Argentine beef

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Asado in preparation.

Beef is a key component of traditional Argentine cuisine. Argentina has the world's highest consumption rate of beef, at 68 kg a year per capita. As of 2006, livestock farmers keep between 50 and 55 million head of cattle, mostly in the fertile pastures of the Pampas, and the country is currently the third largest beef exporter in the world after Brazil and Australia. The national government applies a 15% tax on beef exports and has applied further restrictions since March 2006 to keep internal prices at bay.

[edit] History

Cattle were first introduced into Argentina in 1536 by Pedro de Mendoza. Due to the geographic conditions on the Pampa, the cattle multiplied rapidly. The cattle ranged freely, due to their high number and the lack of a local market. With the construction of the railways in Argentina and the invention of cooled trains and ships in the late 19th century, Argentina's beef export industry started to thrive. The availability of Argentine beef in the northern hemisphere at opposite seasons to its own also increased its access to United States and European markets.

Following the increasing demand of high quality beef rather than weight-led demands, new breeds and selective crossbreeding have been reared.

Argentine beef and its production have played a major part in the Culture of Argentina, from the asado to the history of the gauchos of the Pampas. Landowners became wealthy from beef production and export, and estancia owners built large houses, important buildings in Buenos Aires and elsewhere, and contributed to politics, philanthropy and society. The agricultural show La Rural each winter in Buenos Aires became a major part of the social season since it started in 1886.

[edit] Foot-and-mouth disease crisis

Argentina's cattle industry had developed itself as one of the most important economic factors of the country. Worldwide it reached the status of being the fourth largest beef exporter. As such, it was devastating news when, in 2001, for the first time after 60 years, new cases of foot-and-mouth diseases (FMD) were announced. Although FMD is in most cases harmless to people, it is a highly contagious viral disease which requires the slaughter of infected animals. Afraid of importing the virus, Argentine beef was banned by more than 60 countries including the United States and Canada. After an aggressive vaccination program, the OIE (Office International des Epizooties) declared in 2003 that Argentina had regained "foot-and-mouth free with vaccination" status. A few years later new cases of FMD were discovered in a herd of cattle in a northern province of Argentina. As a result of that, Chile banned the import of Argentine meat; however, no recent news on FMD has been found in any newspaper.

[edit] Current export restrictions

Main article: 2006 Argentine restriction of beef exports

On 8 March 2006, after unsuccessfully trying to control the rising prices of beef in the internal market (26% since the beginning of the year), the Argentine government banned beef exports for 180 days (with the exception of pre-arranged shipments and the Hilton Quota). On 26 May, the ban was replaced by a quota, to be in force between June and November, equivalent to 40% of the amount of beef exported in the same period of 2005.

These measures met harsh criticism from livestock farmers, the meat processing industry, and the export sector; analysts have said that it will be useless in the long term and harm Argentina's international image, besides causing large monetary losses.

[edit] Labeling

Food Safety or Quality labels are rarely used in Argentina and major development has been called for on this issue. There is no label certified by the government. The unsatisfactory situation concerning Food Safety becomes immediately clear by looking at the fact that the Argentine National Inspection Services audited and approved only 35 slaughterhouses in 2003 on Good Manufacturing Practices and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). However, farmers as well as the export industry started to realize that there is a steadily increasing demand for safer and more reliable brands.

To meet customer expectations, several initiatives have been taken. There are certificates handed out by private organizations, such as breed associations. For instance, the Argentine Angus Association established a Carne Angus Certificada to ensure that only meat coming from an Angus is entitled as Angus meat. Furthermore, the association supports other certificates like the Ternero Angus Certificado.

Besides breed associations, different pilot projects have been initiated. The Pampas Del Salado project is one among many. Its approach has been to ear-tag calves in order to assure their origin and quality. However, most of those projects lack participation. Only if a sufficiently large amount of members exists, will a certificate or label gain reputation and hence power.

[edit] Promotion of Argentine beef

In order to increase sales in foreign countries and to improve the production and rentability of beef produced in Argentina, a public non-governmental organization, the IPCVA (Instituto de Promoción de la Carne Vacuna Argentina—Argentine Beef Promotion Institute) was founded in December 2001. Furthermore, the IPCVA is also concerned with promotional work in Argentina itself.

