Texas Ranch Has a New Owner

[rockpond]

3 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

What about the church's restaurants they own, I would think they'd use their beef for those. Have you been CFR'd yet? Because I bet it's part of their 'for profit' end but would love to be proven wrong.

Robert already acknowledged that he was confusing these ranches with church welfare farms.

Does the church own restaurants?

My guess is that the church likely just sells to meat processing plants and doesn’t deal with the wholesale or retail end.  Just a supposition.  

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, rockpond said:

Robert already acknowledged that he was confusing these ranches with church welfare farms.

Does the church own restaurants?

My guess is that the church likely just sells to meat processing plants and doesn’t deal with the wholesale or retail end.  Just a supposition.  

Yes, at the Joseph Smith building is a restaurant called "The Roof" with a premier buffet with awesome Prime Rib and another restaurant across the hall. Also, at the Lionhouse is a small little restaurant and a reception center and at the Joseph Smith building there are several rooms for luncheons/dining for weddings and other functions, lots of places to use beef. Oh, and what about the Polynesian Cultural center with their large feasts and the church office building cafeteria and all of the temple cafeterias. https://www.templesquare.com/dining/ https://www.polynesia.com/dining

Edited February 14, 2020 by Tacenda

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Maybe they don't want welfare recipients eating better than most members.  😎

That was a complaint from some during one period where the welfare program had butter when most were stuck with margarine. I believe it was President Romney who quoted the response which was something to the effect ‘They are eating at the Lord’s table’

[The Nehor]

6 hours ago, strappinglad said:

My favorite " quote " from an animal rights activist is " There is no need to raise cows for milk  when everyone can just go to the store and get it " 

As much as I like to laugh at animal right activists (my nutty ex-fiancée is a now a zealot for them thinking animals are people) if any agenda can be discredited by an idiot agreeing with you my entire belief system is a sham.

We also have to deal with:

“And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and hath no need.“

Also I do not see an exemption for fish flesh. Easy for me to say though......I really cannot eat fish: I keep thinking I can train myself out of it but I never try.

[pogi]

55 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

As much as I like to laugh at animal right activists (my nutty ex-fiancée is a now a zealot for them thinking animals are people) if any agenda can be discredited by an idiot agreeing with you my entire belief system is a sham.

We also have to deal with:

“And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and hath no need.“

Also I do not see an exemption for fish flesh. Easy for me to say though......I really cannot eat fish: I keep thinking I can train myself out of it but I never try.

I agree fish is not an exception.  Baby steps.  I went from eating meat 2-3 meals/day to 2-3 meals/week.  For me, that is “moderation” relatively speaking.  It could be argued that eating meat in moderation is a “need” because we can’t get vitamin B12 from any other source without supplementing.  I believe in getting all my nutrition needs from whole foods and not supplementing.

Edited February 14, 2020 by pogi

[rockpond]

1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

Yes, at the Joseph Smith building is a restaurant called "The Roof" with a premier buffet with awesome Prime Rib and another restaurant across the hall. Also, at the Lionhouse is a small little restaurant and a reception center and at the Joseph Smith building there are several rooms for luncheons/dining for weddings and other functions, lots of places to use beef. Oh, and what about the Polynesian Cultural center with their large feasts and the church office building cafeteria and all of the temple cafeterias. https://www.templesquare.com/dining/ https://www.polynesia.com/dining

Oh yeah... not sure why I was blanking out on those.

The question is if the church owns meat processing plants.  They might.  But I could also see the church sticking with the ranching side, selling the cattle, and leaving the processing to others.

[JAHS]

 

1 hour ago, rockpond said:

Robert already acknowledged that he was confusing these ranches with church welfare farms.

Does the church own restaurants?

My guess is that the church likely just sells to meat processing plants and doesn’t deal with the wholesale or retail end.  Just a supposition.  

Apparently there's a meat processing plant in Spanish Fork

It was a Church "meating" of a different sort Jan. 25 as President Thomas S. Monson and Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin toured Church livestock operations here and in nearby Elberta.
The Brethren spent an hour going through the Deseret Meat packing plant in Spanish Fork, getting a firsthand look at the operation and greeting most of the 32 employees. They then traveled southwest to outlying Elberta, where employees and volunteers operate the feedlot that prepares cattle for the meat plant. Both operations rely on volunteer labor provided by surrounding stakes.

