Would you like to visit White Marble Farms?
Posted by Jay on Monday, 5 June 2006
After I wrote this post, I arrived in San Luis Obispo and went to dinner with my Mom at EP Koberl at Blue. It’s a quite good restaurant, our server was super helpful and our meals were delicious. Plus they were open past 9, which is hard to find there on a Wednesday — they don’t call it SLO Town for nothing.
Choosing my meal, my eyes alighted on the pork chop, which was from “White Marble Farms.” I didn’t recognize the name of the farm, but I’ve learned a little about how pork is raised, so I asked the server what she could tell me about White Marble Farms. She wasn’t familiar with them, but went to ask somebody, and came back and said that it was a farm in the Western US, and that the chef really liked the quality of their pork.
Well, thanks to the wonders of the internets, I was later able to find that White Marble Farms is a product line from Sysco [link is a PDF file]. In other words, there is no White Marble Farms, it’s just a brand name given by Sysco to meat that they buy that has certain quality characteristics. “SYSCO Quality Assurance specialists” verify these characteristics, including “Compliance with animal genetics”, “Animal ID and source verification”, and “Participation in animal welfare audits”. We don’t work with Sysco so I was unfamiliar with the brand.
Here’s the thing: the pork chop was fantastic. Great body and depth of flavor, super tender and just the right amount of flaky. I have no doubt that somewhere, some farmer on some piece of land is taking great pride in the pigs he raises.
But Sysco isn’t interested in letting you know who it is.
Sysco’s existence depends on detaching you, the eater, from the producer of your foods. Once you start asking questions about where your food comes from and how its treated and processed, the bulk of their business will be of little interest to you.
When Sysco finds that “there is a growing demand for quality pork” they enhance their supply chain to add such products, and then brand them with a new Sysco label, in this case, “White Marble Farms.”
People are craving an understanding of what they’re eating, and Sysco is substituting a brand name that seems to convey it, but doesn’t. What breed was that pork? Who raised it, and where, and with what external effects?
Now, I should note that Niman Ranch pork also sounds like it comes from a specific farm but it doesn’t. Niman Ranch contracts with small farmers who agree to follow certain guidelines of quality, sustainability, and humaneness. Niman Ranch is making a difference and pushing things in a good direction. However, I think it’s an opportunity for improvement in their operation that, if we buy Niman Ranch pork, they can’t quite tell us what breed it is or what it was finished on.
But I think they’re working on it: with loin, they can now tell you what farm it came from. I believe that’s new since we opened. It would be nice if we could, through Niman, buy specific breeds from specific farms, but I don’t think that’s in place yet.
Overall, though, I think there’s a fundamental difference in the essence of Niman Ranch and Sysco: Niman Ranch benefits when people ask questions about their food, so over time I expect they’ll make more and more information available about all their products. Sysco as a whole does not benefit when people ask about all their food, so Sysco will try to seem like they’re communicating details about their food, when they’re actually not. At most, I’ll wager, they’ll get down to details on specific “product lines” where their restaurant customers demand it.
I assume Sysco is just responding to the growth and success of Niman Ranch by applying their immense resources to produce, process, and distribute high-quality pork. It works, and I’ve no doubt it will be successful. Sysco may even successfully slow the process of people developing awareness of the production of their food, an awareness which will threaten Sysco’s continued existence (or at least force it to undergo drastic change).
July 14th, 2006 at 12:25 am
Sysco is on my mind, can anyone confirm to me that this corporation pays dividends back to a chef or buyer if they spend enough. Is this an industry standard and how does it work.
July 20th, 2006 at 8:47 am
WMF Pork is a product of Cargill meats in conjunction with SYSCO food service. It is grown in hog country (midwest) on farms contracted to raise hogs under USDA Process Verification Program which emphasises tracking at all phases, this includes state of the art animal welfare practices. It is chosen based on color and marbling utelizing the grading scales created by the National Pork Board. This results in a premium, end quality pork product. It is most excellent.
July 20th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
chefjeff,
Thanks for joining the conversation. I gather from your comment (and your IP address) that you work for Sysco, yes? That’s cool, I’m really glad we can have the perspective of a real person from the company.
I’m excited about getting a conversation going. Are you free to speak openly in this forum?