The IPCVA is made up of a range of partners involved in Argentine Beef production and export, from experienced cattle farmers to managers. This broad expertise in various fields aims to allow the IPCVA to organize beef production and beef sales professionally. As a fairly young institution, the IPCVA had to define an image which allows the identification of the main product, the beef. Three key factors influence this image: history, tradition, and prestige. All of them are considered to be USP's (Unique selling propositions).

[edit] International and national promotion

Several activities have been undertaken to make Argentine beef better known in the world:

The IPCVA participated in the International Food and Drink Exhibition (IFE) held in London, United Kingdom in March.
An Argentine Beef Festival was arranged last February in Helsinki, Finland. In order to promote the product, a big Banquet was held at the Helsinki Oasis Hotel with the Argentine Ambassador.
Representatives of the IPCVA traveled to Washington DC, USA to negotiate a special contract to ease export of Argentine Beef to the North American market.
Qualitative soundings are being developed in the main cities of the European Union to better know consumers' preferences in order to design specific promotion campaigns.

However, with the export restrictions for beef set by the Argentine government, these measures may be of little use. Therefore, the IPCVA also focuses on promotion work in Argentina:

The IPCVA is developing the first beef consumption map in Argentina. Through complete research of the domestic market, an "X-Ray" of the beef consumption in the whole country will be set up and used for marketing and promotion purposes
"Las Leonas' Secret"—Las Leonas, the Argentine women's field hockey team, has a contract with the IPCVA to eat Argentine beef. This prestigious sport is seen as key to promoting the meat, especially because prestige is one of the key factors of the Argentine beef image.

[edit] Funding of the IPCVA

These huge promotions are expensive. Therefore the IPCVA arranged to get the following taxes for its budget:

1.25 Argentine pesos from producers per killed animal
0.55 Argentine pesos from packers per packed animal

This adds up to 1.80 Argentine pesos per slaughtered animal. At a killing rate of 13 million animals per year, it totals 23,400,000 Argentine pesos. This is a budget of around €6,325,000 per year (March 28, 2006).

[edit] Goals of the IPCVA

The long term goals of the IPCVA are described as follows on their website:

Identify and create demand for Argentine beef products in domestic and foreign markets.
Design and develop marketing strategies to improve Argentine beef products' competitiveness overseas.
Plan and develop promotion strategies to contribute to the improvement of domestic consumption levels.
Work to consolidate Argentine beef quality and security, contributing to the efficiency of productive and industrial processes."

The IPCVA has become a major instrument to improve the international competitiveness of Argentine beef.

[edit] Quality of Argentine beef

Beef quality is dependent on the diet provided to cattle and their living conditions. The two different diets used for beef in Argentina are grass-fed or feedlots.

Argentina benefits from sufficient rainfall over the year and from a mostly temperate climate, which results in high quality pastures, which may, however, not be suitable for more intensive agriculture. The Humid Pampa (Pampa Húmeda) is the most important and best-known region with vast and open pastures, where cattle is raised and fed. Grass-fed beef is believed to be healthier than beef fed in feedlots. Although the latter diet is increasing, the grass diet is still the most popular in Argentina. Containing less saturated fat and more omega 3 fatty acids, it reduces cholesterol and contributes an essential part to a human's health. Furthermore, as the cattle live under natural conditions, they are free from hormone implants and they live low-stress lives. On the other hand, large amounts of expensive land are needed as well as competent and trained staff. Additionally, it takes longer to raise the animal.

As beef is increasingly mass-produced, farming techniques with the ultimate goal of fattening the animals are evolving. The main ingredient used is grain in feedlots. But as the animals, prevented from physical effort and stocked together, get fatter, beer is often used to calm them. In order to ensure the cleanliness of the farm and feedlots, the animals are provided with antibiotics. The feedlot diet guarantees constant and controlled results, year-round productivity as it is not dependent on climate factors and does not require so much land for pastures. Taking into consideration all these factors, it is thus the cheaper diet, but there are suggestions it is less beneficial for the welfare of the animals and for the health-giving qualities and flavor of the meat.

