Summer is here and with that comes the all essential backyard barbecue!! But before you bite into that first juicy burger are you concerned at all where the meat came from? Even a little bit??
You won’t find me out protesting with other animal activists (but I applaud them) yet I feel what I know and have learned about meat production needs to be heard! It’s time we all start paying attention to where our meat is coming from. Why? It’s a major contributor to our health and well-being as well as the environment and proper treatment and care of animals.
I am sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news but the meat you buy at the grocery store is NOT what you think it is. In fact, most all meat counters, meat markets, and large chain supermarkets are getting their meat from FACTORY FARMS otherwise know as CAFO’s or confined animal feeding operations. These CAFO’s minimize costs by specializing in cruel, inhumane intensive-confinement of animals.
As if that is not bad enough these animals are sick and diseased from living in these conditions so they are pumped full of antibiotics. They are also fed a diet full of genetically modified CORN and SOY to fatten them up as quick as possible. Needless to say this type of meat is VERY TOXIC to eat as you ingest all these harmful components also. To view some of the Worst offenders click here (Tyson tops the list).
So what are we the consumers to do? Should we become vegetarian and avoid all meat? NO! That is not necessarily the answer. You should however make sure you plate is 60-70% vegetables and the rest healthy fats and protein. Pick and choose you protein (meat) wisely, VERY WISELY.
Here is what you need to look for and ask for when purchasing meat
- Buy meat from a local food co-op, farm delivery, farmers market, or even online now you can find meats raised humanely by small farmers. They ship it right to your door frozen packed in dry ice. I know its not convenient and frankly its annoying to not be able to just go to the grocery and grab meat but until we demand better things won’t change. On my website I offer resources of where you can find good meat.
- When you do find a good meat source buy in bulk and freeze. When we go up north we hit up 2-3 local farms on the way and fill our cooler full of pasture raised meats.
- The meat label should read grass-fed and grass finished beef! Conventional meat companies are catching on to the grass fed demand and because of USDA loopholes can label their meat grass fed even though for the last 30 days the animal was sent to a factory farm to get fattened up. Technically it was grass fed but not grass finished, instead finished on corn and gmo soy. So READ labels. Chickens, eggs and other poultry should read “PASTURED” poultry.
- You should be able to trace the meat you buy back to the farm it came from. Read up on that farm and see what they are all about and their philosophy for raising animals.
We need to be concerned for the welfare of these animals! Also we need to be aware that eating the meat from these factory-farmed animals is really bad for our overall health and leading to many chronic health problems including inflammation. If you are going to eat meat start thinking about choosing Organic pasture raised! You are what you eat eats!
There is an Amish country store near our cottage that we love to visit. They have a freezer with meat labeled as “healthy farm raised chicken (or beef)” do you think that it’s fed a normal healthy diet? What kind of questions should I ask when I buy?