Beef Trends In 2018
An animal nutrition research director says the beef industry can’t turn a deaf ear to consumer demands on food production.
“Food companies themselves—the McDonalds, the Wendy’s, the Tysons, all of the packers—these are the people that are going to be dictating how and what is moving forward as far as food safety and environmental safety are concerned.”
Dr. Elliot Block with Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition tells Brownfield the trend of raising livestock to meet consumer preferences, like with antibiotic-free meat, isn’t going away anytime soon. “Meat—beef—is antibiotic-free by nature, but what they’re talking about is not using antibiotics in routine growing as additives.” He says research is starting to focus more on how prebiotics and probiotics can prepare an animal’s immune system for stress rather than the use of preventative antibiotics.
Block says other trends on the horizon for the beef industry include reducing Clostridia bacteria in cattle and better marbling. He says nutritionists are also researching how essential fatty acids fed at weaning and during gestation can stimulate better marbled meat.
AUDIO: Interview with Elliot Block