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BANG FOR THE BITE
There's no magic bullet, but if you eat meat, careful label-reading will lead you to more sustainable meat - and the more we go with eco-meat, the better the chance that producers will change their ways.
COCKTAIL FACT
The world's first vegan strip club, Casa Diablo, opened in Portland, OR, in Feb.
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home › tip library › Organic Meat
Did the recent meat recalls set off a veggie alarm in your brain?
The Bite
We all know how great vegetarianism is for the planet. But if you're not ready to take the veggie plunge, at least try getting your meat from a less-alarming source (not always easy - but there are some things to watch for).The Benefits
- Letting animal rights activists sleep more soundly. Free-range animals, for example, are allowed to spend time outdoors and have more space than those at conventional factory farms.
- Waking up to energy savings. According to a Cornell University study, organic farming uses 30% less energy than factory farms for the same yields.
- Healthier, bright-eyed Biters. Organic animals are raised without antibiotics or artificial hormones, and aren't genetically modified (GM) or given GM feed.
Personally Speaking
Since Jen became vegetarian at 11, she's been trying to get her fam to buy sustainable meat (they just weren't gonna give up their burgers). It took one viewing of the Meatrix to make Mom see the light, and now they've got an organic-beef-only house.Wanna Try?
Typical minimum requirements for eco-meat labels:- "Organic" - animals get access to the outdoors (cows, sheep, and goats get pasture time), bedding materials, and aren't injected with hormones or antibiotics.
- "Cage-free" Poultry - birds aren't kept in cages.
- "Free-range" - animals are given access to the outdoors.
- "Pasture-raised"/"grass-fed" - animals get access to the outdoors and can graze.
- "Humanely raised" - animals get exercise and their cages are big enough for them to move in.
- "Hormone-free" - cows aren't injected with any hormones (using hormones on chickens and pigs is already against the law).
- Shop Around - for organic and free-range meat.
- Just Ask - your butcher where the meat you're buying came from.
- Eat Well Guide - find local, sustainable meat using this directory.
Mar 05,2008
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Salad Days
My transition to mostly vegetarian ways (and I'm not 100% there yet) has been very gradual. I raised sheep for 4-H (um, in my salad days), so it's not like I ever thought that animals magically turned into food, but I also raised my animals on a big, beautiful farm in MT, where they had acres to roam, veterinary care, and natural food.
But most animals raised for meat don't live like that, I've learned over the years, and alas, even if the package reads free-range or hormone-free, there's no way to really know how an animal was treated during its life unless you raise it yourself. And go figure, I can't raise animals in downtown SF.
Would love it if y'all shared some stories about your own meat-eating habits and/or transition to vegetarianism in today's blog!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to eat a salad...
Biter Comments...
My vote is for Max; mainly for letting it all hang out!
An important source of organic, antibiotic free, and pasture raised meats was overlooked - local farmers. Many small, local farmers (albeit not all) are committed to providing humane treatment and know the animals. Since they work more closely with animals than found at factories, they usually can spot problems and unlikely to sell unhealthy meats.
A good source for finding local meats in your area is www.localharvest.org.
One way to get organic, free range, cage free, pasture raised, hormone free meats is to spend some time with mother nature and go hunting.
With the meat I get from a local farmer friend and what I provide for my self I have not bought meat from a store in years.
I recently switched from a meat-eater to a vegetarian after watching a most disturbing documentary on a local public television station here in the Twin Cities. I was absolutely horrified by what i saw!
I gently try to encourage my family and friends to forgo meat, or, if nothing else, eat less of it.
Since forgoing meat, i have a ton more energy, feel better, and look better!
I would suggest anyone give it a try! They won't be disappointed!
I was sorry to see you perpetuating the myth of "humane meat". The term "humane" if it has any meaning refers only to how the animals are raised, and not at all to how they are bred or slaughtered. Even "free-range" egg-laying hens are bought from the same hatcheries that kill all day-old male chicks by gassing, suffocating or grinding them up. And since,by law, all animals must be slaughtered at USDA approved slaughterhouses (such as the one involved in the recall), the animals are transported to slaughter often thousands of miles in extreme heat, cold, severely overcrowded conditions and without adequate food or water. The conditions are so horrendous that the transport is often fatal for large numbers of animals. For those animals, most of whom are only months-old, that make it to the slaughterhouse alive it is the same brutal, mechanized death as for any factory-farmed animal.
