Lots of theories out there- some serious bark and mulch eaters (vegetarians) maintain that the pesticides used on the cattle feed are raising hell with all of us carnivores-causing parkinsons and other diseases, popular science/medicine doesnt make this hard connection. I dont believe it-but im a bit biased.

The quality or flavor profile choices we have is unmatched in history- any one of us can find Kobe beef if we wanted, or prime beef if we are willing to pay for it.

I've got to believe the beef of today is better than a 100 years ago- thru genetics the yields are better, the meat is more tender, less diseases in the herds, and most is grain finished.

100 years ago or more the beef was all grass fed-different flavor profile than what we are use to- it's gamey and sour , if you arent use to it

I believe the processing/sanitation standards are ten times more healthy today than 150-100 years ago-we know more about what causes and prevents food-borne illnesses, we know how to cook to kill bacteria, we have cooking thermometers today (didnt have them yrs ago)
we know about cross contamination- we have refrigeration, we didnt have 150 yrs ago.

Although years ago, many many more farms and chit-e-coli everywhere- our resistence may have been higher-but also ive got to believe much of the meat consumed wasnt all that safe-compared to todays standards.


I got in a debate with a staunch vegetarian a couple years ago-saying we are killing the public with the fresh beef/meats we are selling (because of pesticides)
he went on and on about health hazards- then goes outside and smokes a cigarette wtf????

Triple M said it all ,I was going on those lines.
It's more of a science nowadays ,Health and hygiene have a greater play in what we all do.

I have an interesting theory

Could the time when cattle became more valuable for meat than for tallow be the turning point.

I believe that cattle that were bred for fat would naturally have had tender meat. I know every really fat steer or heifer that I have ever killed, and I have killed a lot, always had tender meat regardless of age and breed these type of cattle would never make the grade nowadays.

I can't speak to the packing house side as I spent about 30 years in the retail business. The meat departments I managed typically did $80,000 to $100,000 per week in FRESH meat sales, meaning that did not include processed items like bacon, hot dogs, luncheon meats, canned hams, fish, etc, in 1980 dollars.  My experiences is that sanitation standards and cutting specs improved exponentially during my career which spanned from 1968 to 1996.  When I started cutting rooms were cleaned only once a day with hot water hoses only, no germicide. Complicated equipment like band saws, slicers/stackers took too much time to break down and were only cleaned weekly but at least scraped out daily if time permitted.  The cooler and grinder/blender in it were only cleaned weekly. By the mid 80s my department was as clean as an operating room. We cleaned the cutting room twice a day breaking down all equipment and everything was cleaned with a built in high pressure washing system ("blitz gun") with germicide and sanitizer final rinse. While the cooler floor and walls received the same treatment only weekly, the grinder and blender in it were broken down, cleaned and sanitized after EVERY grind, typically 6 times a day.  

That is undeniably a tremendous improvement in sanitation and has to affect the quality of the product we offered.

As to organic or grass fed beef, I've tried it but it looks and tastes like USDA Good, or lower, due to the lack of marbeling.  For taste and tenderness I much prefer the evil grain fed beef!  I'm all for hormone free and antibiotic free beef but grain finished is a must, for my taste buds!

I don't think the improvements in sanitation have necessarily decreased the potential for instances of e. coli or salmonella contamination. In fact, I believe we currently have had considerably more e. coli and salmonella related recalls since major processing and packing facilities have gone "sterile". Tube grind is 99% of the time to blame and that has to do directly with the processing method and the environment in which the product is processed. You rarely heard of "e. coli" prior to the advent of tube grinds and prepackaged beef that comes directly from a centralized processing and packing site. Irradiation, chlorination and "flavor enhancement" have not increased consumer quality and protection but has accomplished the opposite. As for grass-fed and grain-finished, I've had instances of both that were phenomenal as well as atrocious. I've had 4 year old milker and older bull meat that I thought was good. It just depends on the herd and it's genetics. Also, it's true if you cook meat beyond 160 degrees it kills most bacteria but does anyone really want a steak that has to be cooked beyond 130 degrees? Talk about tough.

From Linked In

Just read the book and it definitely nailed the beef quality question on the head. The final discovery of the "Best Beef" will be an eye opener for some. The rest will slough it off and just go about their ranching the way they always have done it.
Posted by Steve Rockcastle

USDA Good is no longer a grade?  Boy have I been out of it a long time!

From Linked In

Definitely, in the 1980s I believe. When retailers starting looking for cheaper alternatives and the quality of all grades went south
Posted by Clyde Rachal

From Linked In

 

RAoul Baxter • There definately was a major change in both pork and beef quality in the 1970's.that was when everybody and his mother was writing stories about the need for leaner meat in the american diet.It also coincided with the import of a lot of beef breeds from europe.almosy overnight it seemed,the short backed and short legged cattle began to look like greyhound buses.In pigs it was lean-lean-lean.the pork quality probes came into vogue as they were extremely accurate in being able to measure back fat correlated with cuting tests to come up with lean percentage measurements.The genetic companies beagan to push a lot of extremely lean and well muscled boars .Unfortunately-what actually made eating and taste quality[color-marbling-taste] seemed to have been pushed aside for lean.As a result we had an explosion of PSE[Pale-soft-exudated[also known as stress meat] problems in american pork.It has taken years to turn that around.
The influx of many european breeds certainly resulted in leaner and larger primals.At the same time,after the USDA grading changes[late 1960's{?]and the reduction in the time cattle spent in the feedlots,certainly quality grades became much more unpredictible and inconsistant.This inconsistancy opened the way for the birth and growth of The CAB programs.Recently,even WalMart realized the need for goo0d tasting beef and has gone to a choice dominated beef portfolio.after a few years of oushing heavily pumped-Select grade beef.
The famous Kobe beef of Japabn is really as much art as it is science.It is however phenomonal beef,particularly served the way Japanese prefer it.The american Wagyu-is just realistically adapted to american growing conditions.The good american Wagy[which just means Japanese cattle] is very good.however it ghas to start with very good meat genetics and then fed slightly different than in Japan.like a lot different.Most kobe beef animals are about 4 years old.