No more Alberta Beef at Earl's

[The Goon]

We went to Earl's Tin Palace before the Aug 1 Hip Concert mainly for the patio. It was definitely not full, but not sure how much of that was the controversy/economy/long weekend. I could have used some more breasts in my ear, though.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Really goes to show the importance of good marketing. If they had simply said "We're switching because we believe this is a better product" I think the backlash would have been much, much smaller. But hiding behind all that humane bull#### was exactly that, bull####.

That would still have failed because "American > Canadian" is never going to sell in Canada, but the outrage would have been much lower, that's for sure.

Could you imagine being Earls' (hopefully former) marketing firm though? This will look great for future potential clients: "Successfully outraged our client's customers and offended a nation's industry, resulting in a 30% plunge in sales. Hire us to represent you!" This is on the level of "Mr. Wendy, unofficial spokesman" in the annals of marketing failures.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

It seems a lot of Albertans are patriotic about beef. So what other products do people think it's important are sourced locally - important enough that it will change your buying behaviour?

Lamb?
Canola oil?
Produce?
Pasta?
Cheese?
Software?
Music performers?
Novels?

I thought you would have understood the particular symbolism here.

[polak]

Originally Posted by peter12

i thought you would have understood the particular symbolism here.

yeehaaawwwww

[Cecil Terwilliger]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tim-...ors_picks=true

Ranchers say science proves it's necessary to add hormones and antibiotics, but increasingly, restaurants argue their customers are demanding those substances not be used.

What really pains farmers is that A&W's strategy is an overwhelming financial success for the chain, and other food companies are taking note.

McDonald's Canada spent the last two years working with ranchers to develop a sustainable beef program that includes animal welfare and environmental standards.

Tim Hortons is the latest company to contemplate offering a special type of beef. In front of more than 500 ranchers at a beef conference in Calgary this week, the company warned it will give customers what they want.

Promoting beef that is free of hormones, antibiotics and steroids is a major concern for the beef industry, which is losing market share in Canada in retail meat sales. Ranchers use these substances to increase the size of the animals, reduce the amount of feed required and help animal welfare by fighting off diseases, among other reasons. Without them, the industry fears production will decline and beef will become a luxury item only affordable for the wealthy.

"We need marketing that does not reinforce consumer distrust or misconceptions," he said in an interview with CBC News. "We as an agricultural industry need to think about how we are communicating with consumers and not just let consumer perception drive the entire debate."

Some very concerning trends IMO and that last quote nails it. Dumb consumers who believe in falsehoods and fear mongering should not drive these changes.

[polak]

I don't know, sounds like they want to mainly use those substances to lower their costs (bigger, healthier animals) and the customer doesn't want it.

[Resolute 14]

The problem is that the only reason the customer doesn't want it is marketing firms are taking advantage of the customer's ignorance.

It's actually hideously brilliant; they have convinced people that healther stock that requires less resources to produce is a bad thing.

[Mccree]

"Promoting beef that is free of hormones, antibiotics and steroids is a major concern for the beef industry, which is losing market share in Canada in retail meat sales. Ranchers use these substances to increase the size of the animals, reduce the amount of feed required and help animal welfare by fighting off diseases, among other reasons. Without them, the industry fears production will decline and beef will become a luxury item only affordable for the wealthy."

That is already happening, Beef is really expensive already.

Also I don't think A&W burgers are as good as they used to be. I find the burger has very little taste.

[Hack&Lube]

What??? is A&W's hormone free beef really a marketing success for them?

I hate that promotion. Because they are mentioning hormones and steroids, that's what my brain thinks about when biting into their burgers even if the claim is that it is free of those substances. Isn't there a lot of marketing literature that advises exactly against this kind of practice?

If someone told me I was going to enjoy some mold free bread for breakfast tomorrow morning...I'm going to be going over my toast looking for green spots instead of enjoying it.

[Resolute 14]

Yes, it is. And a major success at that. Pretty much why Earls tried to copy it. But the one thing A&W got right was that it made no mention at all of where it gets its beef from. It bypassed the Canadian vs. American issue that tripped up Earls.

