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 t ..read more

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 a ..read more

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 popu ..read more

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 pl ..read more

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 ei ..read more

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 chan ..read more

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 per ..read more

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 pitf ..read more

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 mar ..read more

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 ..read more