grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Ok - so I've always been obsessed with eating healthy - and now that I TRULY KNOW what that is, thanks to atkins, I'm starting to really want to eat the right kinds of meat as well.

Obviously - just like most of the general public, I've never known how AWFUL store bought dairy, beef & pork really is for you.

Like most people, too - I usually buy our weekly groceries from wally world (walmart) & kroger on a budget.

Luckily, though, here in Indy we have TWO trader joes (which I go to frequently for small things), a Whole Foods & a Fresh Market. I'm also, however, really looking around to find "the little guys" since Indiana is a FARMING state and I'd much rather help out the little guy than those danged big box stores...

I am going to try and start buying ONLY grass fed beef, dairy, pork, and other healthier items and NOT buy them at wally world. luckily - the Fresh Market we have here is literally a few blocks from me. They sell only grass fed beef and get some of theirs from the "Traders Point Creamery" just north of Indy - which I've researched and alllll their cattle is ONLY 100% fed grass. Absolutely NO grains - NO corn - NO antibiotics. NOTHING.

I also know that at Whole Foods - while it is a little more expensive - i can get uncured - no sugar - no antibiotics - bacon & sausage.

I also bought a bottle of Whole Milk from Traders Point creamery which, while it still has to be pasteurized, due to state laws, it does NOT go through homoginization and it keeps ALL of the vitamins & enzymes that commercial milk loses as well as CLA's (conjugated linoleic acid - which is, from what i've read, supposed to help weight management AND insulin resistance! I'll just have to be careful to limit to only 3/4 cup a day as it DOES still have lactose, just not the ADDED sugars that commercial does). I would like to eventually switch to raw milk, as there's a farmers market that does "cow-sharing" where basically I pay a one-time deposit to the farmer that comes by and then every week 1 gallon of RAW MILK (literally straight from the udders, NOTHING is done to it...) is about $7 / gallon - and it doesn't COMPARE to commercially pasteurized/stripped down junk you buy at the store.

Anyways though...I'm just wondering if anyone else consciously does this for their family when possible. I know it takes more time and effort - especially when I will still buy the bulk of our weekly "groceries" from wally world - it means I'll have to go to a few different stores as well...(very lucky for me they're all in 'mid town' which is where i live).

But the more and more I think about it...I don't eat corn or grains or soy or anything like that - so why do I want to eat BEEF that comes from a cow fed all that junk? Or chickens that eat that junk and are PUMPED with hormones and antibiotics and all that kind of stuff?

My husband really doesn't care as long as there's food on the table - but I told him, "I'll make you healthy if it kills me!" lol.
But I know, too, I want to start buying this for my 'family' NOW before we HAVE a family so that by then - it'll be second nature.

I'm just curious though if anyone else out there tries to exclusively buy grass-fed food for their family?...

btw, as far as fruit/vegees go...I also try to buy those from the fresh market as well, which is normally organic...but i'm not as concerned with those as I am my meat.

[chillispice]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

you might be interested in this link:

Organic food and nutrition | Consumer guide | Soil Association

I try to stick to organic food if I can - it tastes better and it is better for you. It can be expensive, but I'd rather eat less and buy better food.

[not2late]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I would love to participate in a cow share program....unfortunately, it's illegal in my state (seriously, there's a law devoted to cow share programs.)

That said, I try to buy organic as much as possible. For example, I buy eggs from a local farmer whenever possible (the supply depends on those hens and sometimes they don't produce enough for them to sell.)

Some people say that grass fed beef tastes "different". Other people say it only tastes different because we're used to corn fed beef. I really can't tell.

I can tell you that I can taste the difference between goat cheese made with spring time milk as opposed to goat cheese made with winter milk. The spring goat cheese has herby and floral undertones, while the winter goat cheese doesn't.

[LageNomAi]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I got interested in organic food after my first child was born because it occurred to me that I should care a great deal about what was going in her mouth. When my second child was born and had some health issues, healthy food became paramount.

Unfortunately in my area, organic can be very expensive, often more than double the price, so I try to stick to the biggies for the kids: meat, dairy, and most fruits. Dairy and fruit are the two biggest components of their diet (we're in the typical toddler "I refuse to eat any veggies" stage), so I figure the bulk of what they eat is healthier.

As for my husband and I, we always prefer organic, but sometimes must limit organic purchases when they are cost-prohibitive. There is no question in my mind that organic food tastes better. Tomatoes are the clearest-cut example of that - the difference between the taste of an organically-grown and conventionally-grown is vast. And yes, I do try to buy grass-fed beef, but again, I must take cost into consideration. I'm always on the look-out for bargains!

[LageNomAi]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I would love to participate in a cow share program....unfortunately, it's illegal in my state (seriously, there's a law devoted to cow share programs.)

Do you happen to know the rationale for this law? Just curious... I'm an attorney so I tend to be interested in such things.

[Slapshot]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

keriann - You might be interested in this book: Amazon.com: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals: Michael Pollan: Books

I'm halfway through it now and it's very fascinating. It talks about how corn is in everything, and I'm at the grassfed vs. cornfed part now.

[Slapshot]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

Do you happen to know the rationale for this law? Just curious... I'm an attorney so I tend to be interested in such things.

I don't know for sure, but my SWAG* is that it's health related.


* SWAG = sophisticated wild-as* guess

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

keriann - You might be interested in this book: Amazon.com: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals: Michael Pollan: Books

I'm halfway through it now and it's very fascinating. It talks about how corn is in everything, and I'm at the grassfed vs. cornfed part now.

hey thanks for the book suggestion - I think i'll definitely look into that book - it's a book that Jimmy Moore talks about allll the time (i'm HOOKED on his podcasts!)

