I stopped by a meat shop that raises grass fed beef on organic pastures. (Thundering Hooves, in Walla Walla WA.) I’m anxious to grill up some steaks tonight and see if I can tell the difference.
As I’ve mentioned on a few other threads, I’m currently reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and I just finished the part about industrial raised beef being forced to eat grain (corn) which really is against their natural instincts.
Does anyone out there strictly stick to local/organic meat and other food stuff? I try to buy as much organic in the grocery store that I can, but this will be my first foray into the local meat market so to speak…
I’ll let you know if the steaks are yummy… I hope so because I’m starving right now.
Two NY strips were just over a pound so about $10. This seems reasonable to me as I try to equate food costs to “how much would I pay for this in a restaurant?” So I can justify almost any grocery/specialty store purchase.
Plus it’s hormone and antibiotic free. That is certainly worth a lot to me.
BF still isn’t home yet… I can’t wait to try my new meat!
the pot roast was 3.99/lb
hickory smoked bacon 5.59/lb &
ribeye steak 11.99/lb (special occasion meat??)
I kind of stocked up because I wanted to try some different cuts. I may branch out to lamb chops next time. I’ve never made lamb, but just discovered I like chops.
That’s not bad. Organic beef and chicken at Wild Oats is the same price if not cheaper than the regular grocery store out here. I think it tastes way better.
We seek to follow natural laws governing the relationships between grazing animals and the grassland. Just as great herds of bison and flocks of birds moved with the availability of fresh grass and insects on the prairie, our management practices follow this age-old pattern. Nature’s strength also comes through diversity. Our livestock are moved across pastures in a high-intensity, short duration grazing schedule always on the greenest pastures. Allowing the pastures time to rest, re-grow and recycle nutrients naturally.
100% Pasture Finished
Thundering Hooves cattle, lambs and goats are “finished” (fattened) to a desired size and weight completely on certified organic pastures of grass and alfalfa. They receive no grain and spend no time in feedlots or confinement facilities.
No Antibiotics
We do not administer indiscriminate antibiotics. We believe “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” By providing a natural healthy diet, a low stress environment with plenty of room to roam and get adequate exercise, and allowing the animals to choose when and how much to eat leads to contented dispositions, greater disease resistance and healthier animals.
No Hormones
We do not use any artificial growth hormones. Some animals will gain weight more quickly than others. Although we strive for consistency in our meat products, individual variations in growth and muscle will naturally occur. As nature takes the lead, we are willing to live with the trade off of forced growth through hormones and forced feeding schedules for authentic, natural occurring growth.
This grass fed beef thing paints a pretty picture but I wonder how different they really are to the others. I’ve read articles about these companies that find a niche market by selling the green theme; in reality some of them are no different than their competitors.
Mmmm…my BF always buys North Shore Cattle Co steaks which are grass fed. I think they are soooo much better.
He started buying them after reading Omnivore’s Delimna…great book BTW.
I’ve always done as much locally produced organic as possible, it’s difficult in Hawaii to get a wide variety of produce, but it’s led me to plant a garden where I get some great tomatoes and peppers. Since he’s read the book he’s trying to do the same.
We’ve noticed a lot of marketting tricks though…eggs that are labeled, packaged in Hawaii and things like that. And unfortunately it’s hard to get organic milk (locally produced) in hawaii…so we drink regular milk that’s from hawaii.
… and free range herds do irreplaceable damage to the landscape. Eastern idaho has been nothing but sagebrush and rattlesnakes since massive sheep herds grazed the ground in the late 1800s. Once the livestock eat all the greenery, the noxious weeds have free reign.
Please don’t assume that you’re doing good just because you’re eating something marketed by corporate America as “green”
… and free range herds do irreplaceable damage to the landscape. Eastern idaho has been nothing but sagebrush and rattlesnakes since massive sheep herds grazed the ground in the late 1800s. Once the livestock eat all the grenery, the noxious weeds have free reign.
Sounds more like a problem related to poor herd & land management than the practice of free-range feeding itself. Grazing when managed properly is healthier for land than when no grazing occurs at all, and overgrazing can have disasterous results.
**Please don’t assume that you’re doing good just because you’re eating something marketed by corporate America as “green” **
Very true. There’s much more involved than looking for the “certified organic” labels. They’re fairly easy to obtain & mean very little in terms of environmental impact or ethical production methods.
… and free range herds do irreplaceable damage to the landscape. Eastern idaho has been nothing but sagebrush and rattlesnakes since massive sheep herds grazed the ground in the late 1800s. Once the livestock eat all the grenery, the noxious weeds have free reign.
Sounds more like a problem related to poor herd & land management than the practice of free-range feeding itself. Grazing when managed properly is healthier for land than when no grazing occurs at all, and overgrazing can have disasterous results.
**Please don’t assume that you’re doing good just because you’re eating something marketed by corporate America as “green” **
Very true. There’s much more involved than looking for the “certified organic” labels. They’re fairly easy to obtain & mean very little in terms of environmental impact or ethical production methods.
I think that’s one of the big lessons in the Omnivore’s Delimma.
…raised beef being forced to eat grain (corn) which really is against their natural instincts.
Please tell me they worded it differently than that. “Forced to eat” and “Against their natural instincts”? Cows LOVE grain as do most other farm animals. I’d go along with that it’s not part of their “normal diet” but put grain in front of a cow and you won’t have to “Force” them to eat anymore than you’d have to force a kid to eat candy.
I think what she means is that they are provided a diet of corn for fattening (or “finishing”) and have no option to graze when placed in feedlots. Of course they’ll eat what they’re given when they’re hungry, and probably develop a taste for it as well. But by virtue of being ruminants, their natural instinct is to eat grass and clover, not shuck a corncob.
Of course they’ll eat what they’re given when they’re hungry, and probably develop a taste for it as well.
Given a choice they will choose grain over grass, like a kid will choose candy over broccoli.
But by virtue of being ruminants, their natural instinct is to eat grass and clover, not shuck a corncob.
Although I can’t remember ever letting the cows loose in the corn field, we did feed them silage, pretty much the entire stalk of corn chopped up. IOW, I’m guessing if you let cows loose in a grassy corn field, they’d eat the corn before the grass, could be wrong though.
exactly as sphere stated it. Industrial cows start out on ranches and are finished at feed lots where the only option is corn based feed.
The steaks were good, although I overcooked them a bit. The definintely had a different taste in a good way. Dinner was steaks with mushrooms sauted in garlic and red wine, steamed broccoli, baked yams and a 2002 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Shiraz. YUM!
Nature Knows Best