DILLON, MT -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/30/07 -- Call it a perfect storm of food. As home chefs prepare to get the grilling season underway this Memorial Day weekend, a convergence of interest in healthy foods, food safety, the humane treatment of animals, sustainable ranching, and authentic gourmet ingredients is helping the conscientious eating movement hit the coals. And as a result, all grass fed beef is set to go from buzz to boom this summer.

While it has been a hot topic among foodies, grass fed beef is now going mainstream. According to the American Grassfed Association, grass fed beef will grow to comprise some 10% of the overall beef market in the next decade, compared to just 3% now. That growth can already be seen. Mississippi State University estimates that some 60,000 heads of grass fed cattle were marketed in 2006, up from 5,000 just six years ago.

"We're seeing the coming together of several different trends that are creating a heightened demand for grass fed beef," says Peter Hoffman, owner of Savoy restaurant in New York and Master Chef for La Cense Beef, an all grass fed beef brand from Dilllon, Montana. "Consumer interest in healthy food options has been growing for quite some time, but over the past 12 months, we have seen increasing interest in food that is produced in a sustainable manner, offers greater food safety, is from animals who have been treated humanely and that utilizes production methods from before the industrialization of agriculture for a more genuine, authentic flavor. Those are the characteristics that define grass fed beef, and now with grilling season getting underway, we expect consumers to be trading up in their beef purchases to find out what the grass fed beef buzz is all about."

Grass fed beef, such as certified angus beef steaks and steak burger patties, are being hailed not only for its healthier profile and truer beef flavor than grain fed beef, but also because it satisfies the criteria of consumers interested in the growing conscientious eating trend.

True grass fed beef is produced from cattle that are fed exclusively grass, with no introduction of grain whatsoever into their diet. As a result, grass fed beef is lower in calories and cholesterol than grain fed beef and higher in CLA, Omega 3 fatty acids and beta-carotene.

But grass fed beef offers other important benefits. Beef produced from the hand-chosen Black Angus cattle born and raised on the La Cense Beef ranch in Montana are free of antibiotics and hormones and graze upon grass from pesticide free pastures. La Cense cattle also benefit from a stress-free environment, spending their entire lives on the pristine pastures of this 88,000-acre ranch and feeding on new grass and plants everyday that are at least 10 inches high. This ensures that cattle face no stress when foraging. Additionally, grass is the natural diet of cattle, which are ruminants. Cattle do not normally eat grain, nor are they designed to digest this feed, meaning that an exclusive diet of grass represents a more humane and ethical treatment of these animals. Furthermore, as La Cense Beef is not sourced from a consortium of ranches but produced exclusively from the cattle born and raised on the ranch, consumers are ensured that food safety issues are minimized, as La Cense cattle never come into contact with cattle from other herds.

Last, but not least, grass fed beef offers a truer, cleaner beef flavor. "Grain fed beef derives its flavor from the fat, not from the meat itself as does grass fed beef," says Hoffman. "The result is a more authentic beef taste, reminiscent of the way that beef used to taste before the industrialization of agriculture. You have a much cleaner aftertaste and just don't feel as heavy and weighed down after a grass fed steak as you would with a steak produced from grain fed cattle." La Cense Beef is dry-aged for 19 days to round out flavor, hand cut and trimmed.

To help consumers find out what the grass fed trend is all about, for Memorial Day, La Cense Beef is offering a special BBQ package. The package includes 10 6 oz. Steak Burger Patties; two 15 oz. Packages of Beef for Kabobs and two 2 lb. Slabs of Back Ribs for a promotional price of $92.83. Consumers who want to upgrade their Memorial Day BBQ beef menu to a gourmet offering, can take advantage of the offer by visiting www.lacensebeef.com or by calling 1-866-442-BEEF.

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Contact:
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
(212) 404-6619
(917) 620-3717