pure//: Wagyu

Respect

Quietly and almost secretly, Japanese beef – known as ‘Wagyu’ in Japanese – was allowed to thrive for centuries. It was used as a workhorse, and consumption was forbidden under Buddhist teachings. It was only when Japan opened up to the West under Emperor Meiji that the first of these cattle were exported from 1869 onwards, via the port of Kobe, and this is why they became famous as ‘Kobe beef’. Wagyu cattle are medium-sized, with a well-developed shoulder and a strong hindquarters; in meat production, they are so highly prized because the fat is not concentrated in specific areas but is distributed throughout the muscle meat in a very fine marbling. No, they are not massaged with beer, nor are they given it to drink; it goes without saying for breeders that they are not fattened up with growth hormones, nor are they given antibiotics as a preventative measure against disease.

Sarah Roth-Balzli is a vet; she knew even as a child that this was her dream job: ‘I always wanted to drive from farm to farm and treat cows, pigs and horses. That is exactly what I have been doing for over 20 years now. I still cannot imagine anything more beautiful or fulfilling. My greatest interest has always been in ruminants. In my opinion, no other animal is so versatile and sustainable, and can produce so much – milk, meat, leather, etc. – from so little: grass and hay. Among these ruminants, cattle have particularly captured my heart, and not just from a medical perspective. I like the calm demeanour and the friendly, curious nature of the cow.” In 2017, Sarah fulfilled another dream and, in collaboration with the experienced farmer Adrian Stämpfli in the Bernese Seeland, began building up her own Wagyu herd.

Sarah says: “Animal welfare, species-appropriate husbandry and respect for the animal are my top priorities as a vet. So our animals live with us on the farm from their first to their last day within the familiar social structure of their herd and enjoy a stress-free life. Their feed comes almost exclusively from our own crops.” And Adrian says: “Calm, friendly, healthy animals are important to us, and so our Wagyu cattle grow up in close contact with us. The calves know us from the very first hour of their lives, and of course every animal has a name and gets its share of affection. We can move freely amongst the cows, calves, bulls and oxen at any time, which is not a given with suckler herds.” The herd lives in the beautiful Bernese Seeland and is free to roam all year round; the free-range barn built in 2018, with permanent access to pasture, provides the ideal conditions for this. The calves grow up with their mothers in the herd until they are about a year old and reach sexual maturity. They then join a ‘teenage group’ with their peers and spend another year in the pasture, enjoying their freedom..

Good things take time. Whilst most other beef breeds are slaughtered at the age of 10 months, rearing and finishing a Wagyu cow takes three years. When the time comes, the animals are slaughtered locally and carefully processed. The meat is then aged on the bone for three to four weeks before it can be cut up and delivered. Every animal is very valuable, and Sarah and Adrian from Seeland-Wagyu are keen to use the whole animal – ‘nose to tail’, as is the fashion these days. But it’s not all plain sailing, Adrian explains; it takes a lot of time and involves a great deal of effort – so the meat isn’t cheap as a result. “Above all, we’re still lacking buyers in the catering trade – customers who buy a whole animal – that would make our lives easier.”

And how does Sarah, as a vet, view the meat? “We’re convinced that moderate meat consumption is possible under these conditions without a guilty conscience.” There’s just one thing to add: the Wagyu from the Bernese Seeland is sensationally good.