Organic or "regular" meat?

[Kat09Tails]

I am thinking that they're referring to the feed lot cities. You can smell them from miles away. That said *most* while smelly are not up to their bellies in manure. It's bad business.

It's basically assembly finish. The cows are fed a constant diet of grain and hay chop to put that marble finish on. The major issue I have with it is that the image we're sold with in the grocery store is



While reality is

[HayleyMarie]

Totally agree with Kat and Mia, I've driven past tons of feed lots and always the cows are not crammed, they have lots of room to move around and have food and water all the time. I have no issue with most feed lots what so ever!

[release the hounds]

when it comes to beef, certified grass fed is more important than organic labeling

[J. Morrison]

Originally Posted by Miakoda

I've seen a whole heckuva lot of beef cattle ranches, and none of them had cattle just stuck standing in their own urine and feces.

I've also been to three separate slaughter houses in Texas, and the conditions of all three were quite clean. Cattle were in clean pens with hay and water. They weren't crammed side to side. And there were at least a thousand head at each facility. To be honest, I was impressed with the conditions (one of them was the one I used to slaughter and prepare our cow).

Oh, I know the bad and disgusting exist. But the overall slaughter industry isn't what PETA portrays it to be. And while one can have a big/chichen/turkey/etc. farm as clean and humane as possible, the fact d jets that we dint have the space nor the money to raise such animals/fowl over thousands of acres of land. And the current need for such far outweighs the amount that would be available if such breeding/raising farms were outlawed. Which is exactly what PETA wants.....for no person to eat meat of any kind.

This isn't 1880 anymore where most people and there families exist off the produce grown on and animals raised on their own land.

Fair enough. I, however, don't base any opinion off of PETA. In fact I don't really like their stance on just about anything.

The way I look at it is it doesn't hurt to buy organic in order to avoid the steroids, antibiotics, and all of the stuff that they pump in cows and chickens. If someone else doesn't wanna pay for it, that's cool too. It's none of my business, really.

[katielou]

I just wanted to add to mine (on my phone hard to edit).

I don't care about organic or not I care about fresh, local, well kept animals at a place that welcomes me to check the place out and I can build a sold supplier/customer relationship with my farmer and butcher.

[Doberluv]

Originally Posted by Miakoda

I've seen a whole heckuva lot of beef cattle ranches, and none of them had cattle just stuck standing in their own urine and feces.

I've also been to three separate slaughter houses in Texas, and the conditions of all three were quite clean. Cattle were in clean pens with hay and water. They weren't crammed side to side. And there were at least a thousand head at each facility. To be honest, I was impressed with the conditions (one of them was the one I used to slaughter and prepare our cow).

Oh, I know the bad and disgusting exist. But the overall slaughter industry isn't what PETA portrays it to be. And while one can have a big/chichen/turkey/etc. farm as clean and humane as possible, the fact d jets that we dint have the space nor the money to raise such animals/fowl over thousands of acres of land. And the current need for such far outweighs the amount that would be available if such breeding/raising farms were outlawed. Which is exactly what PETA wants.....for no person to eat meat of any kind.

This isn't 1880 anymore where most people and there families exist off the produce grown on and animals raised on their own land.

I agree. I lived on a well known dairy farm (Carnation Farm in Carnation Wa) (dairy farms are also portrayed that way by Peta and other animal rights nuts) and it was clean, the cows lived out on beautiful huge pastures and the workers really loved and cared for the cows. You have to scroll down, as the pictures don't seem to want to stick close together. Beautiful place, huh.

See Bonnie, Jose` and Chuli


My daughter with the heifers

[ravennr]

for ourselves, we buy organic. that means i've DRASTICALLY cut down the amount of meat we eat. Ry is getting to love this semi-vegetarian thing though. he is in love with black bean burgers, black bean burritos, meatless nuggets and chili.

unfortunately, i cannot afford, at the moment, to only buy organic for Rock.
i buy him cheap steak cuts, pork, and veal.

i'm hunting for a good butcher though.


ETA: got ahead of myself. i typed organic, and it is, but i meant to clarify. we buy from a store we know gets meats that are humanely raised and treated, including feeding. i had to search a database to find them, but the end result is better tasting meat that i feel better about eating. the health part doesn't come in for the fact that we eat that meat, but what we're replacing the bulk of our meat intake with. my cooking overall has become healthier.