September 23rd, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Last week we tasted White Marble Farms pork chops at Legends, the fine dining restaurant at Francisco Grande Hotel and Golf Resort in Casa Grande. It was beyond wonderful…tender, flavorful, and the chef had prepared it carefully. When we asked, we were told proudly that it came from White Marble Farms. It disturbs me to know that WMF is a marketing ploy, however, and not a real farm. Why not just state what it is…a high grade pork raised to exacting standards? I see this as deliberately misleading. Niman Ranch clearly states that it contracts with individual producers. Why can’t Sysco do the same?
September 27th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I just bought pork bellies for smoking bacon…. First thing I did was look up White Marble Farms… I’m cracking up… Sysco has always had top quality meats of all kinds…All the best resturaunts have a Sysco truck unloading in back!
September 27th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
That’s inarguable, depending of course on your definition of “top quality meats” and “best restaurants.”
October 18th, 2006 at 9:36 am
[…] • The only other person I found who had noticed White Marble Farms is Jay, the chef at the Linkery, a San Diego restaurant. Here is his blog entry about it — don’t miss the comments section! File under Big Ag, Meat, Restaurants, SF Bay Area. LINK […]
October 20th, 2006 at 9:19 pm
Do people believe that they are truly riding an Impala when they drive a Chevy, or feel their hair blowing in the air as they ride the range on their trusty Ford Mustang? Are we all so gullible?
You state in your blog that Niman Ranch benefits when we ask questions… I beg to differ, I think we all benefit when we ask questions about breed & feed among other things.
There are too many ’soundbites’ which really mean nothing without definition.
For example, what do all of the aforementioned companies mean by ‘ humanely raised and or treated’.
What are state of the art animal welfare conditions?
I have read research that shows that CO2 euthenasia doesn’t really make a difference. I might possibly be wrong, but I think Perdue has decided to discontinue their program.
What do they mean by sustainable.
What does “local” mean
Every statement along this thread seems to expound upon the virtues of Niman Ranch. While I applaud their attempts to make the food chain better. I think I will abstain from savoring their succulent little piggies. It most probably was outsourced.
The most basic 4-h club skills, as well as simple economics teach us that when you raise an animal with care, you get a better return on investment.
Pork, since the ’60s had been marketed as ‘the other white meat’, My friends, I hate to disillusion you, but pork is inherently a red meat.Hoorah for anyone trying to improve things, we all benefit.
While I do not agree with SYSCOs misrepresentation of “Natural” and “vegetarian feed”. I do applaud them on making better pork.
Change the World one bite at a time!
October 31st, 2006 at 10:28 am
As a guy not ahamed to say he works for sysco - a sales rep even - I, and my co-workers I might add, have never sold this product as being pork from a place called White Marble Farms - it is as you said a brand like Certified Angus Beef or Heinz ketchup - no one thinks the ketchup comes from the house of some guy named Heinz but some people knowing the quality of heinz ketchup rather than just some store brand will sell it as Heinz Ketchup. The same hods true for White Marble farms - it is a premium product as those who have tried it have said - so rather than selling a pork loin - you sell a White Marble Farms pork loin.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:18 pm
[…] Chip from Sysco writes: As a guy not ahamed to say he works for sysco - a sales rep even - I, and my co-workers I might add, have never sold this product as being pork from a place called White Marble Farms - it is as you said a brand like Certified Angus Beef or Heinz ketchup - no one thinks the ketchup comes from the house of some guy named Heinz but some people knowing the quality of heinz ketchup rather than just some store brand will sell it as Heinz Ketchup. The same hods true for White Marble farms - it is a premium product as those who have tried it have said - so rather than selling a pork loin - you sell a White Marble Farms pork loin. […]
November 13th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
We just had our rep from Cargill here for a WMF training. Cargill births the piglets, sells to farmers who utelize sustainable farming methods, use third party process verification on all aspects. WMF is Great, natural pork raised and slaughtered humanely. End of story. Now go and eat some! You will be very pleased!
November 13th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Chefjeff,
Did they tell you: Who exactly are the farmers? How are they selected and audited? What are the sustainable methods? Who are the third parties that are verifying? What exactly is being verified?
I’m prepared to believe that the White Marble Farms brand of pork is better and more sustainably raised. But because Sysco/Cargill hasn’t answered these questions — instead, y’all say “trust us, end of story” — that it seems that these claims for WMF are more likely, you know, lies.
Maybe we could get past the end of the story and really delve into who’s growing this pork, according to what techniques, who’s verifying what processes, and understand exactly what’s being sold. That would presumably benefit everybody.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:52 am
Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure,
when we have removed their only firm basis,
a conviction in the minds of the people that they
are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my countrymen,
when I reflect that God is just, that His justice
cannot sleep forever.