Meat-processing facilities draw praise

 

 

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, JAHS said:

 

Apparently there's a meat processing plant in Spanish Fork

It was a Church "meating" of a different sort Jan. 25 as President Thomas S. Monson and Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin toured Church livestock operations here and in nearby Elberta.
The Brethren spent an hour going through the Deseret Meat packing plant in Spanish Fork, getting a firsthand look at the operation and greeting most of the 32 employees. They then traveled southwest to outlying Elberta, where employees and volunteers operate the feedlot that prepares cattle for the meat plant. Both operations rely on volunteer labor provided by surrounding stakes.

Meat-processing facilities draw praise

 

 

The quotes below are interesting to me, I wonder what institutions they speak of, and I wonder how the volunteers would feel if the work they do for free is used to help the for profit side, if it is such.

Former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) explained why the Church invests a portion of its rainy-day savings in farms and ranches:

"The livestock operations in Spanish Fork and Elberta play a key role in the Church welfare program, supplying meat to bishops storehouses, canneries, BYU and other Church institutions."

"And it should be noted that the quality of the meat depends on a large number of volunteers from outside the meat plant and feedlot. The ranches that produce the cattle and welfare farms that produce the feed play an important part. It really is a concerted effort from many people within the welfare system making it succeed."

ETA: Nevermind, I found my answer, this:

"Deseret Cattle and Citrus is one of the Church’s investment farms, which operate as taxable commercial ventures. Unlike the Church’s welfare farms, which provide food and commodities for bishops’ storehouses to help the poor and needy, investment farms and ranches support the Church’s mission and principles by serving as a rainy-day fund. In administering Church financial resources, Church leaders practice the same sound economic principles they teach, such as avoiding debt, living within one’s means and setting aside savings for a rainy day."

Edited February 14, 2020 by Tacenda

[MiserereNobis]

11 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Chicken or fish is pretty much it.

See, you can't escape that indelible mark on your soul left by your Catholic baptism  

[MiserereNobis]

10 hours ago, Ahab said:

store the whole cow while keeping it alive until it is butchered, then either eat it fresh within a few weeks

Eat a whole cow with a few weeks...? What kind of cow are you talking about, a starved skinny one? Or what kind of diet are you talking about, nothing but beef?

A whole cow gives about 400 pounds of meat.

[strappinglad]

2 hours ago, The Nehor said:

Also I do not see an exemption for fish flesh.

I remember Jesus having quite a lot to do with catching and eating fish. Hmmm!

[Robert F. Smith]

3 hours ago, Tacenda said:

What about the church's restaurants they own, I would think they'd use their beef for those. Have you been CFR'd yet? Because I bet it's part of their 'for profit' end but would love to be proven wrong.

You mean like "Church's Chicken"? 

Seriously, though, what LDS restaurants are you talking about?  The ones at our temples?

[sunstoned]

13 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Diversification is the key. Yes in a second coming scenario, the stock market is going to be in trouble. 

Just a little.

But the stock market is very resilient in bad scenarios, which are less than total Destruction of the world.

But we are far from that scenario and the stock market is going like gangbusters. That's the place to be right now, while grabbing opportunities like this for when everything crashes.

You have to be flexible and ready for any possible scenario, beside this being a great time to invest in Texas real estate.

Are you kidding me? On the I-45 corridor?

Did you know that Houston is about to become larger than Chicago in population?  

And between Dallas and Houston?  With water? That's absolutely Prime land.

 

 

Yes, the church has done very well in real estate investment.  

[Tacenda]

49 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

You mean like "Church's Chicken"? 

Seriously, though, what LDS restaurants are you talking about?  The ones at our temples?

Do some research Robert, can't be that hard if you live in Utah. Ever been downtown to the Joseph Smith Memorial building or know about the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii? 🐂

[The Nehor]

1 hour ago, strappinglad said:

I remember Jesus having quite a lot to do with catching and eating fish. Hmmm!

And I envy him that. I got violently and horrifically ill from bad tuna when I was probably 3 or 4 and I remember tuna fish being my favorite sandwich before that. One of my earlier memories and I think that is why the taste of fishy stuff causes a vomit reflex. Pretty sure it is psychological and the few times I managed to eat fish I actually liked the taste but the stomach trying to empty into my mouth makes it an ordeal.

[The Nehor]

3 hours ago, pogi said:

I agree fish is not an exception.  Baby steps.  I went from eating meat 2-3 meals/day to 2-3 meals/week.  For me, that is “moderation” relatively speaking.  It could be argued that eating meat in moderation is a “need” because we can’t get vitamin B12 from any other source without supplementing.  I believe in getting all my nutrition needs from whole foods and not supplementing.

I have cut back.  Went from 7 or 8 meat meals a week to probably around 3. To be fair though I often eat only one meal a day which skews the statistics.

