Bring on the Fat! (Really!)

When my youngest son was first diagnosed with alopecia areata, we desperately sought answers. All the traditional doctors at the esteemed hospitals told us there was nothing we could do. I refused to believe that and sought alternative treatments. This led us to a doc in Lancaster who practiced what I’ll call ‘wellness medicine.’ He doesn’t have a sign and he isn’t in the book, but through combing the internet, autoimmune message boards, and facebook, we found him.

We waited nearly six months for our appointment. It was pouring rain on the day that Ian and I set out for his office. We found it deep in the heart of the city of Lancaster in a basement of an unmarked old house. I was anxious, but committed to seeing it through so we waited in a damp, dimly lit room for over thirty minutes. The only literature available to read consisted of hippie newsletters full of information on making your own kefir, recipes for bulgur (what?), CSA’s, organic farms, and endless rants against the corrupt food system controlled by our even more corrupt government.

When the doctor appeared, he was a friendly bear of a man and Ian took to him immediately. He talked to us extensively about what Ian currently ate, looked in his mouth, felt his glands, scraped his skin, and took a saliva test. Then he overwhelmed my mind with his talk about how upside down our government’s nutritional standards are. He said Ian needed more animal fats and salt in his diet. He prescribed homeopathic remedies like butter capsules and vitamins he had specifically developed for kids in today’s American food culture. While Ian munched on a piece of beef jerky from the jar on his desk, I frantically wrote down everything he said about raw milk, grass-fed meat, full-fat cheeses, and bacon grease.

David, Goliath, and Pink Slime

The first time I heard the term, it was in an e-mail a few months back. I don’t even remember what organization it was that requested my signature on one of what became many petitions to stop the government from allowing “pink slime” to be used in school lunches. Little did I know it was the cusp of a beautiful story of David and Goliath.

Pink slime is a new term, but didn’t sound all that much different from the fillers described in the movie Food Inc from a few years back. Pink slime is a meat filler used in 70% of the ground beef sold in US Supermarkets, and of course, in most fast food restaurants. It’s made by gathering up all the leftover trimmings (Food Inc had graphic pictures of this process that would give you nightmares), essentially fat, muscle bits, and any other body parts leftover in the process of trimming the ugly stuff from steaks and roasts.

Now, the time was, these leftovers where used for dog food and the oil for cooking (gak!), but in the name of larger profits (the almighty driving force in the world today), these parts began being used to pump up the ground beef. Makes one wonder what is being used in the dog food now, doesn’t it?

Anyway, these random parts and oil are put through a centrifuge to separate the oil and then the sludge that is left is sprayed with ammonia gas to kill any bacteria. Now you have a beautiful pink substance that is easily mixed with burger to make the burger go further, kind of like adding water to soup to stretch it, only not so healthy.

Here’s the part about David and Goliath. David is us, the unknowing, naive public who navigate the drive-through on a weekly, or even daily basis. Goliath is the big meat processors like Cargill and Beef Products Inc. For years they have gotten away with stuffing every burger in the US, heck, the world, with pink slime and no one has dared question them. After all, they control the world’s beef supply (or so they and the government would have you believe).

But along came, Gerald Zirnstein, my hero. He’s a former USDA scientist who sounded the alarm about pink slime. Next came the internet petitions (which, truth be told, I’ve always been a bit skeptical about, but now I’m a believer). Then ABC News, the Washington Post, and other major media outlets started investigating why Zirnstein is out of work and grinds his own ground beef at home now.

And then just this past weekend, my newspaper had a front page story about the fact that our local supermarkets (Giant and Weis) will no longer buy beef from suppliers who use pink slime! And the internet is flowing with the news that many school districts (not mine at this point) are announcing that they will no longer serve beef containing pink slime!

Wow, you CAN be the change you wish to see in the world! Go world! I’m not saying it was my signature, per se, but there had to have been something that pushed this cart over the edge. After all, Jamie Oliver’s show blatantly covered the exact same process with chicken nuggets (white slime anyone?) several years ago and nothing happened.