Amen to Ann Parkin!
I highly suggest anyone in doubt of the nature of their treatment go to the Humane Society of the United States' website and view their undercover footage taken in slaughterhouses. (www.hsus.org)
It's the most horrible scene you could ever lay eyes upon, and imagine for just one moment that you were one of those animals in the video. Look in their eyes and see their fear.
It will change your thinking....
Free range is not as euphoric as it sounds. I was vegetarian but still ate eggs and dairy until I found out that the animals are still mistreated. I've since gone vegan. The only requirement to be considered free range is that the animals have access to the outdoors. There are no restrictions on the size of the flock and the animals are subjected to some truly horrific treatment. There's a good summary of free range poultry here: http://www.upc-online.org/freerange.html
I have been slow to give up meat completely, but I'm down to one meal a week. I can't give up the weekend Bar-B-Q. However I do buy only organically produced meat mainly from the farm coop "Organic Valley".
http://www.organicvalley.coop/
Hunting?!?! SHAME on you, Scott! Hunting is nothing but legalized MURDER! The ONLY way animals should be shot is with a CAMERA!
As for all these organic, all-natural, free-range whatever pet foods available these days, to me, they're nothing but silliness designed to make tons of moolah for the pet food makers. Pet foods, although made to be eaten by our companion animals, are marketed to their human owners, since our pets can't shop for themselves. So, the pet food manufacturers make their products to be more like people food, and, since more people these days are buying more organic, all-natural, free-range, etc., foods for themselves, they think that's what their pets should have, too, but the nutritional needs of dogs and cats are far different from those of humans. Dogs and cats have been doing just fine for decades on the old-fashioned commercial pet foods. They don't need all that new-fangled organic, all-natural stuff.
In response to Linda:
Contrary to what you may think, the 'supermarket' brands are NOT nearly as high quality as you'd think. I'm a trained vet tech, and we took classes on just pet food, and being able to decipher what is in it. Have you ever taken a look at the ingredient list on one of those bags? It reads like chemistry book.
I implore you to do some serious research on this subject.
I suggest you pick a high-quality brand of pet food, such as Blue Buffalo and try it for just 30 days. You'll see amazing changes in your pet. Their coats and eyes will be shinier, amongst other things.
And, because we're addressing the meat issue today, unfortunately, our companion animals are indeed carnivores (cats more so than dogs), and need a certain amount of protein to remain healthy.
In response to your posting on "humane meat," most animals raised under the "free range" label DO NOT have assess to the outside. The only requirement by law to call a product "free range" is that the animal is not in a cage. Most "free range" production, especially with chickens, consists of huge windowless warehouses with thousands of animals crowded on the floor with no access to the outside. Because of the overcrowding, most are still painfully debeaked.
Just because an animal product has a feel good label, doesn't mean that the animals didn't suffer. Most still do in supposedly "humane" produciton.
Because everyone is not going to become vegetarian, and because there are so many of us there will be relatively large scale animal "production" for a long time, this issue will around a while.
We have also raised our own meat here on our farm and another aspect of organic, truly free range meats is they taste a whole lot better.
However, I want to call attention to a whole other reason organic farming is the way to go - antibiotic resistant microbes/diseases.
Please read this article from the recent Discover Magazine:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/14-dna-pollution-may-be-spawning-killer-microbes
Anyone who is interested in exploring the benefits and issues related to a plant-based diet should check out the very engaging and highly informative podcast "Food for Thought" http://www.compassionatecooks.com/podcast.htm
I was really stunned to see this in my inbox. I have been a vegetarian (pescatarian, technically) for my whole life, with the exception of the time the rest of my family switched back to white meats, and I ate chicken for a brief period, before realizing that, really, it didn't taste good, and I was eating innocent, living creatures! I am in the process of becoming (truly) vegetarian, and then vegan - I wholeheartedly agree with going vegan to reduce suffering, or with getting TRULY free-range eggs and dairy from a farm you know treats its animals well.