-Thomas Jefferson
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Alright, I’ll bite…but not hard. I work for the above mentioned company. Process-Verified means that there is a process verified by the USDA and in this case Sysco that must be followed to the tee or the claim cannot be made. If the claim is made that the pork comes from small midwest, sustainable farmers, than that must be so. Process Verifications have been yanked because not all the T’s have been crossed and not all the I’s dotted, it is not just lip service. Just so you know sustainable means that all waste, feed, etc. must stay on and be used by the farm. Niman Ranch is NOT process-verified and have been and currently are in financial difficulties which would make me leary in trusting anything they say. These aren’t, you know, lies. Also, any pork producer making a claim about “veg fed” and being free range is lying. Pigs are carnivorous. If there is a stream flowing through a piece of land and a dead fish washes up, the pig will eat it. Rats, skunks, possoms, cats, etc…pigs will eat them. If you have any other questions I would be happy to respond. By the way, are Townhouse crackers made in townhouse? Do they make salad dressing at Hidden Valley Ranch? Can I get syrup made in a Log Cabin? Just marketing. Everyone does it.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:06 am
Short Legger,
Thanks for commenting. I appreciate your thoughtfulness *and* your sense of humor. I think this can become a positive dialog!
My biggest question is, with White Marble Farms, what exactly is the representation that is process-verified? I don’t have all of Sysco/Cargill’s marketing material, but from what I see, sustainability and small Midwestern farms aren’t mentioned as part of the “approved criteria.” (In fact, they’re not mentioned at all in the one-sheet I’m looking at now.)
The “approved criteria” are “Animal ID and source verification”, “Compliance with animal genetics”, and “Participation in animal welfare audits.” I even note that “animal welfare” does not *necessarily* mean that the animals are treated humanely (a inhumanely treated animal may in fact be in very good health, as judged by objective measurements).
Another question I have: Why doesn’t Sysco/Cargill make the farms themselves known, or the information available to consumers. (Niman Ranch, for any problems they may or may not have, does, I believe, all farm-specific tracking of their pork cuts to the consumer.)
As for free-range pigs eating dead fish or cats, I can just say from my personal experience visiting a couple farms raising pastured pigs, that seemed to my eyes to be unlikely. Though I would be interested in hearing from any pasture pig farmers out there — does that happen? If so, what are the ramifications? Should we be worried about it? Now I’m curious.
In my opinion, the attitude that makes me not trust SYSCO is “it’s just marketing, everyone does it.” Regardless of who does it, if it’s misleading people into buying something they’re not actually getting — it’s ethcially dubious. And probably ineffective marketing. If you sell something of value, why even risk letting people misunderstand what you do, let alone encourage it?
The difference between White Marble Farms and Hidden Valley Ranch is one of context. On the supermarket shelves, the consumer knows that all of the mass-made bottled dressings come from factories. Up until recently, on a restaurant menu, a farm name on a menu meant that the item came from a specific farm, often an independent one. Sysco is exploiting that convention to communicate, deceptively, that White Marble Farms comes from a specific farm rather than from Cargill.
Does Niman Ranch do the same thing? In my opinion, yes — but Niman’s independence from factory farming and its willingness to provide transparency all the way back to the individual farm make it fundamentally different than Sysco/Cargill. But I suppose reasonable people could differ on that judgement.
