Producing quality Scotch beef is not rocket science

SIR, – I write in response to the articles and letters regarding the Scotch Beef discussions and controversies.
Of course the European system which was introduced in late 1970’s is outdated and needs to be reconstructed to reward quality, which constitutes fat cover and marbling (intra muscular fat). We said as much when this grid was implemented – It’s hardly breaking news! But conformation, certainly not be all and end all, is a vital part of the quality aspect. 
We have had a deluge of analytical, scientific, facts and figures, poll percentages, quotes from Nuffield reports, consumer tasting panels and such like. Indeed some of it is quite interesting, but let’s get to where the real knowledge comes from.
My father William, after wartime service with the RAF, came home and started a high street butcher’s shop in Prestonpans. He killed his cattle down the back lane in the outbuildings. When times changed he went, on a Wednesday afternoon (his half day off) to The Central Edinburgh Meat Market in Fountainbridge, where 600-700 carcases of beef hung. He would walk round with the manager, Andrew Dewar, and a porter, and rib about 24 sides of beef (to rib you cut in between the sirloin and rib roast to expose the face of the beef) and then select maybe 14 or 16 sides of beef. He only selected on fat cover and marbling, but of course the frame had to carry a depth of flesh. The sides of beef would be taken from the lines and then chilled off. Price negotiation would then take place over a cup of tea. These sides of beef would be delivered to us after two weeks of hanging. This is why we had queues of peoples backing out the shop and onto the high street. It was like a queue for cup final tickets. He worked six days and then done the accounts on a Sunday.
The knowledge he had of beef was vast, he probably forgot more than all the “the new experts” who gain their “knowledge” from reading books or surfing the internet for information. People who have never put a knife into a side of beef in their lives, and want to flood us with waves of analytical rhetoric. So you see butchers knew about enzymes breaking down tissues, fat cover and marbling 70 years ago, It’s hardly a thunderbolt of new knowledge that some would have us believe, 
But the issue that has been conveniently omitted from the letters and articles from “the friends of the American beef industry” is the illegal use of drugs and or growth hormones such as Ractopamine. It is not just that Ractopamine makes cattle grow unnaturally faster and leaner, it is the potential clinical effect it can have on human health. The side effects on people can be horrific! Cattle that have been doubled dosed (and more) can also suffer dreadful ill health. Only on the North American continent would this be permitted and, that is why their beef is banned all over the world. 
On Monday past at St Boswells livestock market, I spoke to a prominent borders farmer, who witnessed overdosing of this drug on cattle, first hand, in South West America.
So do we really want to copy the American continent, and cram cattle in to feed lots that produce tasteless, bland beef, or do we go the traditional route, the route that has made Scotland world famous for its renowned cattle and beef? Grass-fed and allowed to grow naturally with full provenance and the highest welfare standards in the world. Cattle and great beef are created by the commitment and dedication of Scotland’s livestock farmers, skilled stockmen, live stock markets, hauliers, abattoirs and butchers. Far from being ashamed as some would suggest we are proud to be part of this great industry. 
American and Canadians – “masters of meat?” – Don’t make me laugh!