That being said, I agree with what many people have already said. Most "free-range" labeled products are simply that: free-range labeled. That does not mean that the animals ever get true grazing time, or that they are ever even let outside. They are still in overcrowded (if slightly larger than traditional) pens and cages, and still in the same horrible conditions as their not-"free-range" counterparts. As for organic- that can be even worse for your health. In order to be able to claim their products as organic, farms will deny the animals veterinary treatment. You're getting your food from animals that spend all day in their own filth with no antibiotics to keep them from getting sick or infected!
I am all for truly free-range and organic eggs and dairy, but don't be deceived by 'feel-good' labels. Do your research before supporting a company that makes those claims.
I am a vegitarian and I am trying to stop eating eggs and dairy, but it's so hard!!!! Everytime I commit to it, there's always a glitch. This week the Girl Scout cookies that I ordered (& forgot about) months ago finally arrived. What was I supposed to do? Let them go to waste? :)
If you don't have enough compelling reasons to eat less or no meat and, if you do eat meat, to eat only organic fed or grass fed animals...here's another important one! The US has finally recognized the difference between unsaturated and saturated fats. But, it is now coming into the mainstream that there are differences in the unsaturated fats (the "good" fats.) These are the family of Omegas 3, 6 & 9. People who eat a "Western" diet have far too many 6's relative to 3's in their diet. One reason is that the animals they eat from feed lots are eating corn, which has a high ratio of 6's to 3's. (There's other reasons, too). So, if you eat grass fed meat and/or you eat a greater percentage of plant-based food to animal-based food, you will get more Omega 3 fats. Read a good book, "The Queen of Fats," by Susan Allport, to learn more about the importance of Omega 3 fats and the correct balance of the families of fats.
[I do not know the author nor do I benefit from the sale of this book!]
I think the important thing to recognize is that the general public is crying out for humane treatment of animals. Whether that is happening or not has to do with regulations and labeling practices. But people want to believe that the food they eat is healthy and animal protective. we are seeing many "green labeled" items in supermarkets and stores that never carried these things in the past. If you cannot bear to give up animal products (and after being put on a gluten free diet and already not eating anything that has more legs than i do, i am not ready to make that transition) then write to your congress people. ask for better laws concerning food labeling. do what you can to educate and create transparency in the food industry. It is all good and well to go vegan- but for many it is not always feasible or even healthy. we are omnivores after all. (go look in a mirror and smile. see all those sharp meat tearing teeth we were given.) The only way we will be able to help animals is to call for political action, and then back it up with our consumer choices. because even if you are doing eveything you can personally, it doesnt help most of the people in the world, who probably arent as passionate about this subject but would still like to buy nice, make good decisions also.
All the kitties are cute. But I'll vote for Snack, as I too use an old photo in my online profile.
Watch "Meet Your Meat", narrated by Alec Baldwin.
BTW: TRUE environmentalists don't eat animals and their byproducts.
I agree with the person who mentioned getting meat directly from local farmers. I don't eat a lot of meat, but when I do it's always from a farmer/farm that I know personally/have visited. Pasturing animals (cows, chickens, hogs) can be a truly amazing process...did anyone read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan? In the second part of the book he discusses the synergy that takes place when chickens are grazed after cows on pasture. A reliable website for pastured meats and poultry is eatwild.com. Also, locally raised meats purchased in the state where they are raised do not have to be USDA certified so they don't have to travel far to be processed. I believe that eating meat is something I was meant to do sometimes, but I wouldn't press that opinion on anyone. The most important thing is that wherever you get your food, whether is be vegetables, meats, grains, etc. that it be from a sustainable, clean, hopefully local, hopefully organic source.
