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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Bill Niman will no longer eat Niman Ranch meat
Posted by Brian Ries on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Bill Niman -- the man who founded a meat company that brought sustainable, humane and natural meat to homes and restaurants acrosss the country -- recently said that standards had changed so much at Niman Ranch that he no longer feels comfortable eating his former company's meat. Admittedly, some of that may come more from sour grapes than tainted beef.
According to a comprehensive profile of Niman in the San Francisco Chronicle, Niman Ranch was never a profitable business over the thirty years it's operated. Niman lost virtual control of the company in 2006, when investors came in to stem the losses that were around $3 million.
After several years of fighting with the new board of directors over attempts to lessen Niman's adherence to humane and natural standards, the company merged with Natural Food Holdings -- its main investor -- to avoid bankruptcy. And Bill Niman was pushed out in the process.
That doesn't mean that Niman is out of the business altogether. After 30 years trying to change the way people thought about the beef they consumed, he and his wife will be jumping back in with a heritage turkey farm, just in time for Thanksgiving.
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
I really can't believe the spin or angle of this article. Only out of Tampa (Carnivore Paradise amongst other unenlightened states of being) would an article insinuate that Bill Niman would not eat the meat due to poor business relations or as Brain Ries states "sour grapes" on Niman's part. The bad business relations would, of course, cause this reaction by Niman, but what about years of fighting for decent treatment of animals and education for us, the public, about farming practices in this country. I'm sorry, Brian Ries. You have led me astray one too many times towards crappy restaurants that you labeled as worthy grub, and I feel the above article is just another example of how Tampa nees a better, more enlightened, palate giving us advice. -Olive Oil South Tampa
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Olive Oil -- Sorry you feel that way. I think it would have been exceedingly naive to put forth Niman's recent statements without acknowledging that he was recently booted from his own company. And, at no point in the post did I have anything negative to say about Niman.
My my my... Sounds like Olive has an axe to grind. I'm all for humane treatment of animals but I enjoy a good steak. No matter how "humane" we treat them, we still cut them up and eat them.
Humane treatment of cattle is imperative in the creation of "a good steak" (most people associate a "good steak" with tenderness qualities). Humane treatment creates a stress less environment for the cattle that actually promotes a more neutral pH level. The more neutral the pH, the more tender the beef/protein will be. In the United States, there is only one established Humane Raised & Handled protocol that has been written and approved by the USDA, ASPCA and HSUS. The program and protocols are third party audited.
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