It is no surprise that how we have been raising our food has been put under greater scrutiny than ever before. It is extremely important to be as well informed about what you eat as you possibly can. This is the only way to make sure that you are eating well and healthy and that your food is raised well. For too long, the need for high profit and low cost has driven businesses to terrible practices in the production of meat. Organic grass fed meat and organic grass finished meat is a return to sanity.
The short answer to mass produced meats is that they try to get more out of one animal that what is naturally possible. Cows are herbivores and they should eat grass. Feeding them exclusively with grains and other products, as well as giving them hormones, will “beef up” their size, but at what cost to the animal?This practice is also not at all good for the quality of the meat. Also, what can be legally called meat is not always a 100% meat. Some processed meat can legally only be obliged to have about 40% actual meat. The rest is made up with nitrates, water, fructose and other fillers. With organic, grass fed meat, you know that the animals are fed what they were born to eat and not some cocktail of chemicals and grains that can weaken the quality and nutritional value of the product.
Choosing organic grass fed meat and organic grass finished meat is also a great way to help the environment. Organic grass fed meat is far more natural and since the animals eat what grows during the summer, and is baled for the winter, the carbon footprint of bringing in fewer grains is lower.
Here in Vancouver we are lucky enough to have organic grass fed meat and organic grass finished meat suppliers in our back yard. The meat you can buy at Pasture to Plate for instance, only travels as far as 750 km and as close as 10 km to get to our customers. This is great for local meat suppliers, the environment and for the consumer who wants to know exactly where their food comes from.