CUTEST CAT CONTEST
I would have to vote for Pierrot; he/she has that certain "je ne sais quois" demure-yet-aloofness about them. I would put in an honourable mention for Hendrix -- I thought it was a skunk at first - crrraaaaazy colouring!!! And no, I will not be taken in by Heather's submission (cheater! cheater!) and Tigger is quite cute; I have one, also (a "Tigger"). So, Pierrot it is!! K
Sorry, Amanda, but I've never even HEARD of the "Blue Buffalo" brand of dog food, and I've certainly never seen it sold anywhere. As for one brand of food making an animal's coat and eyes "shinier," etc., than another brand, most, if not all, of the "premium" brands make those claims. It's all just nothing but sales talk. As long as a dog food (I can't speak for cat food because I don't have a cat) is A.A.F.C.O. approved, it has all the nutrients necessary. Anything beyond that is just more expensive, not necessarily more nutritious. (i.e., "Life's better on IAMS." No, it's not. It's just more expensive on IAMS.)
My vote is Snack first, Ella 2nd.
I would also reccommend, if possible, buying from local farmers. I grew up on a hog farm and spent many years watching/helping my dad take care of the pigs. More often than not, he took better care of them than he did himself. Finding a local butcher shop who deals directly with farmers is also a good idea.
As far as eggs go, I buy mine from a little farm lady who raises chickens because she likes to. They aren't caged and have free rein of the property.
In response to Linda:
The beauty of all this banter is that in the end, we all have the right to decide for ourselves what we consider to be "worth the investment". I prize my fur-children with the utmost regard and therefore, am more than willing to spend a little more money for what i perceive to be 'worth it'. If you do not agree, you're welcome to your opinion, and are welcome to act on the opinion you hold. I choose to spend my money on those things i consider to be important, and whether or not anyone agrees with my view is quite irrelevant to me, although i'm always willing to listen to an opposing viewpoint such as yours.
Cutest Kitten? Why, Tigger of course!!! His color is wonderful.
A while back, I started drinking hormone free milk and eating hormone free meat (although, I have never really been a huge meat eater, which is quite extroadinary because I'm from Nebraska). However, after watching the meatrix videos, and learning a little bit more about meat processing and etc., I am contemplating becoming vegitarian. We really don't know what happens to our food before it hits our plate (unless, of course, you raise it yourself). I guess i'm off to do some more research of the benefits of becoming a vegitarian...
Regarding the March 5th tip about organic meat…
Um, I’m sorry, but I’m awfully sick of hearing and reading about how to make the world greener by eating organic and “ethically raised” meat. It’s nonsense on so many levels, and it seems that promoting and buying this type of meat is only a PC way of appeasing meat-eaters’ consciences. If you want to see some green progress and really feel like a decent human being when you sit down to a meal, GIVE UP YOUR ANIMAL PRODUCT-CONSUMING WAYS!
Environmentally speaking, supporting the animal product industry is worse than driving the biggest Hummer on the market. As I’m sure so many of you know, the greenhouse gas contribution from the methane that animals produce is WAY higher than that contribution of automobile emissions. So, congratulations if you drive a Hybrid. But if you’re driving it to your local farmers market to pick up some organic steaks, I’d suggest you take a long and hard look at your REAL carbon footprint. Walk the truly green walk.
And as far as ethics go, let’s say the year is 1939. Someone tells you, “Hey, you know all those people the Nazis have taken from their homes and families? Well yes, they are being held against their will. BUT! They really lead a fantastic lives. They get to walk around outside a few times a day and they eat organic food and they’re truly pampered--before they’re sent off to the gas chambers. So put your mind at ease! There’s really no need to go to war against those Nazis!” Make sense?
I say to you meat-eating “environmentalists” the same thing I say to meat-eating “pro-lifers”: get used to being a hypocrite. Because that’s what you’ll be until you stop feasting on the corpses, milk, and eggs of defenseless animals.
And to Ideal Bite: tips like those are so lame. I expected more from you guys.
