This event was recorded as part of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance Third Annual Symposium “Beef: From Plains to Plate”.

Kathryn L Heinze of Northwestern University presented “Grass-fed beef: (Re-) discovering traditional farming for todays consumers.” Only 20 years ago, the term “grass-fed beef” was known only to cattle ranchers and livestock commodity analysts. It was a technical term used primarily to describe meat of inferior quality and lower price that had not followed the standard process of production in the United States. Today, however, grass-fed meat and dairy products sell at a premium and are served in high-end restaurants. Historically, the movement for purely grass-fed meat arose in opposition to a system of industrial agriculture that had become dominant after World War II and almost eliminated regional variety in farming and meat products due to breeds, forage and ranching knowledge.

Followed by Mark McCully, Assistant Vice-President for supply development for Certified Angus Beef LLC, on “Certified Angus Beef: The Angus Confusion.”

The word “Angus” simply refers to a breed of cattle. But there’s more to great beef than just being Angus. While others may say Angus, do not confuse the type of cattle with the proven brand name. The world’s first and premium brand of Angus beef is the Certified Angus Beef® brand with 10 strict specifications that provide the Science Behind the Sizzle™.

Celebrate Midwestern beef foodways by tracing the historic odyssey of all-American meat from the windswept plains of the heartland to meat processors in “cities on the make,” like Chicago, where it was packed, wrapped and sent to dinner plates around the globe. Join the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance (GMFA) on that journey Beef: From Plains to the Plate – Follow the Cattlemen’s Trail to Savory Midwest Beef Traditions.

Recorded Saturday, October 24, 2009 at Kendall College.