Argentine cattle — once grass-fed greatness — moving to state sponsored feedlots
January 20, 2009 at 10:48 am by Brian Ries
Argentina used to be one of the world’s final outposts of incredible beef, largely raised in the pampas grasslands and herded by those colorful gauchos. Not any more. Where have all the cowboys gone?
Like many South American countries, the rise in grain prices — particularly soybeans — due to bio-fuel demand, has caused Argentina to start converting it’s arable land into industrialized farms.
According to Reuters:
Historically one of the world’s leading beef producers and an agricultural powerhouse, Argentina has ridden a boom in soybean prices in recent years to become a top global soy exporter. Soybean prices have plummeted in recent months, but in their long, climb, farmers moved their free-range cattle off Argentina’s most fertile lands and into corrals.
Today, nearly 40 percent of Argentina’s cattle — some 12 million to 13 million head — have been driven into feedlots, nearly three times the number in 2001.
That means that Argentina’s vaunted beef is becoming the same washed out, grain-fed, pallid stuff we eat here in the states. I imagine, somewhere out there, there’s a gaucho, a chef and an environmentalist staring off into space, a single tear rolling down each of their cheeks. Me too, guys.
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