Ann, Apreciate your concern, but organic farmers DO NOT withhold treatment from their animals, and they are definetly NOT kept in filthy conditions. We wouldn't do what we do 14 hours a day, seven days a week if we didn't care for our animals. Animals are expensive too, and an animal that is sick means a $2500 loss if it dies. So animals are watched carefully for any signs of sickness, treated promptly and with everything we've got. Not only that, it is HIGHLY ILLEGAL not to treat an animal. The UDSA inspects dairy farms closer than your favorite resturant, with surprise inspections every year, and organic farms get inspected closer than that. The organic industry has strict humane standards, and if your cows were standing in filth, youd lose your organic certificate and the state wouldnt allow you to sell milk. on a side note, if its cruel to keep animals out in my green pastures in the fresh air, and its cruel to slaughter them, what are we supposed to do with our cows, release them in downtown san fransisco? you wouldnt think they're quite so cute and fuzzy if you woke up to them in your backyard.
Wow. Take a minute, everyone. Now look at the history of the relationship between animals and humans. We are descendants of an agricultural society, where the animals were part of the ecology of the farm. We need to get back to a more balanced raising of food, both animal and vegetable. The animals do help the farm, breaking up soil, eating bugs, fertilizing... and yes, male chicks/calves/etc do end up being dinner, more often than not, it just proves that men are just useful for one thing! (joking! joking!)
I try and buy my meats locally, locally produced, here in CT. In the summer, I buy local eggs, raw milk, cheeses. When I ran out of the local eggs, and had to go back to the supermarket ones, I was shocked at the difference.
I can taste and feel the difference when I eat local and/or organic (some of the local stuff isn't certified organic). I've also noticed that the local stuff doesn't go up in price as fast.
On the subject of pet food, this is just a personal observation, but I grew up in Egypt, where we didn't have commercial dog food. We fed our dog homemade. When we visited the States, and she tried the commercial dog food, it made her ill.
I suspect the same is true with 'conventional' meats and humans. And just keep in mind, most of these documentaries about factory farming do focus on 'conventional' farms.
I know where my food comes from, as much as possible. I try to at least ensure that its 'free-range' and 'organic' because at least its a step up from 'conventional' and 'factory farmed'. Just try and eat as local as possible, and know the people you are getting food from.
Pierrot, by far the cutest kitty
Looks like a lot of people missed the real question in your post: the trials and tribulations of going vegetarian.
When I went veg 10 years ago, it was one of those "this is my last hamburger" revelations. for me, it was just easier to make a clean break with vegetarianism and then with veganism a year later. The early days were hard (no, Mom, I can't eat shrimp because shrimp ARE animals) but I found the easiest way to do it was to just make it a habit. I won't say that I don't miss bbq chicken or cheese pizza every once in a while, but I keep the animals in mind and the choice is easy. It also helps ALOT to have friends that are also veg, or at least won't have a freak-out if you want to go to a vegetarian restaurant.
i'm not going to be preachy or anything. i became vegan about a year ago after learning about the environmental damage a meat-based diet does (not to mention a struggle with lactose intolerance). it just seemed beneficial for health, the environment, and my moral values. before that i lived on a diet that was mainly meat and dairy.
there are TONS of delicious meatless products out there that taste just as good, if not better, than the real thing (anything amy's makes is delicious).
if you want to eat less packaged food, there are sooo many food blogs, forums, websites, etc., with tons of recipes (vegweb.com, theppk.com, too many others to name).
There are also many great vegan and vegetarian cookbooks out (everyone needs to buy any book that isa chandra moskowitz and terry hope romero put out, like, right now. <3), and also informational books on how to live a healthy life without meat (becoming vegan by davis and melina is a good one). just do a quick search online or at your local bookstore.
all these resources have helped me a lot in my, um, minute-long transition from meateater to a completely plant-based diet. it also helps if you know people who are vegetarian too (you can have potlucks! hoorah!), so everyone around you doesn't constantly question "why don't you eat meat? what do you eat? salad??" or thinking you're anorexic and/or protein deficient.
so, hope that helps, just my two cents. :)
Yes, Pierrot is adorable, but I still like Tigger best!
