Bill Niman will no longer eat Niman Ranch meat
February 25, 2009 at 2:18 pm by Brian Ries
Bill Niman — the man who founded a meat company that brought sustainable, humane and natural meat to homes and restaurants acrosss the country — recently said that standards had changed so much at Niman Ranch that he no longer feels comfortable eating his former company’s meat. Admittedly, some of that may come more from sour grapes than tainted beef.
According to a comprehensive profile of Niman in the San Francisco Chronicle, Niman Ranch was never a profitable business over the thirty years it’s operated. Niman lost virtual control of the company in 2006, when investors came in to stem the losses that were around $3 million. After several years of fighting with the new board of directors over attempts to lessen Niman’s adherence to humane and natural standards, the company merged with Natural Food Holdings — its main investor — to avoid bankruptcy. And Bill Niman was pushed out in the process.
That doesn’t mean that Niman is out of the business altogether. After 30 years trying to change the way people thought about the beef they consumed, he and his wife will be jumping back in with a heritage turkey farm, just in time for Thanksgiving.
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