The Meat Consumer

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 154, 2 July 1938, Page 9

The Meat Consumer

WHAT BRITISH DEMAND. “Surveys carried out in England showed that the upper classes ate large quantities of lamb, the middle classes mutton, pork and beef, and the lower classes mainly beef. During the depression there was much unemployment, and therefore there was a much bigger drop in values for beef than lamb, for the upper classes could still afford to buy lamb. Taking a long view, it could be said that as the standard of living rose the type of meat eaten by the lower classes would change, and therefore more lamb than beef could in future be put on the market before saturation point was reached. There was also more room for expansion with pork than with beef. ’ ’ Addressing the Roseworthy Agricultural College (Soutn Australia), Dr John Hammond, physiologist at the Animal Nutrition Institute, Cambridge, dealt with somo production problems as they' affect Australia. His observations seem to apply equally well to New Zealand. Dr. Hammond said: English farmers could only produce at high cost, and the function of the Dominions, with their lower costs of production, was to provide cheaper meat for the masses. There seemed little prospect of farmers being able to obtain much higher prices, and therefore i the only way to increase profits was to l lower the costs of production, and it was in this direction that science was j now concentrating its efforts, j In considering the English market, three important factors were: j The lowering of production costs, j Improvement of quality', as high quality had more chance an an expanding market. The organisation of supplies. One of Australia’s chief difficulties was the seasonal nature of production, a factor of much difficulty as far as chilled beef was concerned, for it could not be stored like frozen mutton, pork or lamb. Smaller Families: Smaller Joints, A prominent tendency in England was that for more tender meat. Lamb was preferred to mutton and mutton to beef for its tenderness and not for its flavour, for older meat had a better flavour. With the smaller families now gen eral, small joints had come into favour, and third quality light-weight lambs | often made more per pound than first j| quality lambs of heavier weights, solely because the smaller could be cut up into j smaller joints, which were easier for the ! butchers to retail. The butcher had to be pleased as well as the consumer. He j bought carcases and retailed them cut up into joints, therefore he required the maximum of high-priced and a minimum |of cheap cuts. The most valuable parts were the legs and loins, and this was where breeders should try to achieve the most weight. The distribution of weight in the carcase was largely the result of breeding, but it was also affected by proper feeding. At birth there was little difference between improved or unimproved breeds of sheep, but when the animals grew there were changes in shape, which resulted in a bigger proportion of its carcase weight being found in the legs and loin. The improved breeds were shorter in the bone and had much better breach and loin development than the unimproved breeds. A short leg, with a big weight of meat relative to its volume would not dry up in cold storage or cooking like a long leg with a small weight to its volume. As far as the loin was concerned, a “full” chop was wanted, and to have this the meat should be above the level cf the vertical spinous process. If the ridge of the backbone could bo felt when sheep or lambs were handled alive, they would not have a “full” chop. It was difficult to make a comparison of carcase type between stock: in fat and store condition, but as a useful guide it could be taken that the shorter and thicker the cannon bone the better the animal would be -when fat. Produce Should be Uniform. In England there were many breeds of sheep, some improved and somo unimproved, but in Australia ?the Merino was the basis of the industry. This breed was unequalled! for woolgrowing, but as the class of land it was kept on improved, more attention would have to be paid to mutton and, with further improvement in the land, the question of fat lambs would have to be considered. Generally the Merino was bred on relatively cheap land, and the best solution would probably be to take cull or cast for >age Merino ewes from third-class country, place them on sec-ond-class country for mating with longwool rams to breed crossbred ewes and take these crass-bred ewes to first-class country for mating with mutton breed rams to produce fat lambs. Produce from Australia tended to be varied rather than uniform, due to variations in country and breeds and crosses of sheep used for lamb production. Uniformity of type and high quality should be the objectives for breeders to aim at. In England the demand -was for light and handy-weight lambs, although heavy lambs sold relatively well, because the market was not yet oversupplied, but if the market reached saturation point there would be a much bigger drop in the price of over-heavy lambs than for lighter ones.