Paidom Meats

January 2004

Current Events:  Dateline NBC, 3/21/02

I don't know how many of you were able to catch last night's show on NBC Dateline.  It was not a bombshell by any means, just something many consumers should have already suspected.  In a nutshell, the investigators found that the "Sell By" dates on various packages of meat, fish, and poultry were being extended at the various stores they had investigated (Albertsons, Safeway, Winn Dixie, Kroger, A&P, Pathmark, & Publix).  If you want to see the whole program, go to www.dateline.msnbc.com.

That "Sell By" date isn't required by law.  In my opinion, it's just something that stores have decided to put on the packages to make it look like they're keeping stocks fresh.  It's a marketing ploy, but it seems to be backfiring.  That date isn't the date when the meats will spoil if not sold, so it's only financially prudent to alter it and put the product back out for sale.  It's still good meat, but any consumer who sees this is bound to question the integrity of that store.  Forget whether the meats are still edible -- now, the question is about trust.

The program only lent credence to various points in my modus operandi, including the following:

1.    The only way to be relatively certain about the wholesomeness of your food is to know your grower.  I know it's not always possible, but as more problems like these come to light, we need to make more effort to get in touch with our food supply.

2.    It's all about trust. While I realize that although the meats that had been re-dated were still good, it looks pretty fishy when you change the date -- it looks like you're trying to cover up something.  If those stores are going to put a date on the product for marketing purposes, then honor that date.  If not, then put the real expiration date on the package from the beginning.  They can't have it both ways (i.e., they can't make it look like their meat is extremely fresh because it "expires" in a day or two, then go add extra days because, in reality, the meat has enough preservatives to last a week).  Earn consumers' trust, and they'll come back to buy from you again.

3.    Large corporations, while they may be "efficient," are faceless.  As such, when caught in the act, no one is responsible.  The employees blamed the manager of the meat department.  The meat manager pointed to the store management.  The store management blamed rogue employees, and so on.  Small fries like myself may not be able to do things as cheaply (at least when viewed only in financial terms), but there is no question who is responsible if the consumer has a complaint.

4.    When compared to frozen meat, "fresh" meat is a misnomer.  Yes, "fresh" meat may only be a week old, whereas frozen meat can be months old, but in terms of pathogen counts, there is no comparison.  My meats are frozen immediately after being cut from the carcass.  Store meats, on the other hand, are packaged in boxes by the processor (IBP, Excel, Monfort, etc.) and trucked to the stores.  The meat managers carve these boxed portions into the cuts that they want.  Employees wrap them in styrofoam and cellophane, then place them in the meat case for consumers to root through till they find one that looks good.  All this extra cutting, wrapping, and contact adds more microbes to the meat.  They may or may not be harmful microbes, but this sure tarnishes the illusion of "fresh" meat.  Frozen meat, by comparison, is processed once.  That is why the Dateline lab results showed more and more bacteria counts on "fresh" meats as the days were extended.  Freezing virtually stops bacterial growth and because it limits the amount of handling by people, it reduces the initial numbers of bacteria from the start.  In essence, frozen is much more pure than supermarket "fresh."

5.    Although there is a clear dichotomy among consumers -- those who are very meticulous about where they buy, and those who shop where it's the cheapest -- there are some food suppliers caught in the middle.  On one end are the great food corporations (Con-Agra, Philip Morris, Tyson, etc.) who produce food that may not be completely wholesome, but they do it cheaply.  On the other end are folks like me.  While we try to compete price-wise, our emphasis is on growing wholesome and nutritious food and on forging relationships, relationships with consumers and relationships between those consumers and their food.  But then there are those who are trying to play both ends of the spectrum.  I thought it was very revealing when some meat from Laura's Lean Beef surfaced in the line of suspects at these stores.  You see, while large "natural" meat suppliers tout their healthful attributes and therefore command a higher price, their meats are still grown by overly large companies, and the production of this meat falls outside of their control, thereby becoming tainted by processors in the food channel.  There was no wrongdoing on the part of Laura's Lean Beef, but in their effort to secure more sales, greater market share, higher profits, etc, etc, etc, the company forgot that their reputation was riding on the performance of people they did not know, people with whom they had no relationship!  Sometimes the gap between each end of the spectrum becomes too large to straddle, and you end up falling into the abyss between them.  Nothing against them, but this could happen to large companies such as Laura's Lean Beef if they don't start taking accountability.

Wow!  With that, I better climb off this soapbox and see how my pastures are faring in this windy part of the world...  Thanks for letting me vent.

Mind Fodder

As you can tell from our name (PaiDom, pronounced “pie-dome”), I have a tremendous respect for the reverence that Native Americans had for this land.  That reverence is embodied in the sage words of a Navajo medicine man when asked to settle a grazing dispute.

“You are neighbors whether you want to be or not, because the land itself unites you.  It links you as you both walk on it today, and you will both lie in it together when you die.  Then the plants that grow in the soil that you become will infect your children with either your hatred or affection as you choose now.  If you bless your land, it will return the blessing and your present argument will become insignificant.”

Great advice to heed in all your dealings with other people.

Thanks for supporting the vision.

-- Alan & Heather

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