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In the last episode of Meat Talk we talked about the alternative protein market and made some strong predictions for this coming year in this amazing industry. But if you only took one thing from that episode, I hope it is this. For years, a small number of manufacturers had the market to themselves, with some taking the attitude of ‘good enough’. Those days are over. While the market is expanding, it is also becoming more competitive. Big players and investors are putting serious money into alternative proteins and this year we may very well see a shake-up of the industry. This isn’t to say that there still isn’t room for small to medium size producers, but you have to be at the very top of your game. The big three issues you need to overcome are cost, texture and taste. All three are just as important with the three-legged stool analogy – remove one and your product will go tumbling over. But most consumers will agree, they’re willing to forgive the other two if the flavour they crave is there. In today’s episode we’ll be talking to two industry experts who will be sharing their expertise in adding flavour to your plant-based products. It is a must listen.

While red meat, poultry and seafood remain king of the proteins, the alternative protein market is chipping away at it, with this including plant-based, insect-based, and lab-grown products. The only question is, will it be like the Grand Canyon and take 70 million years to develop fully, or suddenly burst fully onto the scene like a riverbank levy collapsing in a flood of products, washing real meat away? In this episode of Meat Talk, we’ll be following the lead of Veganuary and be looking at the alternative protein market and your opportunities in it. You’ll learn why you should forget about pleasing vegans and vegetarians and concentrate instead on this portion of the population. In addition, you’ll discover why consumers are more than willing to accept deficiencies in plant-based burgers, if cell-based has already passed its sell-by-date, and what three things you cannot afford to leave out of your plant-based product. SUPPORTER Support for this episode comes from Planteneers. Planteneers develops and produces individual system solutions for plant-based alternatives to meat and fish products, as well as cheese, egg, dairy products and deli foods. As pioneers in innovative stabilising and texturing systems for plant-based alternatives, Planteneers helps food manufacturers around the world create an eating experience that is as close as possible to the original flavour and texture. From the choice of raw materials for custom functional systems to pilot tests to upscaling for mass production, Planteneers offers everything from a single source. To find out more go to www.planteneers.com

In the latest Which magazine, beef is singled out as the most environmentally unfriendly protein out there, mostly due to cattle methane emissions. Regardless of being correct or not, what if you could actually not only contain this gas, but make a profit off it as well? Welcome to the world of Daniel Larn, maker of the Willand Intelligent Livestock System which will have livestock being raised under a giant plastic bubble. Concerns regarding methane would be fully addressed, land and water pollution from slurry would not be an issue and if farms were self-enclosed, they could be close to population centres cutting down on transport millage and smell. Bio security issues such as hoof & mouth disease or avian bird flu would not be an issue. Easy to construct and move, the ‘bubble’ could work just as easily in the Saudi desert and in Scotland, with both heating and cooling issues, not an issue. It sounds expensive, it sounds crazy, but Daniel just might be on to something here. Be sure to listen to this episode of Meat Talk – you might not look at a conventional barn the same way again.

A recent cover of The New Yorker shows a crowded sidewalk during morning rush hour. However, it’s not people looking at their i-Phones or drinking coffee, but robots on their way to work. The only human is a panhandler at their feet, being tossed nuts and bolts. When many think of automation or robotics, this is the scene they picture, technology putting people out of work. However, those of us in the meat industry know better. With a long-term shrinking labor pool of those willing to work in a processing plant, automating your plant isn’t taking jobs away, it’s saving jobs by allowing your plant to stay open. More importantly, the use of automation and robotics is making for a safer working environment. When Costco’s opened its $450 million high-tech US chicken processing plant in March, out of its 1,000 employees – processing 1 million birds a week – it reported only a single COVID-19 case in mid-April. Modern plants in Denmark and elsewhere have reported same. And remember this, all of these plants were designed when Corona was something you drank. Joining Meat Talk is Torsten Giese and Ross Townshend of Ishida with their thoughts based on years of experience helping plants automate around the world. If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, make it this: Have 2021 be the year you put automation to work.

If 2020 has shown us one thing, it’s this: For many, the longest established ways of getting our meat onto consumers’ plates is not working. Mark Smith at Double Up Social Media says that in a recent survey, over half of marketers agreed that the Covid pandemic has caused radical or significant changes to their customer’s marketing strategy. Because of this, many have decided to completely overhaul their B2B operations and turn to a B2C (business to consumer) market instead. “Covid-19 has completely shaken up the B2B market, due to restaurants, pubs, entertainment venues closing their doors either temporary or permanently, completely blocking off this market” says Mark. “But to counter the fall in demand, many B2B brands have been looking for new and innovative ways to keep their trade going,” adding that by making the switch, JJ Foodservice – a company that previously specialised in wholesale food and catering supplies – saw a massive 400 percent increase in demand. This episode is the fourth in a series of helping you crack the B2C market, giving you actual practical ideas and ways of developing this new market for you. We showed you in ‘Online butcher’ and ‘Wagyu wonderment’ how producers take advantage of B2C. In ‘Just ship it!’ we have you the nuts and bolts on how to actual get your steaks out the door and into the delivery trucks, and in today’s, you’ll learn from Mark how to find and develop new customers. SUPPORTER This episode is supported in part by Minebea Intec