[LageNomAi]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I don't know for sure, but my SWAG* is that it's health related.


* SWAG = sophisticated wild-as* guess

I would hope it would be, since that would be the most logical reason, but if there is anything I've learned in researching such things, it's that oftentimes such laws serve a particular group's agenda, rather than the needs of the public at large, as I'm sure you know. I hate to say this, but I've come to expect the former.

BTW, I second the recommedation for The Omnivore's Dilemma. Excellent, fascinating book. Another good one is Fast Food Nation, which will make you want to avoid fast food forever (helpful if you are doing Atkins! ). Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is another good one. It talks about eating locally for a year. I found it to be unrealistic for most people, but the information about food is fascinating.

Happy reading!

[Slapshot]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I would hope it would be, since that would be the most logical reason, but if there is anything I've learned in researching such things, it's that oftentimes such laws serve a particular group's agenda, rather than the needs of the public at large, as I'm sure you know. I hate to say this, but I've come to expect the former.

Very true. ...

[Maggiemuggs]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

The reason the law was put in place is because they don't want people drinking unpasteurized milk. My father contracted TB during the war from drinking unpasteurized milk. It is highly contagious and can be deadly, especially when contracted by the elderly and the young. Here in Ontario, Canada there is a case in the courts with "cow sharing" as it is a way to get around the fact that they are selling unpasteurized milk. People are arguing that if they own a percentage of the cow, they are just taking what is theirs. Here is Canada, we have much stricter laws regarding what you can and cannot put in your body. For example, L-Carnitine is only available by a Dr.'s prescription, and a lot of the drugs the FDA approves, are approved here sometime 5-10 years later as our government wants to see the long term effect these have on people.

[LageNomAi]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

The reason the law was put in place is because they don't want people drinking unpasteurized milk. My father contracted TB during the war from drinking unpasteurized milk. It is highly contagious and can be deadly, especially when contracted by the elderly and the young. Here in Ontario, Canada there is a case in the courts with "cow sharing" as it is a way to get around the fact that they are selling unpasteurized milk. People are arguing that if they own a percentage of the cow, they are just taking what is theirs. Here is Canada, we have much stricter laws regarding what you can and cannot put in your body. For example, L-Carnitine is only available by a Dr.'s prescription, and a lot of the drugs the FDA approves, are approved here sometime 5-10 years later as our government wants to see the long term effect these have on people.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. As I mentioned above, my interest in healthier eating was triggered when I had children. Among other things, I started studying up on the FDA and I wasn't pleased with what I learned. I'm not one to wear a tinfoil hat, but I do not take what the FDA says as gospel by any measure.

[Maggiemuggs]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I totally agree. I was a nurse and when I was working we would always hear about these new "wonder drugs" and medications that were new to the market that the FDA was just throwing out there and being in the medical field I wondered why these medications weren't being tested longer. You may know the immediate effects, but not the long term. I don't know if anyone has this available to them, but in the city I live in we have local farmers markets where there is locally raised meat which is organic, you know what is being put into the meat, and not i.e antibiotics etc. and you are helping the environment out a little by doing the 100 mile rule. It also helps keep an industry alive that is slowly dying out and going to the mass producers. I was lucky and grew up on a farm where we didn't use pesticides, and grew our own food and meat. It makes you wonder why there are so many different illnesses out there that didn't exist 20-30 years ago, like autism. I don't fully buy the immunization theory that is out there as every person I know was immunized and the rates were lower then. I think it has to be a combination of many things, like the pesticides and herbicides on our vegetables and in the foods that are being fed to the animals that we are eating.

[LageNomAi]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I think we are on the same page with all of this.

When I was pregnant with my second, I just knew it was a boy (mommy's intuition!) and I was quite nervous about autism, given the higher rates for boys. As a result, I did a great deal of reading about autism and I absolutely believe that environmental factors, including pesticides, play a role in this and many other health-related issues.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: grass fed beef, dairy & pork...

I totally agree. I was a nurse and when I was working we would always hear about these new "wonder drugs" and medications that were new to the market that the FDA was just throwing out there and being in the medical field I wondered why these medications weren't being tested longer. You may know the immediate effects, but not the long term. I don't know if anyone has this available to them, but in the city I live in we have local farmers markets where there is locally raised meat which is organic, you know what is being put into the meat, and not i.e antibiotics etc. and you are helping the environment out a little by doing the 100 mile rule. It also helps keep an industry alive that is slowly dying out and going to the mass producers. I was lucky and grew up on a farm where we didn't use pesticides, and grew our own food and meat. It makes you wonder why there are so many different illnesses out there that didn't exist 20-30 years ago, like autism. I don't fully buy the immunization theory that is out there as every person I know was immunized and the rates were lower then. I think it has to be a combination of many things, like the pesticides and herbicides on our vegetables and in the foods that are being fed to the animals that we are eating.

I actually work for the pharmaceutical industry and don't get me wrong, i LOVE LOVE LOVE my job...but I'll be the first to say that this country is overmedicated and the drugs that go into our cattle, chicken, etc!?
but hey - what can you do other than try your best...

also - to the recommendation of Fast Food Nation - I LOVED that book - read it a long time ago - but in all truth it turned me pretty much into a vegetarian!!! it actually scared me to eat meat in general - and for about a year I didn't TOUCH red meat.

Course I've learned better now...but just as far as the stuff that DOES go on behind the scenes is terrifying...sometimes "ignorance is bliss".