Becoming vegetarian or vegan is a process. You will find that one day you will lose your taste for meat and then you will give it up. Then one day you will lose your taste for fish, then eggs, then dairy. It is an ongoing process. Keep educating yourself and you will find it impossible to continue doing something so disgusting as eating animal flesh, eating chicken ovum and drinking or eating products made from cows that are treated with hormones to get them to produce milk when they are not pregnant. Cows milk is really for baby cows. Could you imagine a human woman nursing a baby cow? You must also consider the sustainability issue. It is just not socially responsible to eat meat.
Get and read the book "Skinny Bitch" by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. I had been vegetarian for 16 years and thinking it would be hard to go vegan, but wanted to try it someday. Someday came when I read that book. It has so much information to help, not to mention the incentives to try it. I am not 100% yet. I cheat about once a week with something sinful, like a scone, but let me tell you, I feel even better now than I did as a vegetarian. Someday, I will not even want the scone.
Cutest Cat Contest
I really can't choose because all the cats are gorgeous. I have 6 of my own and they are so individual I can have no favorites. I would like to add for the person that thinks there is no difference in pet foods. I used to feel the same, but after the pet food scare I have upgraded to a more natural food for my kitties and I did see real improvement in their coat condition and I feel that if you can see the difference it must be doing good things on their insides as well. Not to say that you should just go for the most expensive but it doesn't hurt to try something alittle more natural and unfortunately more expensive.
"drinking or eating products made from cows that are treated with hormones to get them to produce milk when they are not pregnant."
I don't support using synthetic hormones on cattle either, but a cow wont give milk just because shes given a shot, rBST only boosts milk production, and trust me, dairy farmers WANT their cows to get pregnant. But theres an easy way to avoid hormones in your milk: BUY ORGANIC!! Certified organic farmers do not use hormones at all. Milk has far more nutrients per ounce than any other food on the planet, and it its cheap too. not just for "baby cows"! and is eating locally raised meat less "socially responsible" than eating fruits and vegetables trucked in from california or south america? as far as the humane society video goes, there are already laws against shipping downer cows, somebody cleary just wasn't obeying them. disgusting. most farmers wouldnt think of shipping a cow they didnt think could make the trip to the salebarns or slaughterhouse, so im guessing that kind of crap doesn't happen real often. seems like somebody somewhere is trying to blow things out of proportion, playing on people's emotions to promote their own agenda. but you decide.
I think you are partially correct. I think most small family farmers do care about their animals because it's their livlihood, however, factory farms could care a less about one cow's well-being, as it is just a number to them. I believe these things happen much more often than i'd care to fathom.
I've been leaning more toward vegitarianism for a long time. I gave up red meat in 1990 and still have to remind my dad that, No, I don't want a nice juicy steak.
The best thing you can do is avoid the processed foods and go as 'caveman' as you can. I chop up squash, peppers and carrots for a stirfry. I've tried tofu, but it still feels processed. I will occasionally eat a frozen dinner, but they're usually full of salt and weird chemical names. I don't know why they can't just name actual ingredients...
I'm not a great cook, but I'm learning. Aim for a wide variety of veggies, fruits and grains. Try new things... my parents never fed me squash or quinoa! Now I eat them all the time!
I saw a fascinating program on the agricultural industry on PBS. There is also a book and the guy's website is: www.madcowboy.com. A real eye opener!
looked at the mad cowboys website, hate to say it, but a lot off it is plain ol' bull. "at any given time, 50 percent of the cows in the us have mastitis". for example. hmm let me go check the barn... not happening. mastitis in cows happens, but dairy farmers do try to prevent it because it causes the cow to give less milk, it can be painful for the cow,and you can't sell the milk from a cow with mastitis. when it does happen, the cow is given the best care possible. and anyone that cant sell the milk from half their herd isn't going to be farming long. on a side note, the best way to support non factory farms is to buy organic. (and for all of you that do, THANK YOU! you guys rock!)also, organic milk prices may be going up in the future, but please keep buying. right now, feed prices for organic farmers are almost double from last spring due to the drought and some of the co-ops are finally raising prices to help their farmers be able to afford to keep farming and continue to feed their animals organically. these are the coops that really care about their farmers. organic valley / pride of the prarie is a good example. thanks!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Nena | March 05, 2008 at 07:33 AM