The Beef Advocate
Integrity in Beef.
Defined. Protected.
An independent authority advocating transparency, responsibility and verifiable standards in global steak gastronomy.
Published by Ekkehard Knobelspies
the founder of World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants
PURPOSE
Why The Beef Advocate exists
For decades, fine wine has benefited from respected independent voices and clearly defined standards.
Beef, despite its cultural, agricultural and culinary importance, has not.
In recent years, steak menus around the world have become increasingly shaped by vague claims, inflated breed names and unverified narratives.
Terms such as Chianina, Rubia Gallega or Wagyu are often used without sufficient documentation, traceability or transparency. This has created confusion for guests and undermined the credibility of restaurants and producers who operate with genuine responsibility.
The Beef Advocate exists to change that.
Our role is to stand for integrity in meat, to distinguish substance from storytelling and to provide a credible reference point in an increasingly sensitive and complex field.
THE BEEF ADVOCATE
What we do
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Define the Global Meat Standard - a criteria framework for responsible meat programmes in steak restaurants
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Certify restaurants through evidence-based review
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Maintain credibility through ongoing review and programme integrity standards
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Provide an official Certified Restaurant Toolkit
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Protect integrity in menu language - shifting the focus from labels to proof
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Recognise and showcase certified restaurants as leaders in responsible steak gastronomy
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Strengthen the future language of trust between restaurant, producer and guest
THE GLOBAL MEAT STANDARD
It's not a Marketing Label
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Beef has, in parts, a credibility problem. Too often, beef is storytelling - not substance. This certification makes restaurants prove provenance, welfare, traceability and real responsibility.
“In the future, it will not be marketing - it will be trust between restaurant, producer and guest.
Don Julio is very proud to be the first restaurant in the world to receive this certificate.”
Pablo Rivero
Parrilla Don Julio, Buenos Aires
Current No. 1
of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants
THE CERTIFICATE
Who should apply
The Global Meat Standard Certificate is designed for steak restaurants that treat beef as a craft - and are ready to document origin, welfare and responsibility with clarity.
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Restaurants with a serious beef programme and clear sourcing
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Chefs & Restaurants who want to communicate responsibly - with proof
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Restaurateurs & Industry Leaders who want long-term credibility, not short-term hype
The Beef Advocate was initiated out of concern for the increasing gap between claims and reality in global steak gastronomy.
Integrity, once lost, is difficult to restore.
This initiative exists to protect it.
Ekkehard Knobelspies
Publisher, The Beef Advocate
Founder, World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants
