Owning to consumer demand for ethical meat, Verde Farms, which produces pasture-raised beef, said its expanded portfolio will help accelerate revenues that topped $50m last year.
“With the success of our 100% Grass-Fed Organic line, we saw that consumers value the taste, health and environmental benefits of our grass-fed meat,” said Verde Farm’s co-founder and CEO Dana Ehrlich.
“Our new offerings bring these attributes to the consumer looking for a better-for-you, better-for-the-planet, and better-for-the-animal product, but at a more approachable price. We see this as an exciting opportunity to make humanely raised, great-tasting grass-fed beef more widely available in the US”.
Demand for ethical meat
Grass-fed beef is growing rapidly in the US. A report from Nielsen in July 2016 stated retail sales of grass-feed beef have increased by 27% over the last 12 months. This, the report claims, has been driven by increased consumer demand for meat that is ethically-raised and has a higher nutritional value when compared to meat raised on other diets that exclude grass.
Eating meat that has grazed on grass its whole life, as opposed to dry feed, poses a potentially lower risk of cancer, according to research from US firm Mayo Clinic. Alongside the reduced risk of cancer, some experts claim grass-fed beef is higher in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E.