Beef's more than a way of life in Texas. It drives the economy and brings people together

By DAVID GOLDMAN and SCOTT McFETRIDGE

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Beef was at the heart of Texas long before there was a Texas.

As early as the 1600s, ranchers were raising thousands of cattle in the region, and as they expanded their herds and drew more settlers to the area, they built the foundation of what would become an independent country and then the 28th U.S. state.

Their cattle drives would cement the image of longhorn steers, rugged cowboys and awe-inspiring vistas into the nation’s consciousness as what it means to be a Texan. The state has changed dramatically since then, but that image remains.

A bull is corralled by Stacie Eggleston, on horse, and Shelton Vasquez, right, as he's loaded up into a trailer for a buyer after a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. Texas is home to more cattle than any other state and accounts for about 15% of beef cattle in the nation. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A bull is corralled by Stacie Eggleston, on horse, and Shelton Vasquez, right, as he’s loaded up into a trailer for a buyer after a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The University of Texas Longhorns draw more than 100,000 fans to watch football at their stadium in Austin and cheer as mascot Bevo stomps to a viewing area near the field. Tourists line up in Fort Worth to watch a recreation of a cattle drive down a city street. Teams of students don white coats and compete to identify cuts of beef and judge its quality. Urban cowboys ride mechanical bulls at roadhouses across the state.

And when it comes to food, nothing says Texas like sitting down to a smoked beef brisket. It’s a dish available in nearly any Texas restaurant. Everyone seems to have their favorite spot – be it a four-star restaurant or a humble food truck – where they can enjoy this simple, slow-cooked delicacy with friends.

