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at Wed, 27 Oct 2004 10:55:04 GMT in
>,
(Hahabogus) wrote :

(Alex Rast) wrote in
:
>
>> at Wed, 27 Oct 2004 03:05:41 GMT in
>> >,
>> (Michael Odom) wrote :
>>
>>>On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 06:04:03 -0000,
>>>(Alex Rast) wrote:
>>>
>>...
>>>>Furthermore, it
>>>>would seem as though the distribution systems that prevail in the USA
>>>>make it *incredibly* difficult for an organic producer to get fresh
>>>>meat to market....
>>>>
>>>>Any answers to these, anybody?
>>>
>>>'Round these parts (NE Texas) the health and food safety laws pretty
>>>much put the kibosh on finding never-frozen organic meats...
>>
>> Yeah, people say that the regulatory environment is tough, but what I
>> don't understand is, how can the legislators draft legislation that
>> would make it tough for organic producers to sell fresh? ... is the
>> number
>> of people who recognise that there is no free lunch and would be
>> prepared to pay more for fresh, organic meat really that small? If so,
>> why is that?
>>
>
>Having the organic food products frozen expands the provider's market,
>allows for cheaper shipping methods and keeps the product's quality
>under control.
>
>An example is I live in Canada but eat New Zealand Lamb.
>
>I remember when there wasn't a lot of pre-frozen stuff and most veggies
>were canned...pre-frozen is way better taste-wise, and packaging and
>frieght rates are cheaper due to less weight...(no metal can); even
>when figuring in the expenses required for freezer capable trucks,
>ships, trains and airplanes.
>
>Businesses like to make money...they're funny that way. So they prefer
>to sell lots at a cheaper rate/lower profit margin, then to sell few
>with a higher mark-up. Therefore organic products that aren't local
>truck stop type stuff are pre-frozen if at all possible.

Undeniably the ability to distribute to a wider area could have appeal to
larger organic meat producers, who themselves are getting close to
industrial-farm size, but how would these economics apply to the smaller,
local farmer? Most of them can sell their entire output locally - within a
day's journey of their farm. How would they have an incentive to freeze?
Wouldn't the reverse apply, that being a small-volume producer, they stand
to get a better profit by selling at higher margin?

Meanwhile, under your description, why wouldn't *all* meat be sold frozen?
After all, if the producer can expand his market by selling frozen, and
this arrangement is especially beneficial to larger companies, wouldn't,
then, the larger meat producers, supplying the bulk of meat sold in U.S.
supermarkets, wish to freeze everything, guaranteeing them the greatest
possible distribution area and shelf life, thus the highest volume and
profits?

The fact that fresh meat is sold at all seems, therefore, to indicate that
a pretty healthy demand exists for it. Why, then, would the people who buy
organic meat, who, I would imagine, are more selective in their meat
choices, be less selective with respect to fresh vs. frozen, to the point
where the demand is sufficiently low, relative to the demand for fresh meat
in non-organic channels vs. that for similar frozen meat, that organic meat
producers, be they large or small, wouldn't see a market for non-frozen,
organic meat? What, if anything, is making demand for non-frozen organic
meat so low?

--
Alex Rast

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