The government ads have been impossible to miss on TV. “If you have a business and you haven’t taken the steps to prepare for Brexit, time is running out!” Nick Allen, chief executive officer of the British Meat Processors Association Unfortunately, the government has not taken its own advice, in particular when it comes to our meat industry. As it stands today, it is just as easy for a Scottish Black Angus producer to ship beef to Italy as it is to Birmingham. From quality standards to the size of pallets, all is the same throughout the EU. Come New Year’s Day, however, and this will all change as UK meat to the highly important EU market suddenly becomes an export item. Are vets in place to inspect this meat? Are the new labels and seals ready to be stamped on each side of beef. Has the Northern Ireland/Irish border been sorted? While some excuse the government’s lack of preparation due to the pandemic, the situation we’ll be soon facing started well before any of us knew our Covids from our Coronas. To explain all, Meat Talk is turning to Nick Allen, chief executive officer of the British Meat Processors Association.

Meat Talk discussions as of late have been focusing on craft butchers and the high quality meat that they source.  In this episode we are literally bringing the podcast to Worstead Estate farm in the north-east corner of East Anglia where we’ll be talking about wagyu beef. We have all heard about wagyu and for those who have tasted it, they will never forget its flavour. But, while you would think that nothing could be a straight forward as wagyu, you’d be wrong. A lack of transparency with many of the market holders outside of Japan means genetically your wagyu steak might only be 50 percent of the famed breed – despite its certification. In this episode we’ll be talking to wagyu farmer Bruce Paterson and we’ll be finding out just how wagyu gets to be so special. We’ll be discussing feeding, growing, breeding and the difference between FI and full-blooded. And yes, among the sound of contented moos, you’ll be hearing spa music in the background. Like we said, there is something special about wagyu and the famers that raise them.

Once upon a time in the UK, a butcher shop was freezing steaks, sticking them in an large envelop and mailing them by post to customers, hoping that the steaks would arrive in an edible condition. Those days are long past and if Covid-19 has done one thing positive, it’s pushing you craft farmers and butchers to go B2C. Just as important as your product is the packing material and box you ship it in. In the last episode of Meat Talk, you got ideas and inspiration from Mat Kemp of Turner & George, the UK’s first shipper of fresh, high quality meat via the internet. Mat talked about the pitfalls, hazards, and advantages of shipping directly to customers. In this slightly longer episode, you’ll get the exact specifics on how to do it. Shipping your product and having it arrive in a perfect condition is not rocket science. But, if you haven’t done it before, it might as well be. Josie Morris of WoolCool will talk about how package your product to keep it fresh or frozen, and  Nick Harding of Solidus Solutions will explain all about boxes. If you have ever thought about shipping your own meat direct to your customers, eliminating the middleman and putting more profit in your pocket, you need to listen to this episode.

It would be really easy to focus in on the negative right now, on the worse of times, but that is not why you listen to Meat Talk. For this latest series of podcasts, we will be focusing on the positives, on companies that are not only surviving, but are also succeeding. On ones that you can be inspired from – and learn from. Those who are experiencing the best of times and are willing to share their thoughts and success stories with you. If they have something in common, it is these three ideas: in tough times they’re willing to rethink, refocus and then evolve to fit whatever the current market is throwing their way. If I could add in three more: they’re agile, they see the big-picture, and they most definitely have a bit of the maverick-spirit about them. With many craft butchers and farmers now looking at shipping meat directly to consumers, Meat Talk thought it would make sense to talk to those who have been doing it longer than anyone else in the UK – London’s Turner & George. Joining us from the butcher shop will be Mat Kemp who will be sharing delivery company horror stories, why Spanish Old Cow is actually a great cut of meat, and will tell all you craft butchers and farmers how you can up your game.

If meat and poultry processing plants weren’t already hazardous places to work in, COVID-19 has brought the danger level to a new high. As of June, 30,000 meat processing plant workers have been stricken with the virus and over 100 have died, with the majority of these cases in the USA, UK and the rest of Europe. The scary thing is, for the most parts these plants are following current regulations and government advice. But, the scale alone of the problem shows that without doubt, this is definitely not working. However, there could very well be a solution. In this episode of Meat Talk, we’ll be discussing viruses, COVID-19, and will talk with David Cruise of air filtration system provider CamFil. David has been involved with Germany’s largest meat plant COVID-19 outbreak and will pass on his and the German government’s findings and advice – which is already making a difference.

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When we decided to cover the history of the red meat industry, we thought it would be just one episode. We were wrong. After we started looking at the past 100 years of the red meat processing industry, where we are today and where we’re headed as an industry started to make sense. This episode...

It’s odd knowing you lived through a Golden Age but I have, the golden age of the meat industry worker. As far as Golden Ages go, this one was actually pretty good as long as you weren’t a cow. It definitely beat the golden age of crossbows and plagues. While it seems unbelievable now, but...