031268 Mad Cow Unlikely to Sway Beef Culture

Minneapolis, MN (The Star Tribute) - At the 5-8 Club in south Minneapolis, mad cow disease seems very, very far away.

Here, where beef is king and the Juicy Lucies and cheeseburgers pack the place for lunch, you can witness firsthand Americans' almost visceral relationship with beef. It isn't just what's for dinner, many local beef lovers and sellers say, it's part of who we are.

"That's what everyone's grown up with, burgers and steak," said Camille Hallen, a waitress who doubts a mad cow case in Washington state will dampen beef enthusiasm. "My kids had prime rib for Christmas dinner, are you kidding me?"

Between bites of his burger, Pete Globa said most are unlikely to be swayed by the news of a single infected dairy cow. "Not yet," he said. "Overseas, I think people have a right to be concerned. But as long as the USDA keeps us posted, people shouldn't start panicking." On the menu at the Globa house last week: roast beef on Tuesday and ground beef in empanadas Christmas Day.

On Friday, authorities quarantined two calves of the infected cow.

They also ordered a near doubling of inspections for the disease on cattle.

Americans each consume about 65 pounds of beef annually on average, according to the National Cattleman's Beef Association. Although chicken has passed beef as the most frequently eaten meat, Americans spend more money on beef than any other meat. About 40% of our meat dollar goes to beef, compared to less than 30% each for chicken and pork.

To many, such as cattle producer Dennis Swan, beef is a birthright.

The 67-year-old raises 400 head of beef cattle on a farm near Balaton, in western Minnesota. His family has been raising beef since Swan's grandfather bought his first steers in 1912. He expects the mad cow case to have an effect -- about a dozen nations have closed their borders to U.S. beef, and foreign markets account for about 10% of U.S. beef sales. But, Swan said, the food is too important to people and the track record for safety too good for it to fall too far.

'We'll come out of it'

"I think if we just sit back and don't panic, we're going to come out of this," he said. "We're going to have to spend more on advertising, but we'll come out of it."

Swan said he's even hopeful that Americans will embrace their beef heritage now more than ever. When a case of mad cow disease in Canada in May closed borders to Canadian beef, Canadian beef consumption actually increased as people rallied around their ranchers.

There's been no proof of a mad cow backlash at Hackenmueller Meats in Robbinsdale this week, employee Vince Engel said Friday. The store has sold meats from its spot on Broadway since the 1800s and carries everything from pork chops to lamb to prime rib roasts. Mad cow disease has created nary a ripple in the volume of roasts and steaks going out the door, he said.

"Everything is selling," he said.

You can get beef, poultry and seafood at the Butcher Shoppe in Osseo. But beef is by far the biggest seller, said owner Mike Boylen. Ground beef is the top seller, followed by -- depending on the season -- steaks or roasts. Are customers concerned about mad cow disease?

"Somebody called the other day," Boylen said. "That's been the only one."

At Husnik Meat Co. in South St. Paul, Ted Husnik said he's had to change his business over the years, adding new products to satisfy changing tastes. The company makes more jerky, beef sticks and sausage now, including chorizo for a growing Hispanic clientele. But beef sales, including commercial sales to food services, have held steady. Even as experts call for more widespread testing of U.S. cattle, Husnik doubts that Americans will change a culture of beef.

"This mad cow thing just crept up, so we won't know for a while. It's too soon to tell," said Husnik, the third generation to sell meat at the shop since 1929. "But since they just found one [case], way out in the boonies, hopefully people will use their common sense."

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com