Lastly, I’m going to be in the Midwest this summer. Can you help me arrange a visit to a White Marble Farms pig farm? I know I might not be on SYSCO’s “friends list”, but I think if you read the blog through you’ll see that I’ve endeavored to be thoughtful about the operations we’ve visited and fair to the producers we’ve met, whether or not we’re fully behind them at first.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:18 am
[…] “Short Legger” comments on the enduring White Marble Farms question: Alright, I’ll bite…but not hard. I work for the above mentioned company. Process-Verified means that there is a process verified by the USDA and in this case Sysco that must be followed to the tee or the claim cannot be made. If the claim is made that the pork comes from small midwest, sustainable farmers, than that must be so. Process Verifications have been yanked because not all the T’s have been crossed and not all the I’s dotted, it is not just lip service. Just so you know sustainable means that all waste, feed, etc. must stay on and be used by the farm. Niman Ranch is NOT process-verified and have been and currently are in financial difficulties which would make me leary in trusting anything they say. These aren’t, you know, lies. Also, any pork producer making a claim about “veg fed” and being free range is lying. Pigs are carnivorous. If there is a stream flowing through a piece of land and a dead fish washes up, the pig will eat it. Rats, skunks, possoms, cats, etc…pigs will eat them. If you have any other questions I would be happy to respond. By the way, are Townhouse crackers made in townhouse? Do they make salad dressing at Hidden Valley Ranch? Can I get syrup made in a Log Cabin? Just marketing. Everyone does it. […]
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:15 pm
[…] Ethical restauranteur Jay over at the Linkery blog is having an interesting dialogue with a representative from Sysco about the White Marble Farms pork brand. Jay was the first (and pretty much only) person to comment online about the misleading marketing of this industrial meat product; I subsequently stumbled on it in a San Francisco restaurant and wrote about it for the Chronicle’s food section. […]
January 17th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
WMF is not any kind of Sysco promo. It is for real and is an unbelievable system. Small farms within a close radius (100 to 150 miles)from the processing plant. It is organic from birth and keep that way. only eating organic vegetable feed. The farmer buys into the program and is monitored by a third party inspection process. This is a great sucess story for the small farmers/ranchers who is disappearing from North America. The faucilities and systems used in raising are cutting edge. All products are shipped fresh, never frozen & requires lead time to fill orders. This is the best pork product I have dealt with.
January 17th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
“Small farms within a close radius (100 to 150 miles)from the processing plant.”
Can I ask how you know this? I note that it’s on none of the promo pieces available online from Sysco and it’s not one of the “process-verified” criteria in the USDA document.
I also note that the Sysco reps have been said to be misleading about the provenance of WMF pork in order to compete with Niman Ranch.
Of course, none of these questions would be asked if Sysco would publicize the identities of all their WMF farms. Until they do, obviously the likeliest explanation (according to Occam’s Razor) is that Sysco is intentionally misleading people (without technically lying), and these farms are unpleasant factory operations that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny.
January 30th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Jay,
You cannot use Occam’s Razor to reach your conclusion on this matter - you must conclude that which has the fewest assumptions - and your conclusion includes a great many assumptions - That a publicly tradred company would intentionally mislead its customers and leave it open to numerous lawsuits - that the sales reps are all dishonest and would intentionally mislead their customers - you assume that these farms are factory operations - you assume that these operations are unpleasant - you assume that those who told you SYSCO reps mislead them are telling the truth. This is clearly not a case for Occam’s razor - if it were I could rightly conclude via Occam’s razor that WMF is the premium program that has been described and sold by SYSCO. The end - one assumption - seems more fitting to me.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Chip,
I’m sorry, but that’s just a non sequitir.
Also, what you call assumptions are actually conclusions.
Jay
February 21st, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Jay,
Cocnclusions based on what evidence?
Chip
February 23rd, 2007 at 10:00 am
con·clu·sion /kənˈkluʒən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuhn-kloo-zhuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the end or close; final part.
2. the last main division of a discourse, usually containing a summing up of the points and a statement of opinion or decisions reached.
3. a result, issue, or outcome; settlement or arrangement: The restitution payment was one of the conclusions of the negotiations.
4. final decision: The judge has reached his conclusion.
5. a reasoned deduction or inference.
6. Logic. a proposition concluded or inferred from the premises of an argument.
7. Law.
a. the effect of an act by which the person performing the act is bound not to do anything inconsistent therewith; an estoppel.
b. the end of a pleading or conveyance.
as·sump·tion /əˈsʌmpʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-suhmp-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. something taken for granted; a supposition: a correct assumption.
2. the act of taking for granted or supposing.
3. the act of taking to or upon oneself.
4. the act of taking possession of something: the assumption of power.
5. arrogance; presumption.
6. the taking over of another’s debts or obligations.
I think that if you look at the definitions of these two words, you will find that it is very much possible to make an assumption, and still call it a conclusion. A conclusion is not by it’s very definition right. An assumption is not neccesarily wrong, either.
I think that you are all quite paranoid when bashing a large (huge even) company for behaving as such. Wal-Mart and Sysco are not destroying America, only taking advantage of a system that allows them to be successful.
Sysco has no reason to worry about competing with any food service company in North America. The last time I checked, if you were to combine the revenue of their three largest competitors, they wouldn’t begin to equal one third of what sysco makes.
