After eating fully vegetarian meals since going to the farmers market (not all vegan as I enjoyed some of
Saxon Homestead Creamery's amazing green fields cheese -- you can taste the grass!) I had to try some of the meat I bought from
Mint Creek Farm. I made some goat stew with Mint Creek's goat kabob meat. This is a very cheap cut and reminded me that those who complain of grass fed meat's prohibitive cost should consider that those who can't afford a filet from a grass fed steer don't need to buy a filet from a corn fed steer -- they could buy the cheaper cuts which, prepared properly, are in my opinion sometimes better. The meat was certainly "gamey" and I do believe I could taste the grass. Michael Pollan meets a farmer who raises cattle, pigs and chickens in the Omnivore's Dilemma who calls himself a grass farmer. Healthy grass is the key to it all. Well Mint Creek seems to agree. What's the first thing they discuss on their website? Nothing short of the
types of grasses on their fields that their sheep and goats are eating. There's no discussion here of marbeling, tenderness, cheap prices, or other descriptions of the end product (the butchered meat in your fridge or freezer). Instead Mint Creek discusses the individual types of grasses their animals eat, and mentions what this means: simply healthy animals. From that the rest follows.
I have to say that my mood and energy levels have been up and I noticed it considerably throughout this holiday weekend. While there may be other explanations, I am so far convinced that eating some meat is the right move.
I perhaps prematurely defrosted the lamb kidney so I'm going to have to find a good recipe for that and freeze the finished product.
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Since I was introduced to the Paleo diet, I've been on a kick to get better quality meats, but it seems to me that labels like "all natural" and "grass fed" simply exist to satisfy a demand for such products and not really to provide top quality meat. I think you should write about that on your blog. From what I’ve read, the best practice is to go directly to the source and learn about their process before you order the meat.
ReplyDeleteI have not eaten grass fed beef here in Miami; it has been extremely hard to find small farms that raise their cattle mostly on grass and hay. I think the weather and land restrictions have something to do with that…
Since all of the meat I buy comes from a supermarket, I just buy the “All Natural” labels, since these are more price effective and it seems that there is very little difference in the lives of these animals…
The good thing about living by the water is that most of our sources of protein come from small family run fish markets where the fish comes in fresh that day. I guess location and seasonality should have a lot to do with healthy eating habits. Those by the water should consume more fish and those living inland should find healthy sources of meat… It all goes back to the basics it seems…
Thanks for the comment, Anton.
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly haunted by the idea that one day "grass fed" will be as meaningless as "free range" but it may be coming soon. Absent going to the farm you can take the farm's word on their practices and habits based on their website and reputation. Farmers markets are also a great way to literally take the meat, milk and eggs from the hands of the farmers and an opportunity to ask them: is this really 100% pasture-raised?
I totally agree on the geographic elements you raised and hope to talk about that more soon. It seems obvious but can be helpful to remind ourselves that people should (and do or at least did) eat very differently around the world. Some areas rely almost entirely on fish (small island communities), others almost entirely on game (certain landlocked Africans). As Michael Pollan discusses in In Defense of Food, the variety of diet around the globe for thousands of years proves that the human body can survive very well on almost any diet -- EXCEPT the "Western diet" for which we see massive diet-related illnesses.