Why we are doing it

    ZOE Farms and my family are synonymous.  It's Erin, Sierrah and Morgan and me.  The reputation of our business is our own reputation.  This is why I want to make it clear what our intentions are with our expanding dry-aged beef program.  

     To a casual observer, this may appear as a tactic to make more money.   After all, the prices are roughly 25% higher than our regular beef.  I want you to know right now, up front, that this is not happening.  By the time we calculate losses with shrink and waste (the outer moldy crust layer, the "pellicle" is thrown away), we are making the same profit as all the other beef.  Believe me - we sell enough of our existing beef already as soon as it is butchered. We do not need to wait sixty days to sell it for more!  

    So, why are we doing it?  

    At first, it was about taste.  The controlled process of dry-aging beef for more than 45 days does two things: 1. Tenderizes the meat.  2. Enhances flavor.   When I first dove into this, I was going for a better tasting steak.   Success.  More tender and richer flavor. 

    I began to feel a bit guilty about the endeavor, though, because I felt like I was wasting all this time and resources to simply chase a better taste.  Epicurious, the ancient Greek philosopher, said that the meaning of life is to pursue pleasure. I have nothing against pleasure, don't get me wrong.  That said, ZOE Farms is not founded on the pursuit of pleasure.

    If ZOE Farms is to invest in something, there must be a deeper reason to justify the allocation of time and resources.  This bothered me for a few months, then it dawned on me one day... "I'm not changing this meat, nature is!"  I am not systematically jiggering with the chemicals of salt, fat and sugar to predictably create a human craving reflex.  This ain't a candy bar -- this is a purely grass-fed piece of meat being transformed into something better by natural methods.  

    When this light bulb turned on, I immediately asked Erin to find any literature that studied the effects of dry aging (she does all the research!)  BINGO - she found several studies that explained what was happening molecularly to the meat.  Both of us were blown away.... This stuff doesn't just taste better, it is better for us! 

    It was at that moment when Erin and I both agreed - we stumbled into something wonderful.  Our beef dry-aging program is solely focused on sharing a better way to eat meat.  Our pursuit is not increased profit. It is not about increased pleasure -- This, my friends --- this is our search for an increasing connection to the life around us through the food we consume.  

Thank you for reading - Dustin

Erin captured the video below as we were driving home from the butcher. It was heavy on my mind and I'm thankful she turned on the camera.