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My vote would be for Alderspring Ranch in Idaho. Not only is the beef produced by Glenn Elzinga and his crew outstanding in flavor, it’s also exceptionally high in nutrient density because his cows graze on over 500 different types of plants (thanks to research by Dr. Fred Provenza and colleagues, it’s now understood the nutritional content of meat is directly linked to diversity in a cow’s diet). As well, Elzinga’s use of Adaptive Stewardship Grazing management, a variation of Holistic Planned Grazing (aka Adaptive Multi-paddock “AMP” Grazing), is restoring wildlife habitat including for salmon that travel from the Pacific to the mountains of Idaho. My hat is off to the Alderspring Ranch team!

This presentation may be of interest ...

Grassfed Exchange 2018 - Glenn Elzinga 'Ranch as Ecosystem'

(2018, 25 mins.)

https://youtu.be/cGy1PlzjQnM

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Interesting example!

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Three that come to mind are Butter Meat Co, which sells mature meat (aged dairy cows) at a premium, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, and La Fermiere yogurt. Perhaps the luxury is more in the experience of say, shopping at Whole Foods or dining at a high-end steakhouse.

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Apr 11, 2023·edited Apr 11, 2023Author

Thanks Anna! That's an interesting point, I find it hilarious that aged dairy cows could be viewed as a luxury item. Goes to show that value is subjective.

As for the Whole Foods comment - on the one hand, I agree but on the other hand like i said in the piece, as you walk through Whole Foods all the signals are around price....so maybe luxury isn't compatible with mass retail. Which checks out!

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Although milk chocolate might be a stretch for dairy, Godiva comes close to luxury status, don't you think? Great column, as always.

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Thanks Andrew! While I agree that is a stretch for dairy, Godiva definitely has odes of luxury status so that's a great example. And hey, i'm totally in favor of reclassifying chocolate to a dairy item which must mean its healthy ;-)

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Top of the food pyramid...

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