In the News: Winston-Salem Journal
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Natural: Niman Tries for Happy, Tasty Animals
June 29, 2005
By
Michael Hastings, Winston-Salem Journal
Bill Niman is not a celebrity chef, but he is a star in the eyes of many a chef in this country. Niman (pronounced Nigh-man) is a co-founder and the chairman of Niman Ranch Inc., a company in Oakland, Ca., that has become so famous for its all-natural beef, pork and lamb that restaurants will list the brand right on their menus.
Bill Niman was in the triad a few weeks ago to help train staff at the Lucky 32 restaurant. Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants & Hotels, which owns two Lucky 32s in North Carolina and the Green Valley Grill in Greensboro, recently began using Niman Ranch ground beef and rib-eye steaks. It has been using Niman Ranch's pork for about two years.
In the 1960s, Niman was another hippie trying to get back to nature when he put down roots on a ranch in Marin County, north of San Francisco.
Then in 1971, Niman had his first litter of pigs. "It was like a calling for me. I got so excited. I couldn't shake that," he said.
Old-fashioned luck
Soon he learned that Northern California was more suitable to raising cattle than pigs.
He started raising cattle naturally, the old-fashioned way, by luck, because he didn't know any better. "I was really fortunate to have neighbors who were very traditional," he said.
He first produced meat for family, friends and other neighbors. Soon he was calling on restaurants. Word spread as he gained such esteemed customers as San Francisco's Chez Panisse. This year, Niman Ranch expects to do about $70 million in business. Bill Niman still lives and raises cattle on his 1,000-acre ranch. The company also works with 50 cattle ranchers, nine sheep farmers and 470 pork farmers, including 30 of the latter in North Carolina.
Niman Ranch sells to 1,200 restaurants or restaurant groups, as well as to such retailers as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's. It even sells directly to consumers through its Web site, www.nimanranch.com.
A hallmark of Niman's style is its strict controls over the entire process, from the breed of animals used, to the feed they eat, to the way the meat is butchered. For instance, Niman said, "We don't let other people handle our animals (when they are taken to slaughter)," because strangers can stress animals, which can release hormones that harm the flavor and texture of the meat.
In other words, Niman Ranch strives not only to treat animals well, but also to get the best possible flavor.
Hoping for changes
Niman Ranch does not give its animals growth hormones or antibiotics. It uses cattle bred for the best flavor, such as Angus and Hereford. It lets them roam in pastures, feeding on grass, except for the final few months when they are fattened on grain. Even the finishing feedlots are designed to allow the cattle to behave as naturally as possible.
"We want happy animals," Niman said.
Industrial farming - and what call Niman called its sometimes cruel practices - boils down to money, he said. "There's an expectation that if it's cheap, it's OK. That has to change.
"Pigs on many farms, he said, "have never seen the sun.""Our pigs chase each other round. They eat dirt. They have fun. They get to be outside in the fields, being pigs," he said.
Sure, his practices make the meat more expensive, he said, but they also make it taste better.
"I think we've demonstrated a model that works.... My hope is that (industrial farmers) will see the light, do what we're doing, crush us and drive us out of business."
That, he said, would be a fine legacy.
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