The more you eat, the better for the land! Applegate’s regenerative agriculture project subverts your imagination of hot dogs

Applegate, a meat supplier located in New Jersey, USA (acquired by American businessman Hormel Foods in 2015), has continued to “change the meat people eat” for 30 years, and is committed to providing organic hot dogs, bacon, and sausages , ham, cheese, frozen meat and other foods, only sell non-GMO and antibiotic-free products, and cooperate with pastures that focus on animal welfare and humane feeding to ensure that animals are grown in a natural way. Its products are currently sold in the United States Sold in more than 20,000 stores. Applegate’s hot dog brand Do Good Dog will officially go on sale in November 2021, becoming the first “renewable hot dog” to be sold across the United States. “The hot dog is like an ambassador for the company,” says Gina Asoudegan, Applegate’s vice president of mission and regenerative agriculture. Although the chicken nuggets are the best-selling product, the hot dog is more representative of the spirit of the American classic food, so it has become Applegate’s driving force for innovation.

Eating hot dogs can also make the environment positive cycle

“When I first started working at Applegate, we started with nitrate-free hot dogs, then antibiotic-free, then 100% organic grass-fed beef, and now this hot dog is renewable. milestone,” said Asoudegan, who has been promoting regenerative agriculture at the meat company for 16 years. Since Applegate produces its hot dogs from cows raised on regenerative grasslands, the initiative allows Applegate to prove that regenerative agriculture can be scaled and profitable. For Applegate, meeting its renewable goals was a major shift. Renewable certification issued by third-party certification agency Land to Market, which is different from organic certification that only focuses on farmers’ behavior (such as growers can not use chemical fertilizers and antibiotics, etc.), it requires farmers and ranchers to prove that they are on their land Raising animals can substantially improve soil health, biodiversity and ecosystems. “It’s a wonderful positive cycle,” Asoudegan says, “because when the soil is healthier, people can grow more food on it.” In addition to taking care of the health of the soil and cattle, Applegate also pays attention to the well-being of the farm owners. Recently, it has established a partnership with the clothing brand Timberland to provide regenerated cowhide (Note 1) for the production of special shoes, so that farmers can profit from selling cowhide. In the future, Applegate plans to launch a new product, the Do Good Burger, and as more and more cooperative cattle farms obtain renewable certification, the brand is expected to expand its product line and start raising chickens and pigs, expanding the territory of regenerative agriculture. Note 1: Regeneratively raised cattle refers to, under the concept of regenerative agriculture, cattle are allowed to eat fresh and real grass on fertile soil, and cattle are raised in land-friendly grazing methods such as rotational grazing The cowhide obtained from the body.