Danforth and Eating Older Animals
- Adam Danforth, Eve Fox, Emma Cosgrove
- Nov 16, 2015
- 2 min read
-Broiler chickens are generally 6 weeks old.
-Pork is generally 6 months old.
-Lamb is under a year.
-Beef is often 12-24 months.
Adam Danforth proposes that we take another look at the harvest age of the animals we are raising for food. The vast majority of these animals are young. This is because meat tenderness has been the focus of pervading husbandry and culinary goals; young animals produce more tender muscles.
Adam says that by prioritizing tenderness we de-prioritize flavor.
“The components of flavor are in the life of the animal and the work that it does. The longer an animal lives and the more work it does, the more flavorful its meat becomes,” says Danforth. He is an advocate for eating older, “cull” animals, for which there is currently little to no market.
Below are two articles that detail some of the issues surrounding this subject. Notably, there is little to no economic incentive for farmers to raise their animals to older ages under the current paradigm. That's why I appreciate this topic; the dominant livestock industry, both producers and consumers, could benefit from a cascade of paradigm shifts.
Some years ago I butchered a four year old grass-finished Corriente breed Beef. It was a retired rodeo animal and I did not expect it to taste good. My wife and I were floored by how delicious the ground beef and roasts were. To this day my wife says it was the best ground beef she's ever had.
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