The Range Gets Crowded for Natural Beef
Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Mel Coleman Jr. and his uncle, Jim Coleman, feed the cattle on their Colorado ranch.
By SUSAN MORAN
Published: June 10, 2006
SAGUACHE, Colo. — As he drove his truck into the family ranch on a recent sunny morning, Mel Coleman Jr. put on his Stetson hat and greeted his Uncle Jim, who runs the ranch. In a pasture behind the house, five horses hovered placidly and several black Angus cows ambled up to a salt station.
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When It Comes to Meat, 'Natural' Is a Vague Term (June 10, 2006)
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Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Cow and sheep skulls decorate a wall at the ranch. The Colemans were among the first ranchers to produce natural beef products.
Mr. Coleman, 55, spoke wistfully of his days branding and moving cattle on the ranch his ancestors started in 1875. The sprawling ranch, in the high-desert San Luis Valley about 180 miles southwest of Denver, is the birthplace of Coleman Natural Foods, founded by his late father, Mel Coleman Sr., in 1979 under a different name.
From the start, his father sold "natural" beef — something alien to most shoppers and meat producers back then. On a sales trip in the early 1980's, his father camped out in a rented car to save money as he made his pitch to grocers. His cows, he said, were not given antibiotics and growth hormones like the big producers' cattle were, and he fed them a vegetarian diet.
It took the elder Coleman years to win converts, not only among retailers but also among consumers and government regulators. Now, paradoxically, natural and organic meats have become so popular that even the big conventional meat producers are getting into the business, and Coleman is left in the unexpected position of scrambling for shelf space.
Coleman itself has changed. The company has grown to become one of the largest producers in the still small natural and organic meat industry. Coleman is now owned by an investment firm. As chairman, Mr. Coleman spends countless days traveling from the company's headquarters in Golden, Colo., promoting the latest line of products with retailers and nurturing relationships with the 700 independent ranchers who supply most of its meat. Those largely family-owned ranches are facing their own pressures, from persistent drought to volatile meat and crop prices, tempting some to sell to developers.
The elder Coleman was also an early advocate of more stringent labeling of beef. The Agriculture Department did finally adopt standards for "natural" food in the mid-1980's, but it required only that those products be "minimally processed" and lack artificial ingredients.
Much later, in 2002, the government developed regulations for organic food, and those are much more stringent. Organic food — including produce, meat and the grain fed to cows and other animals — must be grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones in most cases, though loopholes exist.
"Mel Sr. was one of the pioneers to develop a truly natural meat company, " said Dave Carter, head of the National Bison Association and former chairman of the Agriculture Department's National Organic Standards Board. "His legacy lives on. But now the natural label has lost its meaning."
Today, many companies offer natural and organic meat. Three of the biggest conventional meat producers — Tyson Foods, Swift & Company and National Beef — have introduced natural products in the last few months. They have joined the niche players in natural and organic foods, among them Organic Valley of LaFarge, Wis.; Maverick Ranch Association of Denver; Laura's Lean Beef Company of Lexington, Ky.; Dakota Beef of Howard, S.D.; and Niman Ranch, based in Oakland, Calif. In addition, much organic meat is still sold directly by ranchers at farmers' markets and over the Internet.
Coleman Natural thinks that shoppers are discerning enough to trust that its standards are higher than the Agriculture Department's. But the company is also hedging its bets and gradually expanding its smaller organic business.
"We like to say we're one grain away from being organic," Mr. Coleman said.
That one small grain bears a big price tag. Organic cattle feed can cost up to 30 percent more than genetically modified and chemically treated grains. That means shoppers nationwide pay a premium for organic meat — as much as 50 percent for beef and 20 percent for chicken. For instance, in the Boulder, Colo., area, a pound of 91 percent lean organic ground beef sells at Whole Foods for $6.09, compared with an 85 percent lean all-natural product for $3.99. Albertson's sells conventional choice grade beef for $1.99 a pound.
Organic meat is the fastest-growing segment of the $14 billion organic food business, even though it represents only 2 percent. Last year, organic meat sales, which includes poultry and fish, soared 55 percent, to $256 million from 2004, far faster than the overall organic food industry's 15 percent annual clip, according to the Organic Trade Association. The association estimates that organic meat accounts for only 0.22 percent of overall meat sales. Organic growth is expected to accelerate now that Wal-Mart has decided to offer more organic food.
According to the consumer research and consulting firm ACNielsen, natural meat sales, which excludes fish, nearly doubled in four years, to $681.3 million in the year ended April 22. (The firm tracks only natural-labeled bar-coded products sold in mass merchandiser stores, excluding Wal-Mart.)
"Organic food is just at a tipping point heading mainstream," said Samuel Fromartz, author of the new book "Organic, Inc."
Related Articles
INK; Right by the Arugula, a Home for the Buffalo (January 24, 2006)EATING WELL; Warily Searching For Safer Beef (December 31, 2003) Late Addition to Spending Bill Would Dilute Organic Rules (February 14, 2003)EATING WELL; Shopping for Antibiotic-Free Meat (January 17, 2001)Related Searches
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Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Mel Coleman Jr. and his uncle, Jim Coleman, feed the cattle on their Colorado ranch.
