Page 111 - Hereford Magazine 2021

carcass cuts was worth 10 points. globally, have a responsibility to educate the public about the
Hereford Prime chairman Laurie Paterson says he was benefits of grass-fed beef and tell the on-farm story better.”
delighted with the professionalism shown by all the teams in a Laurie said the professionalism with which the teams
module that, for many, would have been daunting. conducted themselves was a credit to their countries.
“We purposely designed a challenging task – that’s what “The Hereford breed throughout the world is in good hands
the organisers asked us to provide – but we also wanted it to if the calibre of the young breeders we hosted is anything to
be engaging and educational for the teams. It wasn’t easy, go by. They really were an exceptional group of upcoming
but everyone finished the tasks to a high standard. They were breeders with a lot to offer, not just to the Hereford breed, but
all very happy to have a go and we were thrilled with their also the global agricultural sector.”
attitudes in tackling the task.” He also noted the huge amount of work and time Simon
In the essay component there were a lot of good ideas and invested in the module.
knowledge shown, including from some countries where “He’s a huge and loyal supporter of our programme as
English isn’t their first language. well as an exceptionally skilled chef and butcher. We’re really
“Interestingly, a recurring theme was that beef farmers, grateful to Simon for his contribution.”

Simon Henry, right with Team USA contestants before they start A member of Team Sweden makes her way through the beef
boning out a beef brisket. brisket boning section of the module.

Fighting the rising tide of alternative diets

The theory component ran simultaneously with the positioning will be the three main ways in which Hereford
practical and asked the teams to write an essay (a producers can make a tangible impact. Producers must be
minimum of 500 words) covering the health benefits of able to prove to discerning consumers that their product is
grass-fed beef and how Hereford beef producers can deal going to be a healthy and sustainable alternative to plant-
with the threat of synthetic meats and the rising trend based diets that often incur heavy environmental costs in
of plant-based diets, as well as correctly identify and terms of fossil fuel and fertiliser use.
name beef cuts on a carcass diagram (see overleaf).
It is important for today’s society to understand the clinical
Here’s a selection of excerpts directly from the essays: benefits of why grass-fed beef is an important factor of
living a healthy lifestyle compared to synthetic meats. This
Hereford beef provides great nutritive and palatability can be achieved by providing complete transparency from
characteristics where synthetic meats can’t reach this paddock to plate. Complete traceability is key to achieving
expectation. Palatability and nutritive characteristics that this. Also, the beef industry can compete with other protein
are found in grass-fed beef are vitamins B and C, lipids and sources as it is not possible to lead a plant-based diet
fatty acids that enrich our diets; meat made in labs are without the use of other additives. Therefore, we need to
lacking the fundamental nutritive values that our body educate society on the natural production of grass-fed beef
requires. Consuming grass-fed beef not only fuels our bodies by the use of marketing it further into urban areas. This
but helps with brain function and longevity. will counteract and overcome synthetic meat and the rising
trend of plant-based diets. This begins with bridging the
In order to counteract the rising trend of plant-based diets, gap between rural and urban counterparts.
social media, sustainable supply chains, and product

Year 2021 HEREFORD MAGAZINE 109
World Hereford
Conference 2020
Queenstown NZ