Cattle producers have to be diligent in customer satisfaction, even though many of them are far removed from the consumer. You've got to make sure the end product delivers the quality it needs to. And if it's bad, many times they won't come back, he added. Taste is the number one issue in whether consumers will eat beef. Nutrition and food safety generally rank second and third, he added.
People just like to eat, and they like to eat stuff that tastes good.
For instance, many diets fail because of the taste, or lack of taste. There's not just one tool that will make beef taste better, Savell said. Also, the amount of cooking time is very important, he explained. The longer you cook a steak, the tougher it will be. However, some diners object to medium rare steaks.