Green Meat is Good Meat

Recently, I was asked about finding and choosing organic local fare, particularly meat.  As a bacon-connoisseur who struggles with her own meatiness (that’s a scientific term) I had to do a little more research on diet and labeling before I could adequately answer the question at hand.

Ideally, our diets would be mostly vegetarian with a dash of carnivory. Vegetarians have the smallest environmental and carbon “plate”-print. They are healthier, live longer, and have a much lower impact on the Earth due to their food choices.

Biologically speaking, most of us should regularly eat some meat (Some very devoted vegetarians and vegans can get around this). Our digestive systems are adapted to breakdown minimal quantities of wild caught (lean) small animals like rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, duck and the like. However, most of us don’t, can’t or wouldn’t live off of a diet like that. Most people in the U.S. eat steak, ribs, burgers, and entire chickens. Unfortunately, not only is this type and quantity of meat NOT what we evolved to eat, but it also makes us sick! So, because we evolved on an omnivorous diet our body doesn’t know what to do with all that meat. Excessive meat consumption can contribute to many health issues like heart disease, obesity and cancer.  That said, any unbalanced diet can be bad — even extreme veganism.

In my home, we are omnivores who tend to hang out on the carnivorous side of the plate with some frequency. While our breakfasts and lunches are often light on (or devoid of) meat it is an integral part of dinner. Meat is involved as either a centerpiece of the meal, like roast, chicken, or pork loin, or as an ingredient in the centerpiece such as chicken noodle soup, beef strudel or lasagna with meat sauce. Because meat is such a big part of our diet I do my best to provide my family with the highest quality meat I can. For me, the ideal score is grass-fed and or free-range, low chemical and local. I wanted to take a minute to define some of these meaty terms.

Grass fed cattle: Farmers who grass feed allow their cattle to graze in a pasture. This is a pretty good life and the low stress environment reduces the need for many antibiotics. It’s a healthier, happier animal than the animal that spends its life in a stall being fed (sometimes by force) low quality grain and animal byproducts.  

Factory Farming: This is most of the meat you buy in fast food restaurants, at the grocery store and mega mart. There are a few exceptions. Some groceries and megastores do offer some organic meats, but I lack trust in these corporations to have the high standard I try to keep for my family. Also, some fast food establishments are starting to make better choices. For example, Chipotle buys a large portion of their meat from PolyFace Biodynamic Farm in Virginia — awesome.  Anyway, factory farming ranges from the horrific, disgusting, abusive, neglectful, unappetizing stuff you see on YouTube videos to relatively clean, highly streamlined, and even sanitary conditions that we see in the best case scenarios. I guess I believe that factory farms are largely in the middle but definitely gross enough that I try to avoid anything from them. Also, the byproducts and indirect effects of these methods are a tragedy for any ecosystem even remotely connected to factory farms. It’s meat mass production. Most of the meat that we (most of us) eat comes from a factory farm. This is the system we have created. How can something that is so bad for the animals and so bad for us be so common? This is one of the many reasons why people are “Occupying” major cities across the world right now.

All Natural: The government definition is “a product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed.”  

Organic: As it pertains to meat, farmers must provide conditions that are healthy for the animal and only feed them “100 percent organic” feed. They are not allowed to feed the animals any other animals. Sounds gross, I know, but factory farms feed their cattle a lot of chopped up cows and other animals. The cattle cannot be given plastic pellets to aid digestion, or anything containing urea (concentrated urine) or manure (poo!!!). (Why does this even have to be a rule? “Nope, sorry, Mister. You cannot feed your cow plastic or feces.” Or is it worse to think of it this way “Listen, Mister, if you feed your cattle plastic and feces we won’t label it organic but we will certainly feed it to people.")

Certified: The government has officially evaluated this meat product to be of the claimed grade, class, or quality (Certified Angus Beef, Certified Organic).

Free Range: Careful with this one. All a free range label means is that the animal was allowed “some” access to the outside. The USDA does not specify the quality or size of outdoor range or the duration of time the animal must spend outside.

No Antibiotics: Animals must be raised without antibiotics. Most factory farms use antibiotics to a dangerous excess. However, some very responsible farmers use antibiotics sparingly and carefully to increase the health and quality of life of their livestock and only in ways that will not be harmful to you. I am not bothered when a high quality, responsible, local farmer uses antibiotics during specific time periods.

No Hormones: Animals must not have been given any growth hormones during their lives. We know that the growth hormones that are given to livestock can be passed on to us when we eat them. We know that added growth hormones are a bad thing for us — and especially our children. Growth hormones seem really scary to me. If you want, maybe we can talk about this in another blog.  

For more information on these labels and the reasoning behind them find someone who actually knows what they are talking about.

• Eat Wild: http://eatwild.com/basics.html
• Organic Trade Association: http://www.ota.com/organic/foodsafety/OrganicBeef.html
• National Organic Program: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop
• USDA Food Label Requirements: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/meat_&_poultry_labeling_terms/index.asp
• Reasons to buy organic meat and dairy http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-buy-organic-dairy-meat.html

Finally, the question that started this rant … Where can I buy CERTIFIED organic meat?

You can buy “certified” organic meat at the grocery store — even the mega store. The certified part means that the government agrees that the manufacturer met the minimum requirements to be called organic. However, this label doesn’t really mean a lot to me. I would much rather buy meat from a local vendor. I can meet them at the Haymaker’s Farmer Market — like Katrina Kohout from Salt of the Earth Farm in Atwater, OH. They use words like “love”, “slow-growing” and “diverse” in their business description. They state “The animals are not caged at any point, and each life is precious to us”. So, basically, you can buy a steak filled with love and good mojo.

The same can be said for Duma’s in Ravenna, OH. They raise most of the meat they sell themselves. They are a small family business where you can meet them at the counter when you visit. This is another group of people who truly appreciate their opportunity to provide high quality, safe food for those in their community.

Finally, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by small farms. I think many of us don’t realize how rare this is in many parts of the country. At any of these farms you are likely to find high quality, low or no antibiotic, organic meat products for sale. Many of these farms will allow you to “go in” on a whole cow with a few friends. You can get many cuts of healthy meat at an affordable price approaching what you pay at a large chain. Most small farms are also much more environmentally responsible than factory farms as frugality and conservation are the keys to a small farm’s success.

Here are a few more informative links:

• Haymaker Farmers Market http://haymakermarket.com/
• Salt of the Earth http://www.saltoftheearthfarm.com/index.html
• Duma’s Meats  http://www.dumameatsfarmmarket.com/services
• Grass-fed farm finder http://www.eatwild.com/products/ohio.html
• Local farm finder http://www.localharvest.org/

Finally, you should buy from local, small businesses because more of the money you spend here stays here. If you care about “Organic” you probably care about our community too and shopping locally is one way to support our community. Furthermore, small, local businesses are more likely to be environmentally responsible as they have a stake in the community.

This message will self destruct in 10 seconds,

Mo

Maureen Drinkard, lives in Kent, teaches biology and ecology, co-owns with the very handsome Mr. Eddie Donley, has 3 surly little people and one terrible Chihuahua/Pug.