[edit] Statistics

Gross domestic product of Argentina (PPP)	US$537 billion
GDP share of agriculture	10.5%
Total revenue on beef	US$5 billion
Beef export revenue	US$500–700 million
Percentage of beef exports over total Argentine exports	3%
Percentage of worldwide beef exports	7.36%
Total slaughter	13 million head/year
Beef production	2.8 million tonnes/year
Consumption per capita	68 kg/person/year

It can be said that Argentina produces annually about two 240-gram steaks per person worldwide and has six steaks more standing on its pastures. The high consumption per capita shows that beef is profoundly integrated into traditional Argentine cuisine. In fact, no other country eats more beef per capita than Argentina. However, as can be seen, beef exports are not an essential part of the Argentine economy. This is in large part down to the rules and regulations on beef import of the customer countries. For instance, Argentina and the United States agreed on an annual quota of 20,000 tonnes. Even while beef exports are not crucial for the Argentine economy, Argentina has been a major player in the world beef market for many years.

[edit] Cattle breeds

[edit] Shorthorn

Originally from northeast England, the shorthorn was introduced to Argentina in 1826 and was the first foreign breed to enter the country. As in many other countries, Argentina's selection was designated to produce not only meat but milk as well. Nowadays, Argentina's Shorthorn breed has been bred to greatly improve its meat quality thanks to hybradization (crossbreeding) as proved by the National Agropecuarian Technology Center.

Characteristics: considerable size; wide back and forequarters. A couple of centuries ago, they used to lack symmetry and uniformity. [1]

[edit] Hereford

Produced with the objective of responding to England's food market expansion during Britain's industrial revolution the Hereford is known for its big yield of beef. It was first introduced to Argentina in 1858, and is characterized by its juice and flavor consistency. Just as the Argentina's Shorthorn has evolved, so did the Argentine Hereford through crossbreeding with local breeds.

Characteristics: high yield of beef; wide back; early maturity; rustling ability and hardiness. [2]

[edit] Aberdeen Angus

Originally from Scotland, the Aberdeen Angus was first introduced to Argentina by Don Carlos Guerrero in 1879. They are generally found in temperate climates. Instead of focusing on crossbreeding in order to strength their qualities, Argentine farmers decided to focus on a purebred evolution based on natural and high-quality nutrition.

Characteristics: maternal skills; highly fertile; growth capacity; climate adaptation; thin skin; short and smooth hair. [3]

[edit] Holando-Argentina

Main article: Holando-Argentino

Derived from the Holstein, it was first introduced from The Netherlands in 1880, to the fertile regions the Pampas, and devoted to the production of both beef and milk.

[edit] Zebu

Originally from India, the Zebu is an animal used for pulling loads. Many different breeds can be found spread over the world since they were crossbred in order to pass on their tolerance to hot weather and strength.

Characteristics: light colored; clear hump between the shoulders; large horns; hot climate and insect tolerance. [4]

[edit] Charolais

Brought to Argentina around 1910, the Charolais breed is originally from France. Focusing on size and strength, farmers paid little attention to their quality of meat and therefore to refinement. Characteristics: wide opened and round horns; long and tall; projecting shoulders and deep heeps. [5]

[edit] Recipes with Argentine beef

Main article: Asado

Beef is traditionally cooked over charcoal flame (as an asado) and served often as part of a wider selection of grilled meat, with chimichurri as a relish.

[edit] General Treatment and cooking of beef meat

The following points are a summary how to treat and cook beef meat correctly. These guidelines were set up by the IPCVA (Instituto de Promoción de la Carne Vacuna Argentina).

To ease cooking and to make the meat lighter, fat should be removed except for pieces that are to be grilled.,
For the eye round, totally separate the outside fat, and remove the film that covers it with a sharp knife. Then season the beef to cook it.
To cook beef brown the meat on all sides. Then take it out of the pan, and add it again once the liquid of the recipe is being added.
In order not to loose the beef's natural juices once arranged in the platter, paint the meat with its own juice, or use the juice as ingredient for the sauce.
When doing the beef in the oven always seal the meat first. This stops the loss of juices. (Seal in a Frying pan, or in the oven at high heat)
To freeze beef, freeze quantities that you will be able to use for your dished. Preferably cut the beef in small pieces to freeze it. This way it will be easier to defrost it, and the fibers will not break.
Cooked meat should be frozen with its sauce.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Books and newspapers

Pauli Classical Cooking the Modern Way
The Wall Street Journal, New York, February 13, 2006
The Economist, London, March 18, 2006, pg 69
Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition): Argentine Cows Plan Moved to Feedlots: Turner, Taos; New York, NY; September 1, 2004; pg. 1

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Categories: Beef | Argentine cuisine | Agriculture in Argentina