n<\/div>

Making regenerative beef a more attainable business model requires developing a resilient supply chain, says Dimock, one that caters primarily to smaller producers. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of a heavily consolidated industry, including bottlenecks<\/a> in meat processing due to labor shortages and transportation breakdowns. Along with the USDA\u2019s recent $1 billion<\/a> investment in expanding the nation\u2019s meat and poultry processing capacity, he sees California\u2019s\u00a0$600 million Community Economic Resilience Fund<\/a> (CERF) giving a major boost to the state\u2019s meat supply infrastructure. <\/p><\/div>

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The targeted funding includes shoring up the network of smaller, regional harvest, processing, and storage facilities, he adds, and will help rural communities develop stronger economic hubs that decentralize the current top-heavy model. But those new and expanded facilities won\u2019t succeed if there isn\u2019t a consistent market for the kind of meat they process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to give small-scale ranchers a fair shot,\u201d Dimock says, \u201cwe have to break up [the current corporate stronghold].\u201d<\/p>\n

Going up against the commodity system, however, comes with additional challenges. While grass-fed beef accounts for roughly $4 billion<\/a>, or 4 percent of the overall U.S. market, an estimated 80 percent of the supply consists of imports, largely from Australia, Uruguay and Brazil\u2014countries where raising livestock on pasture is far more economical. Passed through a USDA-inspected plant, these products can be labeled<\/a> \u201cdomestic,\u201d leaving true domestic producers at an economic disadvantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you talk to 12 people about regenerative [practices], you’ll get 12 different definitions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In fact, the general lack of standards and regulations for the grass-fed sector has created a Wild West landscape of labels, says Bonterra\u2019s Cheung. For its part, the USDA has recently announced stepping up its labeling guidelines<\/a>, which distinguish true grass-fed beef from confusing claims such as \u201cpasture-raised,\u201d \u201c50 percent grass-fed,\u201d and \u201cgrass-fed and grain-finished.\u201d These are highly misleading terms, she notes, given that most cattle are pastured for the first year of their lives. And \u201cthere has been a lot of outright cheating in the industry,\u201d she adds\u2014for instance, grass-fed labels can still apply to confined cattle raised on grass pellets.<\/p>\n

The fundamental practices of regenerative ranching align with California\u2019s efforts to promote farming \u201cin a manner that restores and maintains natural systems,\u201d says California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary Karen Ross. The approach also complements the state\u2019s climate smart initiatives<\/a> and efforts to advance social equity<\/a> through the support of small-scale farms and ranches.<\/p>\n

Still, Ross acknowledges that the term\u2019s inherent flexibility can make it a fuzzy concept. That\u2019s especially true in California, where regional variations in microclimates, precipitation levels, and soil structure reflect a wide practice spectrum\u2014some ranches in the state\u2019s mountainous reaches, for example, may winter their herds on dried silage when fields are bare, while others may have the means to transport them to greener pastures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you talk to 12 people about regenerative [practices], you’ll get 12 different definitions,\u201d Ross says.<\/p>\n

Currently, several certifications such as the American Grassfed Association<\/a> (AGA), Regenerative Organic Certified<\/a>, and Land to Market<\/a> provide a range of overlapping criteria that ensure the regenerative provenance of meat. By outlining transparent measures, these voluntary labels are intended to legitimize and safeguard the premium nature of regeneratively produced beef.<\/p>\n

Last month, the CDFA began work on officially defining<\/a> regenerative ranching and agriculture. Rather than developing standards for state certification, and the goal is \u201cto make sure that when we use the term, we have a shared understanding of what the practices are,\u201d says Ross. The \u201cinclusive\u201d set of parameters will help inform state policy around regenerative food production, she adds\u2014including public procurement initiatives.<\/p>\n

Public institutions are \u201ca ready-made way\u201d to spur and ensure market demand for healthy food from sustainable sources, adds Ross, who has been involved in discussions about the UC initiative. \u201cWe\u2019re investing in better outcomes for farmers, the community, and the environment,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s the power of procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building the Supply Pipeline<\/h4>\n<\/div>

Balancing supply and demand is nonetheless a delicate endeavor, says Tom Richards, co-owner of Richards Grassfed Beef<\/a> in Yuba County, California. The fifth-generation rancher has been a key voice in both the UC initiative and Beef2Institution. <\/p><\/div>

\n

Most of California\u2019s pasture-grazing operations focus on a premium, direct-to-consumer market. Between online sales, farmers markets, restaurants, and specialty retailers, year-to-year demand tends to be stable\u2014and manageable.<\/p>\n

The supply of better beef \u201cisn\u2019t something you can just dial up,\u201d says Richards. Increasing herds is a risky investment\u2014\u201cit takes three years to raise one of these animals,\u201d he notes\u2014so clear market forecasts are imperative. \u201cThe biggest thing that we need from the industry is for somebody like a Santana [Diaz] or UC to say, \u2018we\u2019re committed to [helping you] map out a three- to five-year plan to grow your supply,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the market\u2019s operating on a push,\u201d Richards adds. \u201cBut what the industry needs is the pull\u201d\u2014with heavy strings attached.<\/p>\n

For smaller-scale operations in particular, committed relationships all along the supply chain are essential to staying afloat. Yet that business model runs counter to industry approach, says Clifford Pollard, the founder of Cream Co. Meats<\/a>. The Oakland, California-based meat processor \u201cbridges the gap\u201d between regenerative ranches and broadline product distribution on the West Coast, and has played a central role in promoting Beef2Institution\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n

Conventional meat processors \u201ctrade in commodities,\u201d Pollard says, sourcing raw material at the lowest price possible. Cream Co., on the other hand, cultivates its supply pipeline \u201cover many years of sustained [purchasing] commitments\u201d to individual operations, he says.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, with demand driving supply, the large-scale procurement will undoubtedly influence the equation. Nevertheless, even incremental steps by institutions can pave the way for meaningful change, Pollard notes. \u201cThere\u2019s often a hesitation that it has to be all or nothing, but shifting even a small portion of your spend towards [regeneratively minded sourcing] is impactful,\u201d he says, and U.C.\u2019s commitment really gives regenerative producers \u201ca seat at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need the whole table,\u201d Pollard adds. \u201cJust a seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was produced as a radio story by our media partner Public News Service, reaching millions of listeners. Take a listen here. But for Diaz, good food is key to good health. 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