Are many young people are passionate about beef?

[SJUfeller]

Being in the beef industry, we see some doom and gloom projections about how the U.S. demand for beef is going to go down in the coming years because . . . Growing number of young vegetarians and vegans, fake meat, PETA, rising costs, challenges in the economy, etc.

My wife and I are currently in Colorado, visiting our daughters and their boyfriends and friends. We we are hanging out with 20 and 30 year olds. We arrived last night, and one of the boyfriends had smoked a 16# brisket for the group . . .and it was awesome. I was really impressed.

We are supplying our Wagyu for two more meals while we are out here. So far, we have not heard that anyone in the group does not eat beef.

Obviously, a very small sample size, but we are pleased that the group does not a single anti-beef member.

I am curious of other real-world stories. Are you running into very many anti-beef young people in your daily lives?

[HawkerXP]

I used to do lunches at the hangar complex I worked at. I would make enough for the three shifts of line and counter people as well as any tenants who were on hand that day. I figured on 30 people. The majority of cooks were burgers and hot dogs but on occasion I would do a couple of briskets or St Louie ribs. Only one time was I told about someone who didn't eat beef / meat, and we found some kind of imitation beef patty for him. This group was mostly male in their 20's to 30's.

[Alan Brice]

We had our local fireworks festival in the park. Last night and tonight. Hotdogs, Metts, Brats, Italian snausages, Chee burgers, walking tacos. Man! We were hoppin to keep up. Not a huge crowd but sold a tonne of meat. Fireworks tonight.
I think the fake meat is going away. Who does not like a steak or delish piece o' briskie? Salad only goes soo far.

[hoovarmin]

I don't run into many anti-beef young people at all. The grilling and cooking influencers online, much to the chagrin of Bill Gates, et. al., are wildly popular with the young people.

[SJUfeller]

Alan -- Agree on everything other than fake meat going away, unfortunately.

Fake meat has taken a big hit lately, but most "experts" in the industry feel it is still a concern going forward. There are some big-money people that would like to see it succeed. They certainly have problems with their ingredient lists and product satisfaction results . . . But it will be interesting to see where things are 5 years from now.

[Alan Brice]

It is gonna come back to bite them on the pork shoulder. Not nice to fool with Mother Nature.

[Purc]

People who eat fake meat are also against overly processed foods!? Go figure. And why do vegans have to tell you about it and make it a big deal. People Eating Tasty Animals.

My 3 grandkids really don't eat meat but both of their parent do, and they all 5 participate in active sports: tennis, soccer, running etc.

My heart doc and pcp both say to back off on all meat and eat a more Mediterranean diet, which is hard to do since I love meat of all kinds on the grill and smoker.

[Smoker_Boy]

My cardiologist says bacon is protein.
I like him.

[Finster]

Vegans are in the running for the most annoying people on the planet... preachy bastages!
the only thing diet related my cardiologist ever mentions is to continue to reduce sodium.

My PCP is more engaged with keeping my pre diabetes from becoming full blown diabetes, so counsels more about reducing processed carbs than she does meat..

Eat your meat. Life is short, enjoy it!

YMMV

[Donw]

Anything we offer will just be anecdotal, and definitely pulling from a microscopic survey sample compared to the general public. What the beef industry’s research arms say would probably be a better source to provide an answer.
I know my extended family’s preferences well and boy is it a mixed bag. We have the vegetarian who insists that his children eat animal proteins to maintain their iron levels, the young health conscience athletic daughter in law who will chow down on any meat placed in front of her, often surpassing me, , another daughter in law who is a marathon runner and eats slivers of any meat anyone prepares, and a daughter who competes in triathlons who is a tossup at every meal. So my personal answer is there is no answer. Sorry.

[Mosca]

My daughter and her husband prefer beef over any other food on the planet. They are mid 30s.

On the other hand, Mrs and I eat far less beef than we used to. I like it as much as I always have, I just don’t eat it as often.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

My daughter is still a carnivore...

[58limited]

My friend's sons are in college in West Texas. Their place is the gathering point for their friends and acquaintances because: they are always grilling and sharing what they grill. I don't think that all young people will give up on beef but I'm sure the vegan/vegetarian movement (especially when tied to the animal rights movement) gets a lot of press and influences some of them.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

All the younger guys at work (17-30) constantly ask me to make brisket, jerky, etc... one was religiously a vegetarian so I tried to make her stuff from time to time. I also live in a farming community so the local populace of actual children can't be taken into account since most of them will be pork forward or beef forward and hate pork because that's all they ate growing up. But anyway the state fair always has plenty of youngsters with 4H FFA orgs I don't think I've seen any change in that locally or within my circle.

As to the fake meat stuff, a few of the guys tried it but of my circle only one non-vegan still eats the impossible stuff now and then the rest... it was a multi week fad that quickly died off

[bbqLuv]

Vegans and other "vegetable heads" don't do very well on the show, Naked and Afraid.

But that is okay, I will continue to eat dead animals, and vegetation.

[Jerod Broussard]

Sometimes it ain't the protein per se, it is the prep time of said protein.

That has gone down amongst the younger folks. The chicken industry is looking to provide more meals with lower prep times. I've seen Whole Bird orders go down just in the last year or so.

[texastweeter]

Yes. I think for some price is a factor though for a premium product like yours. Most of my employees in that range know their stuff, and many ask some advice from me. I have a couple that really like our grass fed grass finished beef from the ranch (very small operation, nothing like yours), but I have noticed that the younger they are, their buying habits lean more towards much smaller order but more often, vs half a beef. This seems to be consistent in my TX employees and Mt NY employees as well.

[SheilaAnn]

As you might guess, the stereotype of California is real. IMHO, it really depends on where you live though. Honestly, I’ve seen veg/vegan as more of a trendy thing and/or lifestyle thing. Rarely, do I run across someone with a true food related illness/allergy.

The fake meat (super processed whatever) is probably worse for you than friggin’ Doritos or Slurpees. Don’t debate me on this, I’m just making a point about the processing. The other side is totally marketing. We actually had on our shelves Plant Based Crab. Guess what the ingredients were? Enoki mushrooms. 🤦🏼♀️ and it tasted a little like those marinated mushrooms you get at the deli. 🤦🏼♀️

don’t eat meat, if you don’t want to eat meat. Eat a vegetable, if you want to eat a vegetable.

to answer SJUfeller question, in my work and demographic, I do see more veg/vegan. But not by much.

[texastweeter]

Why do vegetarians talk so much trash about meet, the go to crazy lengths to try to make things taste like it?

[SheilaAnn]

texastweeter amiright?!?! So much truth there. If you want a friggin vegetable, eat a friggin vegetable!

[SheilaAnn]

Draznnl yessir. Now, I will take a life if someone tries to take my Jay’s from me.