I guess just one parent too many said, “Enough!” and look how we’ve changed our world. I’m hoping this is only the beginning of a new era of holding the FDA (who refused to make the beef industry label products containing pink slime over the objection of their own scientists!) and big industry accountable for how they treat and process the animals we eat. YEH World!

Eating the 1%

I have two bird carcasses in my freezer. Well, actually, they don’t have feathers or heads anymore. They are the result of my husband and I attempting to put our knife where our mouths are and be responsible for the food we eat. I’ve said time and again that if we eat meat, we ought to not only know where it comes from but be prepared to kill it ourselves. Most people shudder at the thought. I do too. But it is the very fact that we are shielded from the actual killing of the animals we eat that makes it so easy to turn our heads at the atrocities that are going on this very second in the meat industry.

The beef you eat comes from cows that are spending their abnormally short lifetimes standing in their own manure, eating food that their bodies were never meant to eat, and being pumped full of antibiotics to keep them from getting sick from that very food and those conditions. Makes NO sense. Cows are meant to eat grass, wander in herds, and yes, be eaten eventually.

Chicken in a pot (on the porch)

The chicken and eggs you eat come from chickens that are living in near darkness, crowded in to spaces so close they can’t turn around, let alone spread their wings, take dirt baths, or peck the ground for grubs. I love watching the antics of my own chickens. Watching them streaking (in their own waddly way) from tree to bush to barn as if they are under fire amuses me to no end. The grand chase and battles that ensue when one pulls up an earthworm from the garden are an animal reenactment of my kids with the last cookie in the jar. They curiously peck anything new, like the football abandoned in the yard or the freshly carved jack-o-lantern on the porch. These are chickens in a “natural” habitat. While they may be exceedingly dumb animals, I do believe they are smart enough to know they are miserable in a typical industry chicken house.

The bacon you eat comes from pigs that must have their trademark curly tails “docked” so they won’t be bitten off by the other pigs crowded together with them in their holding pens for their brief time on earth (the industry has “progressed” to be able to get a piglet from birth to slaughter in just 4 months). They never have the opportunity to root or wander or play.

I suppose it comes down to how you perceive animals. Do you think they are people in furry suits, or are they unintelligent creatures whose only purpose on earth is to provide food for us? I’m somewhere in the middle of that equation. Why is it we eat pigs, but not dogs? Pigs are supposed to be more intelligent and, at least when they are little, they are equally cute. Pot Belly pigs aren’t eaten, but I assume they make excellent bacon.

I’m a horse owner and have provided foster care for horses that have been saved from slaughter by a local horse rescue. I’m kind of ambivalent about my feelings on this. Certainly, once these horses come to live with me I’m horrified that they almost ended up on someone’s dinner table. But in context, I suppose I don’t have a huge issue with the slaughter of horses for meat and whatever else it is they do with them AS LONG AS they are treated kindly during the process. Heartless, I know. I have horsey friends who will probably challenge me on this.

I do believe animals are intelligent (some more than others, my dog Gracie is just about the dumbest dog I’ve encountered and I’ve yet to meet an animal dumber than a chicken). So the idea that animals don’t really mind the harsh conditions prior to slaughter seems misguided. Raising animals in cruel conditions in order improve profit margins is a crime and I don’t buy meat that has been produced in those conditions.

But…… what about meat that has been produced in happy, healthy conditions? My chickens, for instance. The three roosters we butchered last fall spent the summer digging up grubs, chasing the hens, and lounging in the shade. For a chicken headed for slaughter they were in the 1%. But when it came time to kill them, it was so emotionally stressful that we let the fourth rooster go (ironically he was eaten that night by a fox) rather than put ourselves through it.

I don’t know how many emotions an animal “feels”, but I’m certain they feel pain and they experience fear (as the knowledge that they are about to feel pain). We tried to make it as quick and painless as possible, and in our fumbling efforts we were not as quick as we might have been if we had more experience. So these three roosters lived a good, short life and were killed quickly and humanely. And still two carcasses sit in my freezer. This is because I cooked the first one while he was still fresh and made him in to chicken and cheese enchiladas. And then choked on every bite.