Edited February 14, 2020 by The Nehor

[mfbukowski]

1 hour ago, MiserereNobis said:

See, you can't escape that indelible mark on your soul left by your Catholic baptism  

That should be the name of my new blog.

"Indelible Mark" 

 

[rockpond]

39 minutes ago, sunstoned said:

Yes, the church has done very well in real estate investment.  

I've heard this statement repeated often lately.  It seems to be based solely on the fact that the church has a large real estate portfolio.  This is, of course, factual and something that I have tracked for years due to my personal interest in real estate investing.

But, I would suggest that we don't have sufficient data to know if the church has actually "done very well in real estate investment" since we don't know how much they initially invested, what kind of growth they've had in their portfolio, or what their returns are on the properties they own.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, The Nehor said:

And I envy him that. I got violently and horrifically ill from bad tuna when I was probably 3 or 4 and I remember tuna fish being my favorite sandwich before that. One of my earlier memories and I think that is why the taste of fishy stuff causes a vomit reflex. Pretty sure it is psychological and the few times I managed to eat fish I actually liked the taste but the stomach trying to empty into my mouth makes it an ordeal.

I have the same issue with pork and beans, though it was always psychological.  I wasn't fond of the canned version and my dad insisted I eat a big spoonful once instead if the usual few beans here and there and I couldn't keep them down.  Anything like them, I just can't eat even though I love the smell and should like the taste.  My mom spoiled us by never cooking with canned food, so it was pretty miserable when it was dad's turn.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Calm

[Bernard Gui]

5 hours ago, The Nehor said:

That was a complaint from some during one period where the welfare program had butter when most were stuck with margarine. I believe it was President Romney who quoted the response which was something to the effect ‘They are eating at the Lord’s table’

Those are the exact words our Stake President (later a regional authority) said to us when a bishop reported that exact complaint from a member in a bishops council. About 1984.

[Bernard Gui]

11 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Personally, I'm a meatatarian! 😀

I’m a humanitarian, myself.

[The Nehor]

21 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Those are the exact words our Stake President (later a regional authority) said to us when a bishop reported that exact complaint from a member in a bishops council. About 1984.

I have a memory of my grandfather telling me President Romney used to say it and he was in a position to know. It is possible I conflated that with reading you saying it here somehow. Memory is weird. It is also possible that stake president got it from President Romney or someone who said it to him first. If my memory is right President Romney did not coin the phrase but quoted it. Then again I thought I remembered reading it in an old General Conference talk but I cannot find it. Then again it is odd that the commodity was the exact same thing to draw out that exact same quote which makes me doubt my memory. I was active in at least one of the threads in which you said it and I did not mention the memory and I think I would have because I overshare a lot.

So what did my grandpa actually say? I think I wrote it in my mission journal which predates learning it from you. I may have a lot of reading ahead of me to find it what it was.....assuming I remember right that I wrote it down. I apologize if I did steal it from you.

[Garden Girl]

18 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

I still eat chicken but I haven't had beef now in months. I don't even like the way it tastes now. Chicken or fish is pretty much it.

But, location location location!

Think future, not present.

K. I have said my piece.

 

That's how I view each of the Church's major land purchases, like the recent additional ranch acres in Florida... think of it... the Florida land is conducive for growing citrus, etc... the Texas land is better suited for cattle, etc.  It seems that so often we hear people refer to the need for humanitarian aid RIGHT NOW... it is my personal opinion that these types of purchases are being entered into after much prayer, with the inspiration/guidance that some time in the future our humanitarian efforts will be put to the test in the providing of food, perhaps shelter, and aid for large numbers of people, members and non-members alike.   Who else can you think of who will have the ability and means to produce food on a large scale.  One of my favorite things years ago was when we would be given an assignment to work in the Church's local cannery... our ward would send a group and we would join other wards, divide into teams and spend a day preparing the fruit (peaches for this particular assignment), trimming and filling the cans, actual canning, and finally labeling... what a fun day of cooperating in a shared goal of preparing the cans for the Bishop's Storehouse... seeing our efforts loaded on pallets and placed in semi-trucks for transporting... this has been going on for years, and will continue... including expanding our efforts and technology as required... I look at these purchases as one hedge against "tomorrow."

GG

Edited February 14, 2020 by Garden Girl

[rodheadlee]

16 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Personally, I'm a meatatarian! 😀

I'm a breadatarian.

[Kenngo1969]

6 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

I’m a humanitarian, myself.

You eat ...

Oh, never mind!