[Krovikan]

Went to Earls after they brought back the Canadian steak, while they are advertising hormone and antibiotic free, their meat doesn't taste good, not free range. Also, the steak was overcooked and for whatever reason, they put no sauce on my order despite me not ordering it. They should really work on their service and better tasting / quality meet before they worry about hormones and antibiotics.

Wasn't a big consumer of Earls before (there are better choices in the price point of Earls in my opinion), but they seem to be focusing on marketing stunts rather than a quality product and service.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tim-...ors_picks=true

Some very concerning trends IMO and that last quote nails it. Dumb consumers who believe in falsehoods and fear mongering should not drive these changes.

The public anxiety over GMO foods show that the average consumer labours under remarkable ignorance about agriculture, while cynical marketers exploit that ignorance to enhance their own brands.

I listened to a CBC documentary about organic food last year, puzzling over why more Canadians don't buy locally-sourced organic food, and in the entire 55 minutes there was not a single mention of cost. It's criminally disingenuous of organic food advocates to omit any consideration of yields and cost in their arguments.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The public anxiety over GMO foods show that the average consumer labours under remarkable ignorance about agriculture, while cynical marketers exploit that ignorance to enhance their own brands.

I listened to a CBC documentary about organic food last year, and in the entire 55 minutes there was not a single mention of cost. It's criminally disingenuous of organic food advocates to omit any consideration of yields and cost in their arguments.

Food the of the rich.

[polak]

So I've never really looked into this or read anything about it so I decided to see what I can find. Obviously there's a ton of stuff from both sides saying they're right so I tried to find medical journals to get an unbiased view. Sounds like growth hormones pose little risk to humans (although one study apparently found a link between growth hormones in livestock and early puberty in girls which is linked to breast cancer, but I couldn't find a link to the study so take it with a grain of salt). One thing that was consistently mentioned was that the widespread overuse of antibiotics in livestock is a concern.

However, many scientists, activists, regulators, and politicians have expressed urgent concerns on using antibiotics in food animals, since it could cause resistant strains of bacteria that harm human health. WHO (2002) recommended that the use of antimicrobials for disease prevention can only be justified when it can be shown that a particular disease is present on the premises or is likely to occur. Meanwhile, the control of subclinical diseases and therapeutic interventions for recognized clinical bacterial diseases by using antibacterial agents is frequently the only practical option, and therapy creates burdens in both economic and humane perspectives when disease-prevention measures fail (Phillips et al., 2004; Snary et al., 2004) . Many of the concerns on the usage of antimicrobial growth promoters are focused on the contamination of food with bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobials. However, there is a continuing debate on the impact of antimicrobial use in animal husbandry and the risk of resistance transmission to human pathogens.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3834504/

Still not nearly the panic inducing crap the media spits out about this issue.

That being said it's a business. If the consumer doesn't want it you have to adapt. Woe is me isn't a great strategy to take here. Instead I think they should try to educate the public somehow but I guess they were kinda caught asleep at the wheel. Your average consumer is going to have a hard time believing Beef Farmers trying to tell them that the profit increasing substances the public has been hearing are bad for them for so many years are actually fine....

[killer_carlson]

the industry fell asleep and let environmentalists take control of messaging of their product. Now they are playing catch up and may not actually be able to catch up.

That said, I still think what Earl's did was garbage and in poor taste, with a deliberate attack on Canadian ranchers. I don't buy the apology from the CEO and I think he'll say whatever he thinks he can as part of damage control.

[peter12]

Meanwhile, pork is still delicious.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by peter12

Meanwhile, pork is still delicious.

I would put a well BBQ'd cut of pork equal to a good steak.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I would put a well BBQ'd cut of pork equal to a good steak.

And it slow-roasts with far greater aplomb.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by peter12

And it slow-roasts with far greater aplomb.

stop

[peter12]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

stop

I bought about 300lbs of pork tenderloin for around $27 yesterday, and I guarantee you it will taste better than the round roast also sitting in my freezer.