I have to wonder if the people who live in slaughter houses ever eat meat. Maybe they can disassociate themselves from their work. Maybe they put on the blinders, much as the rest of us do, and buy the valu-pack at Wal-Mart without a second thought.

I still think that if you eat meat, you ought to be able to hunt and/or butcher the animal. We owe the animal that much. We need to respect the life that was given for us. And we should respect it enough to demand that it is treated humanely before it becomes our dinner.

The meat producers would have us believe that the only way to provide enough meat for the growing appetite of this country is to raise it nose-to-tail in a stockyard and feed it corn. But that is a lie. Raising animals in mass production only ensures that the prices stay low, the meat companies make lots of money, immense amounts of oil are wasted (growing and transporting corn), and the pharmaceutical companies get rich selling their antibiotics. If we took all the land that we use to raise feed corn and plow it under for grass, there would be plenty of space to raise enough meat. It might require a little more effort and sure, it might cost a little more (although I’d like to do the cost-analysis when you compare the real cost of growing corn and making the chemicals and antibiotics versus just turning a cow loose on grass). Heck, a change like that might bring back the cowboys (I’m all for cowboys).

Chickens don’t need nearly the amount of space as a cow, so changing that industry is even simpler. But again, it might raise the cost of your mcnuggets and reduce the profit margins of then poultry manufacturers.

Because I’m rambling, I won’t even go in to the difference in the nutrient value of meat raised on the diet it was designed to eat. But there’s that too.

I’m working up the nerve to cook another one of our chickens. I’m hoping enough time has passed that the images of the actual killing will have receded far enough in my mind to keep my throat from closing up.

Before you ask, yes, I’m well aware of the hypocrisy surrounding my choice to eat meat. Believe me, it weighs on my heart. I just wish it weighed on the hearts of the rest of the people with the power to bring change.

There is hope. McDonald’s, which purchases over 21 billion dollars worth of pork each year, recently informed suppliers that they will have to remove the “crates” they use tocontain pregnant sows. These crates keep the sows from ever even turning around in their lifetime of producing mass quantities of piglets. I would think confinement like this of such an intelligent animal would lead to mad pig disease. At any rate, this move will affect the entire industry. Finally McDonald’s does something we can be proud of. Let’s hope they take a look at the beef and poultry industries next – now that could change the world.

It's Not What You Eat, But What You Eat Ate!

Meat eating has come under scrutiny at our household of late. Partly due to my daughter’s desire to be a vegetarian (which might work out if she could bring herself to eat beans and stop eating steak), and partly because my mother-in-law is visiting. Although, my MIL is just about the most flexible and reasonable vegetarian I know, it has created a bit of a puzzle at dinner time. She’s fine with our carnivorous habits and is happy to find herself something to eat when we indulge, but I like to include everyone at our table so I seek out meals that work for all of us. I can usually come up with a week’s worth, but this visit she’s gracing us with her presence for two weeks so it’s requiring a little extra thinking.

I asked her about her reasons for her long-time vegetarianism and her reasons are complex and deep-rooted. (Unlike my daughter who I think is just looking for an excuse not to eat what I’m serving!) This conversation led me to think about why I eat meat, beyond the fact that I like the taste of it. Michael Pollan’s book Omnivore’s Dilemma gives some excellent data to explain why most people like the taste of meat. We’re hard-wired to eat meat. And not just any meat. Grass fed meat.

He goes further to challenge the fish vs meat debate by saying it’s not just what you eat but what you eat ate. Think about that one. A grass fed cow is better for you than a farm-raised salmon. At least in terms of omega 3’s and 6’s and many of the vital nutrients you find in grass fed meats like beta-carotene and CLA. The body of research verifying the higher nutrient value of grass-fed meats (and dairy products) versus grain-fed grows all the time. But you don’t need a microscope and a fancy degree to know that the food that went in to the cow you are eating for dinner defines the nutrient value of what you are eating. Common sense can tell you that.