I think that there are much more important issues to argue about in terms of food, involving sysco and not. How about radiated food? Did you know that you can call something “all natural” according to the USDA as long as it contains “no non-food additives” and is “minimally processed”,? Think about how vague those terms are. They mean nothing at all. Who’s the wrong-doer in the grand scheme of things? The system that is supposed to be there to “protect” us (from out own food?), or the companies that take advantage of the system’s flaws? WMF pork is as evil and threatening as a hummingbird compared to the larger issue at hand here.
February 23rd, 2007 at 10:12 am
\”Wal-Mart and Sysco are not destroying America, only taking advantage of a system that allows them to be successful.\” This is exactly right.
Every system of economic choices and legal regulations effectively subsidizes certain activities. Clever companies with the primary goal of making money (or \”increasing shareholder value\”) can exploit any system and find ways to externalize their costs.
In the cases of Wal-Mart, Sysco, Cargill and others, the companies have figured out how to leverage (in particular) the artifically low price of fossil fuels and transportation infrastructure — both heavily subsidized in different ways by our society and government — in order to offer their products at prices far lower than their actual cost, and still make money. This is because most of the cost of what we buy from Sysco, Cargill, and Wal-Mart are externalized into the system as a whole, whether through environmental pollution, increased road building and maintenance costs, or straight cash subsidies from the government.
I believe that the issues you describe, Jason, are part of the same cloth that WMF is — they all require that the production of food be hidden from consumers in order for the processors to get away with what they\’re doing in the marketplace. If people really understood what they\’re eating, and how they\’re paying for it, they\’d buy less of what the industrial food complex is offering.
The evil of WMF is that it\’s a new development — a particularly effective method of lying — in the effort to keep eaters detached from the actual production of their food. It\’s the method through which the other evils are perpretated.
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Clever companies with the primary goal of making money (or \”increasing shareholder value\”) can exploit any system and find ways to externalize their costs.
I would challenge you to find me an example of a company that is selling goods or services whose primary goal is not to make money. If there are such companies out there, they won’t be around for long, because that is the central focus of doing business. Doing otherwise involves the terms “charity” and “non-profit”.
I still say that this conversation is not attacking the right people. These companies should be held accountable for their wrong-doings, yes. Holding a company in contempt for brand-naming a product will never accomplish any real change in the larger problem at hand, which is the lack of consumer interest in the issues you describe. The American people for the most part don’t care where their food comes from, as long as it is cheap and requires minimal effort to prepare or purchase. If White Marble Farms is a terrible lie like you purport, than it will be dealt with when a total change in conciousness is achieved on the part of the consuming public. I’m sorry that I just feel like we all have much bigger fish to fry.
Aiming at one of Medusa’s asps will not kill the threat, she will only grow two or three new ones, smarter and more threatening probably. The head must be targeted.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Jason,
Many if not most independent business have primary goals other than making money. For businesses like ours, profit — enough to justify the investment of capital — is a necessity, but not a goal. Profit is oxygen to a company: you need to have it to stay alive, but your existence will be more rewarding if you focus on something beyond just breathing.
A good place to start is with the business writings of Peter Drucker, who I think may have been one of the first to really lay this truth out in modern capitalist society.
A couple obvious examples of companies who exist for reasons beyond profit would be Patagonia and Union Square Hospitality Group. Probably your neighborhood independent record store, too.
As far as the rest of your argument, I just disagree. Holding food companies accountable for lying has to start somewhere. That’s how the movement you’re waiting for will grow.
December 17th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
do you all realize that Niman Ranch supplys product to SYSCO as a packer label?
January 30th, 2008 at 3:07 am
I’d like to weigh in as a former employee of Niman Ranch. There seem to be a lot of questions concerning standards and practices in their hog program I’d like to provide a few links to help clear these up:
http://content.nimanranch.com/images/static/Hog_Protocols.pdf
This link is to a letter to farmers describing the standards to be met and steps to take to become a Niman Ranch farmer.
http://www.animalwelfare.com/farm/standards/pigs.htm
This link is to the Animal Welfare Institute’s standards for raising hogs. Niman Ranch is approved by this body, they comply with every detail, and are also audited by this body. I challenge anyone to find hog protocols more stringent.
Dick, Niman Ranch pork is not outsourced. All NR pork comes from approved NR farmers.
Moz, Niman is not a Sysco packer label. Sysco takes orders for Niman Ranch products through their Chefex program; the product is then shipped directly to the customer by Niman Ranch.
If anyone has further questions after reviewing these links, I’d be happy to try to answer them
July 8th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
.