By SUSAN MORAN
Published: June 10, 2006
SAGUACHE, Colo. — As he drove his truck into the family ranch on a recent sunny morning, Mel Coleman Jr. put on his Stetson hat and greeted his Uncle Jim, who runs the ranch. In a pasture behind the house, five horses hovered placidly and several black Angus cows ambled up to a salt station.
Skip to next paragraph
Related
When It Comes to Meat, 'Natural' Is a Vague Term (June 10, 2006)
Enlarge this Image
Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Cow and sheep skulls decorate a wall at the ranch. The Colemans were among the first ranchers to produce natural beef products.
Mr. Coleman, 55, spoke wistfully of his days branding and moving cattle on the ranch his ancestors started in 1875. The sprawling ranch, in the high-desert San Luis Valley about 180 miles southwest of Denver, is the birthplace of Coleman Natural Foods, founded by his late father, Mel Coleman Sr., in 1979 under a different name.
From the start, his father sold "natural" beef — something alien to most shoppers and meat producers back then. On a sales trip in the early 1980's, his father camped out in a rented car to save money as he made his pitch to grocers. His cows, he said, were not given antibiotics and growth hormones like the big producers' cattle were, and he fed them a vegetarian diet.
It took the elder Coleman years to win converts, not only among retailers but also among consumers and government regulators. Now, paradoxically, natural and organic meats have become so popular that even the big conventional meat producers are getting into the business, and Coleman is left in the unexpected position of scrambling for shelf space.
Coleman itself has changed. The company has grown to become one of the largest producers in the still small natural and organic meat industry. Coleman is now owned by an investment firm. As chairman, Mr. Coleman spends countless days traveling from the company's headquarters in Golden, Colo., promoting the latest line of products with retailers and nurturing relationships with the 700 independent ranchers who supply most of its meat. Those largely family-owned ranches are facing their own pressures, from persistent drought to volatile meat and crop prices, tempting some to sell to developers.
The elder Coleman was also an early advocate of more stringent labeling of beef. The Agriculture Department did finally adopt standards for "natural" food in the mid-1980's, but it required only that those products be "minimally processed" and lack artificial ingredients.
Much later, in 2002, the government developed regulations for organic food, and those are much more stringent. Organic food — including produce, meat and the grain fed to cows and other animals — must be grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones in most cases, though loopholes exist.
"Mel Sr. was one of the pioneers to develop a truly natural meat company, " said Dave Carter, head of the National Bison Association and former chairman of the Agriculture Department's National Organic Standards Board. "His legacy lives on. But now the natural label has lost its meaning."
Today, many companies offer natural and organic meat. Three of the biggest conventional meat producers — Tyson Foods, Swift & Company and National Beef — have introduced natural products in the last few months. They have joined the niche players in natural and organic foods, among them Organic Valley of LaFarge, Wis.; Maverick Ranch Association of Denver; Laura's Lean Beef Company of Lexington, Ky.; Dakota Beef of Howard, S.D.; and Niman Ranch, based in Oakland, Calif. In addition, much organic meat is still sold directly by ranchers at farmers' markets and over the Internet.
Coleman Natural thinks that shoppers are discerning enough to trust that its standards are higher than the Agriculture Department's. But the company is also hedging its bets and gradually expanding its smaller organic business.
"We like to say we're one grain away from being organic," Mr. Coleman said.
That one small grain bears a big price tag. Organic cattle feed can cost up to 30 percent more than genetically modified and chemically treated grains. That means shoppers nationwide pay a premium for organic meat — as much as 50 percent for beef and 20 percent for chicken. For instance, in the Boulder, Colo., area, a pound of 91 percent lean organic ground beef sells at Whole Foods for $6.09, compared with an 85 percent lean all-natural product for $3.99. Albertson's sells conventional choice grade beef for $1.99 a pound.
Organic meat is the fastest-growing segment of the $14 billion organic food business, even though it represents only 2 percent. Last year, organic meat sales, which includes poultry and fish, soared 55 percent, to $256 million from 2004, far faster than the overall organic food industry's 15 percent annual clip, according to the Organic Trade Association. The association estimates that organic meat accounts for only 0.22 percent of overall meat sales. Organic growth is expected to accelerate now that Wal-Mart has decided to offer more organic food.
According to the consumer research and consulting firm ACNielsen, natural meat sales, which excludes fish, nearly doubled in four years, to $681.3 million in the year ended April 22. (The firm tracks only natural-labeled bar-coded products sold in mass merchandiser stores, excluding Wal-Mart.)
"Organic food is just at a tipping point heading mainstream," said Samuel Fromartz, author of the new book "Organic, Inc."
Related Articles
INK; Right by the Arugula, a Home for the Buffalo (January 24, 2006)EATING WELL; Warily Searching For Safer Beef (December 31, 2003) Late Addition to Spending Bill Would Dilute Organic Rules (February 14, 2003)EATING WELL; Shopping for Antibiotic-Free Meat (January 17, 2001)Related Searches
MeatOrganic FoodCattleNext Article in Business (2 of 20) »
AdvertisementsGet the tools you need to manage your credit score.
Try Score Watch™.
Scottrade:
More than $7 Trades. It's Called Value & We Value You.
Chicken Market, Hester Street, 1937
Buy Now Inside NYTimes.com
Travel » Fashion & Style » U.S. » Real Estate »
Maira Kalman: Celestial Harmony
Cézanne's Provence
The Ascent of a Woman
Honoring Warriors
Condo Sales, With a Catch
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Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Work for Us Site Map
