Foodies Can Order Meats from a Single Animal Throwback to getting your sirloin ground at the butcher shop emerges with 'single origin' cuts meat operations that sate some consumers' desires to trace their burger or bacon all the way back to an individual animal. "They want to know where it came from, where it was born, where it was raised, where it was slaughtered," said Rick Stein, vice president of fresh foods for the Food Marketing Institute grocery association. down the line, and ships directly to consumers who order at least $85 worth of steaks and burgers "from one single animal." "We're a beef company with our hand in every step of our short supply chain" Ms. Raudsepp said. is costly and complex. Sales of meat labeled "minimally processed" totaled $1.3 billion last year. That is a fraction of meat and poultry industry sales worth some \$200 billion annually. according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Analysts say the single-origin meat sellers are tapping into demand for meat that consumers see as more ethically raised or butchered. Sales of conventional meat last year grew less than 3% in value, compared with a 12% uptick for meat labeled "natural" and a 23% gain in sales of labeled "antibiotic free," according to market research firm Nielsen. slaughter plants to meet customer demand for "whole animal" products, said Theo Weening, the retailer's global meat buyer. sold in a handful of regions for $10 a pound, is described as being made from a blend of muscle cuts from individual Wagyu cows raised on a California ranch. down to the group of steers it bought from a particular farm, has been strong since it made its debut last year, said Mr. Oellinger. He said the company is still deciding how much to put on the market at once. b) What are some of the operational challenges that Honest Beef may face in delivering the "single-source" beef? c) Is a commodity position always bad and how can companies differentiate themselves in this position