Animals have been eating grass since there were grass and animals. It’s only been in the last hundred years or so that we’ve started feeding cows, pigs, chickens, and other meat animals exclusively on grain and corn. In fact, cows have been selectively bred to survive on corn, something they are not biologically engineered to digest. (Hence the incredible amounts of gas spewed forth from cows living in feedlots.) Feeding corn and grain to fish is even more farfetched. Yet, that is the brilliant idea for cheaply growing fish on farms.

Pollan’s argument for why this food is better for us goes back to the time when we were hunter-gatherers. Our bodies are designed to eat the food of wild animals and plants. Grass-fed animals best mimic those meats. Again, common sense.

So my desire to eat meat isn’t so much the result of my upbringing, although I’ll allow that it plays in to it. Especially since I still can’t stomach fish or beans, two foods I forced down so that I could leave the table when I was young. My body is hard-wired to eat meat. Guess that means my ancestors come from a hunting clan. Maybe that means my mother-in-law’s ancestors are from a clan that survived more on gathering. Who’s to say?

Listening to our bodies is a habit that has fallen by the way-side for most of us. I’ve only recently begun to respond to the foods my body craves. Probably because for many years I craved the foods the media had taught me to crave. Just the other night while watching the NFL play-offs my kids learned about another food they should crave. McDonalds created a new idea with their commercial about McMuffins. “What’s a McMuffin?” asked my nine-year-old after watching scene after scene of happy people comparing McMuffins to the best kind of apartment, boyfriend, automobiles, etc.

If you ask someone what their favorite food is, they don’t generally say, “grass-fed beef”. More often you hear, “chocolate,” or “pizza”. But is that really what our bodies want? I think if we could truly listen to our own bodies, we might hear something different. My daughter has been eating lots of nuts lately. While I’m thrilled at her healthy choice, I do think it’s her body telling her what she needs. Lacking any discernable form of protein beyond the occasional egg, her body demanded something of substance. Since her mind was saying “I’m a vegetarian,” and her stubbornness was saying “I hate beans,” nuts were the perfect fill in.

Trusting our bodies to tell us we need is a novel concept, but one worth thinking about. As is considering what you eat ate. Grass fed meat and dairy products may cost more than traditional products, but the nutritional disparity is even greater. Beyond that, we need to vote with our pocketbooks and support farmers who are raising their animals on grass instead of feedlots. Your health and your children’s health are worth a few more bucks per pound, don’t ya think? 

For Anyone Who Takes Earth Day Seriously

I spent the day in beautiful Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Tuesday. I picked up my mom and headed to the Central Market in downtown Lancaster, said to be the oldest farmer’s market in the country. I bought delicate buttercrunch lettuce in picture-perfect heads for $1.35 a piece and a big bag of just-picked-this-morning spinach for $2. I couldn’t resist a scone from the pastry lady and spent too long considering the beautiful locally grown herbs before choosing a pot of chives. As we walked around and took it all in, I have to say I expected more Amish and I expected it to be easier to know which venders used organic and sustainable methods. I studied the signs, but only one booth proclaimed “no chemical sprays” which really could mean anything. I chose to believe the gentle man bagging the lettuce was a kindred spirit. Farmer’s Markets are a great idea, but it was obvious that even in this storied market many of the products were not from around here.

Our next stop was Roots Auction and Market, held every Tuesday. This place was something to see. Parking was a challenge as it seemed everyone in Lancaster County was at Roots (pronounced “Ruots”, but I never figured out why). Roots is a MASSIVE combination of flea market, farmer’s market, and bazaar. I am certain you could have purchased just about anything you wanted there. We saw just about every species of fruit and vegetable, but also leather jackets, Tupperware, imitation beanie babies, Egyptian Cotton Sheet Sets, plastic flower bouquet for tombstones, knife sets, incense, perennials, live turkeys, and pickles by the pound. And then there was the flea market that stretched as far as the eye could see. We ventured in to it briefly, but were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer mass of junk and shock that so many people were shopping for junk on a beautiful Tuesday morning in Lancaster. Roots is something to see and if you are ever in Lancaster on a Tuesday, I highly recommend the experience. I did end up walking away with a big plastic jug of garlic pickles (crispy and delicious – the kids loved them), a bag of pretzel ‘balls” (just had to try them), raw milk cheese, strawberries (from Florida), and local asparagus. I asked many of the vendors where their produce came from but some of them seemed annoyed that I expected anything to be local. The nice Mennonite lady who told me she’d picked the asparagus herself and her strawberries came from Florida won my business.

After the chaos of Roots, it was a treat to arrive at Breakaway Farms in Manheim, just north of Lancaster. I discovered Breakaway Farms (http://www.breakawayfarms.net/) through http://www.gowild.com/. Gowild is a great place to start if you are interested in buying grass-fed meat and dairy products near you. I’d been e-mailing with Breakaway’s office manager for several weeks arranging this visit. She was very helpful and welcoming and encouraged me to come see the farm and meet Farmer Nate before I placed my order. When we arrived at the picturesque and remarkably tidy farm, we encountered two adorable children in barefeet (one dragging a tricycle and toting a fishing pole).

Nate met us and gave the tour. Breakaway Farms grows poultry, pork, beef, lamb, goats, and rabbits. Nate is a mechanical engineer by training and this was obvious to me (having grown up with engineers and married one) as he showed us the farm. I coveted his automatic watering system for his chickens (rigged up with hoses and the same plastic waterer I fill two times a day at home). He explained how the chickens were currently “grazing” the same area where the cows had been recently. His electric wire pens were completely moveable and relocated daily to take advantage of the previous tenants leavings,. Chickens do a great job breaking up cow pies and eating up the bugs that infest them, thus saving the farmer the trouble of picking up or spreading the manure which acts as fertilizer. Nothing beats nature for natural efficiency.

We watched the chickens for awhile and my mom remarked at how odd they looked –only partly covered with feathers and supported by enormous feet. Nate explained that chickens have been bred to be fast growing broiler birds and as such feathers are not really a necessity and are bred out of them. I’m guessing as they age they can balance their fast growing bulk on those enormous feet better than average chicken feet. Plus, everything I’ve read (and Nate confirmed) indicates chickens bred for meat can’t really even walk much by the time they are full-grown because they are designed to have unnaturally large breasts. (I know what you are thinking - seems the general population is partial to large breasts in chickens too). At this rate our poultry business will have completely feather free, obscenely large breasted birds ready to pop on the grill in just a few more generations.

Next we admired the beef cattle and Nate explained how they are moved from one field to the next periodically. We’re getting ready to do the same thing with our horses to prevent the pasture from being overgrazed. He proudly told us that these cows had been grass fed for several generations and he could trace the papa bull’s ancestry to England and further back than most people. We walked inside to see the pigs who had just moved in where the cows had been living previously. Their job was clear. They were to enjoy the muck. A job which clearly makes pigs very happy. They were busy happily rooting through the accumulated cow manure. Nate explained that what is left is piled up an allowed to compost and become “black gold” which will then be spread on the fields as super fertilizer.

Another area of the barn contained rabbits in eye level cages. I’m not a rabbit fan – not for eating and certainly not as pets – but I was amazed at the system they had going here. The rabbits manure fell down through the bottom of the wire cages and living under the cages was a flock of chickens to – you guessed it- consume the rabbit manure. Might seem disgusting, but in reality it is nature doing what it does best – recycling. Nate explained that if the chickens weren’t in here, the rabbit manure would be waist deep by now. He also informed me that lots of people disagree with me when it comes to rabbit meat – apparently there’s a great market for it.
After our tour, we purchased some grass fed meat products and nitrate free pork products. We talked with Nate about Breakaway’s buying clubs and his ideas of starting a home delivery business. A big part of Nate’s job is education. The general public doesn’t know enough about grass fed products. Grass fed products are much healthier for you (see my post Save the Planet – Eat Beef! On February 4, 2010), but more than that, they are better for the environment. Instead of raising their animals in feed lots and dumping the accumulated waste in such large amounts it poisons the land and water, Breakaway makes the most of their pasture by rotating the animals and allowing them to recycle and redistribute the waste, not only strengthening the land they graze on, but creating natural fertilizer for the farm land surrounding them.

This isn’t new. This is the way farms used to be run, before the concept of a factory farm even existed. This is the way farmers fertilized their fields before the toxic insecticides and chemical fertilizers rendered the ground sterile. But it takes more time to raise a grass-fed animal for market. And time for a farm is money. Although farmers like Nate save on the cost of traditional fertilizers, they spend more on organic feed, man-power, and the number of days it takes to bring an animal to market. Not to mention, they don’t have the marketing power the major meat producers control. I’m here to tell you that sustainably run farms are not making their fortune by charging you higher prices; they are simply trying to stay alive. I have yet to meet a farmer who is in this for the money.

If Earth Day means anything to you, I beg you to consider patronizing farmers like Nate. Farmers who care for the animals and the earth, and not just making a buck. They need our support. They need us to vote with our pocketbooks for more sustainable farming methods. This is a win-win-win situation. The farmers win when we enable them to make a living, the earth wins as we support farming methods that heal it, and we all win when we consume grass-fed, chemical free products that make us healthier.

Conscientious buying is not easy. I’ll be the first to admit it takes time. It also takes effort – you need to think before you buy. It might mean visiting more than one store, farm, or market to get the things your family needs. It might mean doing a little homework and asking a lot of questions. But it’s the right thing to do.

As I thought about Nate’s ideas for home delivery of homegrown vegetables, meats, and dairy, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I thought this is great – people always complain that eating this way is too hard and too inconvenient. So many times I hear from people, “I wish I had time to do what you do to feed your family.” And here is the answer – home delivery! But on the other hand, home delivery of organic produce, and grassfed meat and dairy products will be expensive. I’m not sure whether people are willing to put their money where their mouth is. But I hope they will. I hope Nate’s business becomes the standard for how we buy our food.

Note: If you are local and interested in forming a buying club here in Southern York County with me to purchase products from Breakaway Farms, let me know. If you’ve got questions or need help finding grass fed, sustainably grown food, I’d be happy to chat with you, too.

Save the Planet - Eat Beef!

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before, but since it’s all over the press lately (and repetition encourages retention), I have to mention it again. Grass fed meat and dairy products are better for your health, the environment, and the animals (as long as we assume that the animal in question is headed for slaughter one way or another) than grain fed products. So you’re saying to yourself, “OK, maybe the health factor, and sure, the animals are happier outside than inside, but the environment? How do you figure? How can grass fed beef be good for the environment?”

A few years ago studies came out saying cow farts were much worse for the atmosphere than all our cars spewing exhaust. (I’m paraphrasing.) That got all the vegetarians going, but most of the rest of the people, just responded with a collective, “Huh.” We weren’t ready to give up our cars or our cheeseburgers. But new research is showing that grass-fed animals can actually be a net-gain for the environment. Here’s why – Grass fed animals eat grass, poop all over a field, then trample that poop in to the ground. That’s all they do. They don’t stand in a feedlot on top of their own poop, require lots of antibiotics, and eat thousands of pounds of feed. They do fart more though, which any honest vegetarian will admit is the result of a plant based diet. I know you’re doubting me now if you’re a big believer in the cow-emissions-are-increasing-global-warming-so-we-shouldn’t-eat-cows movement, so let me explain in a little more detail.

A grass-fed animal, we’re going to go with cows here because they seem to take most of the blame for the air pollutant theory, lives outside in a pasture. The farmer rotates the cows from pasture to pasture allowing the cows to eat the grass, which triggers grass to grow (as anyone who owns a lawnmower can attest to) creating more grass. They add fertilizer to the equation in the form of manure that is trampled in to the ground. This manure actually feeds the soil and makes it healthier which keeps the carbon dioxide underground and out of the atmosphere. Less carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere = a good thing. Pretty neat system, wonder who thought of it.

A grain-fed cow raised in a feed lot (like 99% of all the beef cattle raised in the US) on the other hand, does not distribute his manure far and wide, rather he stands in it. Periodically the farmer must redistribute these vast amounts of manure somewhere else which when dumped in such large quantities, poisons the land and creates “dead zones” in the nearby waters. Ask any community living amongst a factory farm operation or two and they’ll tell you the real problem with feedlot operations isn’t the antibiotics they pump in to the cows threatening our health, it’s the poop. What to do with the poop.

Add to the poop issue, the cost to our environment of feeding large numbers of feedlot animals. This requires vast amounts of corn, grain, and soybeans. (We grow a heck of a lot more corn and soybeans for animals than we do for people.) How do you suppose grain and soybeans are raised? By clearing enormous parcels of land and forest to grow these crops which must then be planted, tilled, fertilized, pesticided, harvested, and transported to a feed company. Then they must be treated, hulled, cleaned, bagged, and transported again. That’s a lot of energy expenditure and pollution production. What do the grass-fed cows eat again? Oh yeah, grass made by the rain and the sun and the cow’s own poop.

So now, hopefully I have you on board in regards to grass-fed products being better for the environment. Let’s turn to how grass-fed products are better for your health. Three big reasons stand out for me:

1) Grass fed meats have significantly less saturated fat and are higher in omega-3’s, a heart-healthy fat you’ve probably heard a lot about lately. Omega 3’s are good for your heart and essential for your brain’s health, helping to ward off depression, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s. Fewer trans fats also means fewer calories, always a plus!

2) Grass fed meat has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C also. There’s just a lot more power in their punch than grain-fed beef.

3) Maybe the most powerful argument for the health benefits of grass-fed meat and dairy products is that they are high in CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). CLA is a powerful anti-carcinogen which also has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and fight inflammation. The Journal of Dairy Science states that grass fed animals can produce 300-500% more CLA than grain fed animals. (In checking my facts on CLA, I came across this gem: Kangaroo meat has the highest concentration of CLA. Just thought you’d want to know in case it ever comes up on Jeopardy.)

So grass fed meat and dairy products are much healthier for your body, helping you fight cancer, heart disease, and a whole host of other ailments. I can also tell you from experience that grass-fed, dry aged beef is delicious. I promise once you try it, you’ll have a hard time eating a piece of meat out of the case at Walmart. There’s just no comparison. Same goes for milk and cheese from grass fed cows - the flavor will make a believer out of you. Forget all the save the planet stuff, taste alone makes me a believer.

I don’t think I need to argue the case for grass-fed being a better situation for animals. (If you’re in doubt, check out the movie, Food Inc. or read Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan). If you don’t eat meat on principle, that’s one thing, but if the reason you don’t eat meat is because of the living conditions of so many factory-farm animals it’s time you put the power of your wallet to good use. We pay more for grass-fed meat for many reasons, but to me it’s worth it. Grass fed meats and dairy products do require larger amounts of land (although possibly less if you consider the land you don’t need to grow feed you won’t need), longer growth time (you can fatten up a cow on grain in half the time it takes to raise a grass fed cow for market), and they necessitate smaller farms. But if consumers demand and are willing to pay for grass-fed products, the market will respond and soon it’ll be the factory farms and not the family farms that are going out of business. And we might even need cowboys again to round up all those grass-fed cows! Bring on the cowboys!

There is the argument that we can’t afford to feed the country on grass-fed beef. There won’t be enough to go around and most people can’t afford it. Maybe. But I’m not the kind of person who accepts that defeatist attitude. I believe we can do anything if we lay aside our self-serving ways and open our minds to new (or old) ways of doing things. Economics 101 taught me that increased demand will increase supply and increased supply will lower prices. Maybe we all need to eat less and waste less. Seems to me as I learn more and more about eating healthier, I’m learning that we need to go back to the way we fed ourselves a century ago. All this progress has made us fatter and sicker. I’m no scientist, but I can see a clear correlation between the increase in heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, mental conditions, and obesity and the way we raise our food animals and process our food. Animals were not designed to stand in feed lots and our bodies were not designed to eat food that has already been processed.

I’ll get off my soapbox now and just implore you to read the packages and buy meats and dairy products from grass-fed cows. Not only will buying grass-fed products make an economic statement, improve your health, and taste better, but it just might help save the planet!

