What’s in that ground beef patty?

I was recently reading an article in the Beef Producer Magazine ( Insert Link http://www.beefproducer.com/beef-quality/how-many-cattle-ground-beef-patty ) about a survey they did to find out  how many animals people thought were represented in a ground beef patty. The survey included about 1000 participants and the results were pretty interesting to me. Almost 30% of the participants were under the impression that the ground beef patty only contained meat from 1 animal, but that isn’t the norm. It is not uncommon for a ground beef patty to contain meat from over 1000 animals, it’s that CRAZY! Ten percent of those in the survey who said that a typical ground beef patty contained meat from 100 different animals were the ones who chose the correct answer. That’s right, the hamburger patties that you purchased at the grocery store likely contains meat from 100 different cows. Not only are the majority of these animals raised in feed lots with factory farming practices here in the US but according to Drovers (Insert Link https://www.drovers.com/article/us-beef-imports-33-percent-2015) we import 33% of our beef from other countries. So out of those 100 animals, there is a good chance that 33 of them are from other countries that do not have the same standards or regulations as the US.  The importation of beef is a big reason why it is so important to find and support a local farm.  This information wasn’t a big shock for me but when I share this with our customers they can hardly believe it. The survey proved that the average consumer does not really see the truth behind many of our food preparation practices. I am passionate about educating our customers on our processing methods compared to the industry standards. We are the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. Each pound of ground beef or ground beef patty contains only meat from 1 animal. We process one beef at a time and our beef are from our farm right here in Michigan. They are grass fed and finished and live out happy lives out in the pasture. Keep this information the next time you through some burgers on the grill. If you purchased them from John Henry’s you can rest assured that our beef enjoy a healthy, happy life. Thank you to those of you who support our farm and everything we stand for.

~ Katie