As a South Australian butcher, I’m working in an ever-shrinking industry where we’re constantly facing challenges.

Whether it’s battling competition from supermarkets buying in bulk, the latest diet trends, people shopping conveniently rather than locally or questioning the sustainability of eating meat, we need to stay relevant to maintain our place in our community.

Earlier this year I had a conversation with CH4 Global, which grows Asparagopsis seaweed on Eyre Peninsula and in New Zealand. It’s native to our waters, and it also happens to be nature’s solution to cutting methane emissions.

Once formulated into Methane Tamer, farmers are feeding it to cattle, and it’s cutting the methane emissions from their burps by up to 90 per cent.

As butchers, we love cows, and we love not just selling but eating their beef.

We started a conversation with CH4 Global about whether we could sell the beef produced from cattle fed Methane Tamer – which is effectively sustainable steak. We appreciated that the Asparagopsis had been grown locally and was being fed to cows here and interstate.

Having a local partnership was also exciting. We would be working with a company which thinks globally but wants to create a local ecosystem supporting jobs, improve environmental outcomes and create connections, from butchers to supermarkets and restaurants.

From the moment we began selling wagyu fed Methane Tamer for 400 days, we’ve been overwhelmed by a positive public keen to know more and to try what we know is the first environmentally-friendly beef.

Our website traffic increased astronomically, our foot traffic from new and existing clients grew and we’ve been able to have conversations with our customers about why we’re selling wagyu that has been methane-tamed.

People are coming back multiple times to buy more CH4 Global beef, and they’ve said it’s because we’re giving them a sustainable choice.

Climate change can be a difficult beast to tame as a butcher, and over the years we’ve adapted to compostable and more environmentally-friendly packaging, which benefits our business and our customers. They’re seeing the opportunity to buy better beef as a positive.

Being able to sell a new product is good for our industry as well. Other butchers want to know if it’s selling (yes it is, and well!), whether it tastes any different (it doesn’t, and we can guarantee the wagyu is amazing), and whether it’s worth paying a small premium to be able to make a difference (our consumers think so).

We all need to diversify to stay relevant, and we’re changing while making a difference for the climate.

We don’t just want to be an average butcher struggling to survive, we want to be an advocate for better beef and to take a step in a new direction within our industry.

We’ve had some difficult conversations too – we’ve faced criticism from vegetarians, from people who think the taste or texture might be different, or those afraid to try something new. Some people have chosen to eat grass-fed beef and they’ve questioned cows being fed Methane Tamer in a grain-fed diet. Seaweed is a native and natural plant and people have been eating it for thousands of years, it isn’t much different to grass in a paddock.

Every question has helped open my eyes as to why we’re on this journey with CH4 Global, and how we can help educate the public about the benefits. We’ve learnt a bit about science along the way too.

More than anything, our customers are excited about being able to buy methane-tamed beef at their local butcher’s, they’re appreciative of being able to buy a sustainable meat, and they’re glad the industry is now giving them a choice.

Yes, wagyu can be a bit expensive for some people, but having this option has allowed us to engage with our customers and share some tips on the best ways to eat and share a nice fillet.

When Angus beef arrives in October, we’re looking forward to reaching an even greater clientele, ensuring more people can enjoy beef which has benefitted from eating Methane Tamer. They’ll be able to swap their standard sirloin for a methane-tamed steak and feel good about it.

We’ve also loved seeing chefs pop in to pick up some beef to try, and we can’t wait to see it roll out to some local supermarkets and into restaurants in the coming weeks. We’re at the start of a great climate changing journey, and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead.