The Kobe Fraud

It's true. Like the Angus Beef Markup Conspiracy that tore through the restaurant world during the 90's, 'Kobe Beef' has now infiltrated even midrange and 99 cent Wendy's menus.

So what is Kobe beef? What is the great mystique about this meat that commands such a garish pricetag? What has The National Cattlemen's Beef Association found that makes this a perfect product for hyper-markup?

It begins with the Japanese production and raising of the cattle, and pretty much ends there. What is sold to us as 'Kobe Beef' is no more Japanese than Jackie Chan. The problem is, our Beef Industry has pulled a bait and switch on us, so we believe we're getting this extravagantly pampered meat, but we're really getting American raised Waygu beef, which isn't produced in the same way.

True Kobe beef, from the Hyogo prefecture of which Kobe is the capital, is rasied in under strict conditions of treatment. The better known practices are being beer fed and massaged by hand daily. They're so pampered, if you put one next to Elizabeth Taylor in a spa, you couldn't tell the difference.

American Kobe beef is produced from cattle imported from Japan in 1976 and 1993, but isn't raised in conformity to the Hyogo method, so much of the extreme cost of the beef isn't really reflected in the intense labor it takes to produce real Kobe beef. The assumption being the exhorbitant cost of the beef is due to the rarity and painstaking attention it takes to produce such tender, well marbled beef.

It all depends on whether you, as an educated consumer, are willing to pay upwards of $100 for 8oz of American Raised Kobe beef. Does it matter to you? You would have had to have eaten true Japanese Kobe beef in order to make a comparison, so if the beef tastes better than other breeds (say, Black Angus), then is it worth it?

This ambiguity also exists at a time where most mutually reciprocal US-Japan beef bans have been lifted. Unless a restaurant specifically calls it Japanese Kobe, chances are you're eating American Kobe.

Many restaurants propery identify the product as Waygu, or American Waygu. Some even identify it as American Kobe.

If you're wonering whats the big deal, it's because the term Kobe is associated with a premium price point. For example, a two ounce tin of Beluga caviar ran run upwards of $200. The same tin produced from American Sturgeon runs about half that because the market assumption is, although the caviar is almost indistinguishable from the Russian product, it's not Russian. Its the origin and expertise people pay the money for, not simply the food itself.

This sort of regional protection is evident in France's protection of the name 'Champagne' or Italy protecting names like Reggiano and Parma. The premium value comes from where and how it's produced, not simply quality of the product.

So, should the Beef Industry be forced to distinguish Japanese vs. American Waygu? The point may be moot. A large percent of Kobe beef is raised right here in America, produced the American way, and shipped back to Japan for consumption.

Just like Toyotas that are built in Kentucky using Mexican parts, neither country has total ownership of the product anymore. American produced Kobe may eventually obscure 'real' Kobe beef after all.