Ranchers prosper by ignoring factory-farm model

But Steve Elzer is glad to know what goes into the wieners he buys from a new hot dog stand near his office--100 percent grass-fed beef raised in California's Central Coast.

"I love the feel, the taste, the pedigree that this meat is free-range," the 46-year-old movie publicist said between bites at the chrome and ketchup-red Let's Be Frank stand.

The fledgeling chain of hot dog stands--two more operate in San Francisco--is among a small but thriving segment of the fast-food world offering grass-fed and other naturally raised meats to the masses.

Others include Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., which operates more than 730 eateries in over 30 states, and Burgerville, which has 39 restaurants in Washington and Oregon.

Those eateries and others are providing a new market for beef and pig ranchers around the country who eschew the widespread factory-farm model and instead raise animals the old-fashioned way in pastures and outdoor pens.

"They're a big part of our business," said Brian Kenny, a manager at Hearst Ranch in San Simeon, Calif., where Let's Be Frank buys beef. "We've been growing with them."

It's difficult to put a price tag on the market for naturally raised meat, since it's produced on thousands of small ranches across the country, said Jo Robinson, who runs the Eatwild.com Web site.

But Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Chicago-based food industry consultancy Technomic Inc., said the market for fast food prepared with such meat is bound to keep expanding, as consumers grow increasingly disenchanted with the industrial model of meat production.

A recent study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that intensive industrial livestock production has yielded antibiotic-resistant bacteria, degraded the environment and devastated rural communities by replacing farm and ranch jobs with poorly paying feedlot positions.