MENU dorset issue 11 11 | Page 29

he Steaks Steaks he Beef from farm to fork 29 OO n average, it takes two to three years for beef to complete the journey from farm to fork. When low cost is the prize, as it is in US concentrated animal feeding operations, that means warehousing cattle in unnatural conditions to produce limp, often contaminated meat pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones. That, however, is the alternative, not the norm. Dorset producers are showing that smaller herds can be raised on pasture, sold locally, and the meat hung for the required time to produce outstanding steaks and joints. We talked to some of our region’s best-known farmers, butchers and chefs about the movement to put the great back in British beef. www.menu-dorset.co.uk