If you need help finding grass-fed products or want more information, check out the website www.eatwild.com.

(Cue the Kiwis to tell us that all the meat raised in New Zealand is grass fed!)

Buying By the Cow

The year we began buying our beef by the cow is the year all my children decided they liked steak (even the vegetarian one). Friends raise their eyebrows when I tell them I’m buying half a cow. They’ve come to expect extremes from me when it comes to food. Buying your meat by the animal is much, much cheaper than buying it in Styrofoam cartons from the butcher. And don’t worry – it doesn’t arrive on four legs.

The first task is to find a farmer who sells their cows, hogs, or sheep whole or half. There are many that do (how do you think your butcher buys them?). Ask around at your local butcher shop, farmer’s market, or check online. Two great sites online to get you started are www.localharvest.org and www.eatwellguide.org. Pick a farmer that raises animals without growth hormones, unnecessary antibiotics, and preferably on grass. If the farm is certified organic – great (although the price will be higher).

A half a cow will feed my family of five for nearly a year. We eat beef about 1-2 a week. The price does go down if you buy an entire cow, but I like my beef to be fairly fresh, so we buy just the half. If you have a friend to split the cow with you can both save lots. When you order you will be told the cost of the beef per pound. Be sure to ask if this price includes the butchering and packaging (most do). When you place your order, you fill out an order form telling the butcher things like how much steak you want vs. how much hamburger, how many pounds per roast, and how thick the steaks should be cut. I always feel like royalty when I direct my steaks to be cut 1½” thick and order the percentage of fat I would like in my burger. Oh, and package my burger in one pound packs with a few three pound packs thrown in for parties. Nobody grants my wishes like the butcher.

It generally takes about two weeks from when you order your cow until you are carting it home. It arrives flash-frozen and vacumm packed in plastic packages. The hamburger comes in neat little blocks that stack great in my freezer. We had an exceptionally big cow last year and some of the hamburger was in our freezer over a year but still tasted great.

All that savings and convenience is well and good, but the taste is the best reason to buy your cow local, fresh and untainted by growth hormones and antibiotics. In fact my six year old just listed steak as his favorite food on a homework sheet for first grade. Prior to our conversion to buying grass fed black angus beef, my kids refused most steaks. If they did eat it, they would chew it like gum and leave it in unsightly lumps on the edges of their placemats. But that was before they tasted “our cow”. That was before we could afford to feed them filet mignon on a Tuesday because we paid the same price per pound for the filet mignon as we did for the hamburger we grilled over the weekend. The beef they are eating is better than beef they would get in most restaurants. It melts in your mouth and is so tender it never needs a steak knife. I could go on but suffice it to say – buy your own grass fed black angus cow and you will never go back to eating plain old steak.

This past weekend we purchased our first whole hog. Very exciting. (I’ve told you it takes very little to get me excited) We picked up the pig from the farm where it was raised – a picture perfect Amish farm with turkeys that look just like the ones my kids draw using their fingers for feathers. Our pig cost $3 a pound, so the total bill was $465. The weight is the hanging weight (after the hog is drained). For that money we received 2 fifteen pound hams (OMG how will we ever eat that much ham?), four 4lb roasts (I just pulled out the grocery store circular and it had organic pork roast on sale for $4.49 a lb – boy do I feel justified!), 40 lbs of sausage (breakfast links, seasoned coils, and regular coils), 18 lbs of pork chops, 2 tenderloins, 8 lbs of spare ribs, and 18 pounds of bacon.

I know you’re first concern is –where do you put all that meat? It doesn’t take as much room as you would think. The hog fit neatly in to two big coolers when we picked it up. We have a standing freezer that is about the same size as our refrigerator and the cow and pig take up about half of it. My adorable nerdy husband plans to make up a spreadsheet showing the cost of buying by the pig and buying the same thing from the grocery store just to make a point, but I don’t need the numbers to tell me. The food is fresher, healthier, tastes better, and supports my neighbors. It’s just an added bonus that it costs less too!