[Doberluv]

I think I might be gradually and inadvertently evolving into a vegetarian. LOL. I love meat, but I'm concentrating so much of more vegetables and making about 3/4 of my meal vegetables, perhaps a tad bit of something whole grain, fruit or beans, legumes or something...that there simply isn't enough room for much meat with the exception of fish I guess just because I think it's so healthy as long as it's wild from Alaska. But once in a while, some real meat is good.

[Lilavati]

PETA would like us to believe that all farms are industrial nightmares. That is, of course, not true. The industrial farms, would like us to believe that they are all small farmers who sincerely care about the welfare of the animals. That is also not true.

Farms range from factory farm nightmare to humane family farm, and by and large, other than checking it out yourself or by reputation, there's no way to know where that plastic wrapped package with a happy cow on it that costs three times normal price came from. And that's without taking "organic" into account, which really has very little to do with the welfare of the animals. At the margin, "organic" farms probably take slightly better care of their animals, because they have to to not use all the antibiotics and such . . . on the other hand, many small farms can't use the organic label, because it costs too much to get the certification.

Mike and I are increasingly buying from Virginia small farmers and buying grass or pasture fed. It tastes better, and we can be fairly certain about how the animals were treated (something no label in a grocery will tell you for certain). We don't care too much about organic, though I get organic milk at the grocery to avoid BGH (and milk from farms just isn't feasible . . .if we can't freeze it, then we have to go to the store). But, of course, the sort of places we generally buy from basically are organic. And I don't care if they dose a sick cow with antibiotics so he or she gets well (which organic farms can't do . . no antibiotics, period, not just no preventive use). We have also switched to vegetarian 2-4 days each week so that we can afford the difference in price (and its better for us anyway).

If more people made the same choices: eat less, higher quality meat from more humane operations, we could still feed everyone, and probably without much, if any, increase in land use. Its the demand for cheap meat in vast quantities that, at least in part, drives an industry that treats animals . . .in a way I wouldn't treat them, although its not as bad as PETA wants you to think, nor is it all the same. But if I wouldn't treat an animal like that . . .why should I buy from people who do? I am genuinely fond of cattle and chickens. I like them. I rather like goats too, and my aunt's sheep are pleasant creatures. I don't particularly like pigs, but I nod to their intelligence. However, I also think all these critters are extremely tasty . . . but I want to know that they lived well and died humanely.

[release the hounds]

Originally Posted by Lilavati

PETA would like us to believe that all farms are industrial nightmares. That is, of course, not true. The industrial farms, would like us to believe that they are all small farmers who sincerely care about the welfare of the animals. That is also not true.

Farms range from factory farm nightmare to humane family farm, and by and large, other than checking it out yourself or by reputation, there's no way to know where that plastic wrapped package with a happy cow on it that costs three times normal price came from. And that's without taking "organic" into account, which really has very little to do with the welfare of the animals. At the margin, "organic" farms probably take slightly better care of their animals, because they have to to not use all the antibiotics and such . . . on the other hand, many small farms can't use the organic label, because it costs too much to get the certification.

Mike and I are increasingly buying from Virginia small farmers and buying grass or pasture fed. It tastes better, and we can be fairly certain about how the animals were treated (something no label in a grocery will tell you for certain). We don't care too much about organic, though I get organic milk at the grocery to avoid BGH (and milk from farms just isn't feasible . . .if we can't freeze it, then we have to go to the store). But, of course, the sort of places we generally buy from basically are organic. And I don't care if they dose a sick cow with antibiotics so he or she gets well (which organic farms can't do . . no antibiotics, period, not just no preventive use). We have also switched to vegetarian 2-4 days each week so that we can afford the difference in price (and its better for us anyway).

If more people made the same choices: eat less, higher quality meat from more humane operations, we could still feed everyone, and probably without much, if any, increase in land use. Its the demand for cheap meat in vast quantities that, at least in part, drives an industry that treats animals . . .in a way I wouldn't treat them, although its not as bad as PETA wants you to think, nor is it all the same. But if I wouldn't treat an animal like that . . .why should I buy from people who do? I am genuinely fond of cattle and chickens. I like them. I rather like goats too, and my aunt's sheep are pleasant creatures. I don't particularly like pigs, but I nod to their intelligence. However, I also think all these critters are extremely tasty . . . but I want to know that they lived well and died humanely.

that's a pretty good take on the whole thing. i'd have to say I agree.

Just a note on the antibiotics used in ag. I think I saw somewhere that 80% of our antibiotic usage is in the ag industry and that isn't just to get a sick cow well or prevent illness long enough to slaughter them, but it is used to get them to gain weight, which means they can make more. Nice use of a formerly potent life saver that is becoming less and less effective everyday.