Cattle graze on grass at Hobbs Magaret's ranch in Lufkin, Texas, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Magaret sells his cattle directly to customers, who typically purchase a whole or half animal. Magaret can get a high price because buyers also are paying for the "relationship" he has with each animal and pay a premium for this unique connection. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Texas rancher Hobbs Magaret steps over a fence while moving his cattle to a different grazing area in Lufkin, Texas, Monday, April 17, 2023. Magaret grew up around cattle in the west Texas panhandle, and he worked on ranches during summers home after he left to attend college. He calls himself a punk rock rancher, and he has adopted the ideas of regenerative ranching and then pushed the theory to an extreme on his 300-acre ranch. Magaret moves his 42 cows three or four times a day, sometimes shifting an electrified fence only 20 feet or so to give the animals access to new grass. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — Texas rancher Hobbs Magaret steps over a fence while moving his cattle to a different grazing area in Lufkin, Texas, Monday, April 17, 2023. Magaret grew up around cattle in the west Texas panhandle, and he worked on ranches during summers home after he left to attend college. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Rancher GC Ellis, right, bows his head in prayer before a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. Ellis built his ranch in 1982 on 450 acres. It's where his children roamed through the pastures, creeks and hardwood forests as the family added land and cattle over the years. It's now grown to 3,000 acres and his daughter, Meredith, now runs the day-to-day operations. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — Rancher GC Ellis, right, bows his head in prayer before a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. Ellis built his ranch in 1982 on 450 acres. It’s where his children roamed through the pastures, creeks and hardwood forests as the family added land and cattle over the years. It’s now grown to 3,000 acres and his daughter, Meredith, now runs the day-to-day operations. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A rancher bids on a bull at a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. The beef industry is the third-largest economic generator in Texas, contributing roughly $12 billion annually to the state's economy and employing thousands of people. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A child plays in the dirt with a toy cattle, horse and tractor carrying a bale of hay during a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. Since the early 1600s, ranchers raising cattle would cement the image of longhorn steers, rugged cowboys and awe-inspiring vistas into the nation's consciousness as what it means to be a Texan. The state has changed dramatically since then, but that image remains today and keeps beef in the forefront of life in Texas. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A child plays in the dirt with a toy cattle, horse and tractor carrying a bale of hay during a cattle auction in Gainesville, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A bull statue stands atop a steakhouse restaurant as a couple walk in for dinner in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. For much of the nation's history, beef has been a staple of Americana, with baying cattle given starring roles in Westerns, Big Macs and Whoppers drawing long lines at drive-up windows and a filet mignon the highlight of a celebratory meal. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A bull statue stands atop a steakhouse restaurant as a couple walk in for dinner in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. For much of the nation’s history, beef has been a staple of Americana, with baying cattle given starring roles in Westerns, Big Macs and Whoppers drawing long lines at drive-up windows and a filet mignon the highlight of a celebratory meal. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A drover moves longhorn steers back to their stable after a cattle drive through the Stockyards National Historic District in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. The twice-daily drives re-enact the much larger drives through Fort Worth, which was the last major stop on the Chisholm Trail in the mid-1800s before the herds headed out on the plains for Kansas and Missouri. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Miguel Vidal shows off his cow tattoo at his restaurant, Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ, in between smoking slabs of ribs and brisket in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Later in the year, the restaurant re-opened in Buda, a suburb south of the capital. Growing up in San Antonio, Vidal said beef was the centerpiece of weekend family gatherings, with his dad, grandfather and uncle at the barbecue pit. It was those meals that he tries to recreate and elevate at his restaurant. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A Texas inspection stamp is visible on a piece of beef hanging in a freezer at a youth meat judging competition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. "Texas is the one when you say beef, that's the one everyone thinks of," says team leader Kevin Eschberger, who coached a group of high school kids through the day's contest. "Cattle is how Texas got through the civil war." (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Team leader Kevin Eschberger, center, huddles his team in prayer next to half cows hanging in a freezer at the conclusion of a youth meat judging competition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. "Anywhere you are I consider church and we should be thankful for what we have and the ones that provide it. God made the beef for us, and we are the stewards," said Eschberger. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — Team leader Kevin Eschberger, center, huddles his team in prayer next to half cows hanging in a freezer at the conclusion of a youth meat judging competition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. “Anywhere you are I consider church and we should be thankful for what we have and the ones that provide it. God made the beef for us, and we are the stewards,” said Eschberger. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A boy wears a cowboy hat while sitting on his father's shoulders as they walk through the Stockyards National Historic District which holds twice daily cattle drives for visitors in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. As early as the 1600s, ranchers were raising thousands of cattle in the region, and as they expanded their herds and drew more settlers to the area, they built the foundation of what would become an independent country and then the 28th U.S. state. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A boy wears a cowboy hat while sitting on his father's shoulders as they walk through the Stockyards National Historic District which holds twice daily cattle drives for visitors in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People watch as longhorn steers are moved through the Stockyards National Historic District as part of world's only twice daily cattle drive, Friday, April 21, 2023, in Forth Worth, Texas. The herd of 17 Texas Longhorns and a team of drovers wearing authentic 19th century clothing drive the cattle through the main business street lined with tourists to honor's the city heritage. Between 1866 and 1890, drovers trailed more than four million head of cattle through Fort Worth. The city soon became known as "Cowtown." (AP Photo/David Goldman) — People watch as longhorn steers are moved through the Stockyards National Historic District as part of world's only twice daily cattle drive, Friday, April 21, 2023, in Forth Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A patron rides a mechanical bull at a bar lining a popular nightlife district in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Since the early 1600s, ranchers raising cattle would cement the image of longhorn steers, rugged cowboys and awe-inspiring vistas into the nation's consciousness as what it means to be a Texan. The state has changed dramatically since then, but that image remains today and keeps beef in the forefront of life in Texas. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A patron rides a mechanical bull at a bar lining a popular nightlife district in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A neon sign advertises ribs at a steakhouse restaurant as pedestrians are reflected walking by Friday, April 21, 2023 in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. The beef industry is the third-largest economic generator in Texas, contributing roughly $12 billion annually to the state's economy and employing thousands of people. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A neon sign advertises ribs at a steakhouse restaurant as pedestrians are reflected walking by Friday, April 21, 2023 in Forth Worth, Texas, Friday, April 21, 2023. The beef industry is the third-largest economic generator in Texas, contributing roughly $12 billion annually to the state’s economy and employing thousands of people. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Miguel Vidal feeds the fire while smoking ribs and brisket in the middle of the night at his restaurant, Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ, early Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Later in the year, the restaurant re-opened in Buda, a suburb south of the capital. "As far back as I can remember, every get together we had was at my grandmother's house and my uncle's house. And it was always around fire, always around either grilling or smoking or barbecues," said Vidal. "So to me, that's how I grew up eating. That's just like what it was. Food brings people together, and it's really important to be able to share that." (AP Photo/David Goldman) — Miguel Vidal feeds the fire while smoking ribs and brisket in the middle of the night at his restaurant, Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, early Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Austin, Texas. “As far back as I can remember, every get together we had was at my grandmother’s house and my uncle’s house. And it was always around fire, always around either grilling or smoking or barbecues,” said Vidal. “So to me, that’s how I grew up eating. That’s just like what it was. Food brings people together, and it’s really important to be able to share that.” (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A selection of beef dishes are presented on a tray at Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Later in the year, the restaurant re-opened in Buda, a suburb south of the capital. Beef was at the heart of Texas long before there was a Texas. As early as the 1600s, ranchers were raising thousands of cattle in the region, and as they expanded their herds and drew more settlers to the area, they built the foundation of what would become an independent country and then the 28th U.S. state. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A selection of beef dishes are presented on a tray at Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Miguel Vidal holds a slab of ribs and brisket while smoking meats in the middle of the night at his restaurant, Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ, in the early hours of Sunday, April 23, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Later in the year, the restaurant re-opened in Buda, a suburb south of the capital. "When you think back in history to the cattle trade moving through Texas, it's what made Texas, what Texas is," Vidal said. "Brisket is king in the barbecue restaurants." (AP Photo/David Goldman) — Miguel Vidal holds a slab of ribs and brisket while smoking meats in the middle of the night at his restaurant, Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ, in the early hours of Sunday, April 23, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A customer walks up to place an order at Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ restaurant in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Later in the year, the restaurant re-opened in Buda, a suburb south of the capital. Texas is home to more cattle than any other state and accounts for about 15% of beef cattle in the nation. (AP Photo/David Goldman) — A customer walks up to place an order at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ restaurant in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Texas is home to more cattle than any other state and accounts for about 15% of beef cattle in the nation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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EDITORS’ NOTE — This story is part of The Protein Problem, an AP series that examines the question: Can we feed this growing world without starving the planet? To see the full project, visit https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/the-protein-problem/index.html

AP PHOTOS: Beef’s more than a way of life in Texas. It drives the economy and brings people together

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