The attractive steak on sale at the grocery store probably didn’t come from a cow that grazed on a green field next to a red barn. These days conventional cows are raised in tiny stalls on massive lots generating massive amounts of manure. The cows are injected with hormones to fatten them quickly and antibiotics to control diseases. They’re processed in huge plants which spread e.coli and salmonella. Meat processors try to control the contamination by injecting ammonia into the meat. Steaks are also injected with brine that makes that steak up to forty percent water.
Delicious, eh? Fortunately local family farms still raise cows on pasture and make the meat available to Kitsap shoppers.
How Cheap is That Steak?
Ground beef on sale! Cheapest steaks in the county! Chicken sandwich for only one dollar!
Many of us say, “I don’t want to know what goes into hot dogs.” We have an uneasy feeling that there are things we don’t know about where this cheap meat comes from. We think maybe it isn’t important- until something happens to our family’s health.
Industrial feedlots called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) crowd cattle, pigs, and chickens in very small spaces, often sitting in their own manure. These animals have been bred to be confined and to meet our requirements for meat (like breast meat). They’re fed on products like corn and soy they do not eat in nature. The misery of their lives and deaths turn out miserable foods for our tables. For an in-depth look at how meat is produced, check out the links on the issues page at the CAFO the Book web site.
Conventional Beef
Most of us don’t know what cattle raised on CAFOs are actually fed. The Union of Concerned Scientists lists elements of cattle feed that are legal but alarming: plastics, diseased animals, same species meat, manure. Seriously! They’re also fed large amounts of corn and soy products provided by the corn and soy industries which our government subsidizes. Here’s a good place to start if you want to explore cattle feed in depth: They Eat What? The Reality of Feed at Animal Factories.
Do you know a girl who entered puberty at a surprisingly young age? That’s a trend – the average age now is 12 and a half, with girls as young as seven entering puberty. Several environmental toxins are suspected to be triggering this, the top suspect is cattle hormones. They’re also suspected in the sharp increase in breast cancer. The European Community banned US meat imports in 1989. Dr. Samuel Epstein explores the issue in his press release Hormones in U.S. Beef Linked to Increased Cancer Risk.
That cow raised on a CAFO and injected with hormones is next trucked to a processing plant where it is butchered so quickly that the butchered meat is exposed to manure and intestines. To make ground beef the meat from many cows, including diseased animals, is mixed together. Processors inject meat with ammonia to kill e.coli and salmonella, but that doesn’t completely control the contamination. In 2009 Michael Moss of the New York Times reported Should brine-injected meat be labeled?
And if you’re concerned about High Fructose Corn Syrup, read the label of your ham or sausage – many of these contain HFCS.
That cheap steak or fast food sandwich starts to look pretty expensive when we factor in the costs the meat industry offloads to us, especially in health care costs.
Grass Fed and Organic Beef
Cows evolved to eat grass. Some lucky cows still get to live on open pastures and eat grass. Beef from these animals is marketed as grass-fed. This doesn’t guarantee that they don’t have antibiotics or hormones though; only meat labeled organic is required to be hormone and antibiotic free. The term “natural” isn’t regulated so meat labeled natural may not be either grass-fed or organic.
In Kitsap we are very lucky to have access to farmer-grown beef producers. Just like vegetable producers, local farmers often don’t market their meat as organic because the certification requires significant expense. If you talk to the farmer they will tell you how their meat is raised. Some start their cows on corn but finish on grass, some reserve the right to use antibiotics if necessary, some very strictly avoid antibiotics and hormones, and some are certified organic.
Local Beef
Abundantly Green
Abundantly Green in Central Kitsap raises cattle the old-fashioned way, on the family farm using local feed, without any antibiotics or hormones. The farm goes to the trouble of certifying their produce organic but they don’t certify the meat because the cost of organic feed would push the costs of this meat up. Read Cliff and Marilyn Holt’s philosophy of raising cattle. The Abundantly Green farm stand and farmers market booth also offers Woolly Acres lamb.
The farm store is open Tuesday 2 to 6:30 p.m. at 1146 NE Madison Rd, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Check out the web site directions.
Blackjack Valley Farm
Karen Olsen’s been raising cattle since she was a kid. Her Port Orchard farm includes a farm store where you can pick up beef, chickens, eggs (in season), and raw milk! You can also pick up her meat and milk at Colello’s Farm Stand.
Karen updates her Facebook page with news about her cows!
Shorts Family Farm
Kevin Short raises cattle on his Chimacum family farm in Jefferson County. With 300 acres they have plenty of room to move and plenty of grass to eat! He doesn’t use hormones or antibiotics. The family sometimes has a booth at the Poulsbo Farmers Market, and you can sometimes find Shorts meat at Colello’s Farm Stand.
Here’s the Shorts Family Farm web site. The Facebook page has the latest updates. Chimacum Corner did a greatinterview with Kevin.
Clark Farm
Tom Clark travels the farthest to bring us meat from the farm. He and Holly farm in sunny Sequim, in Clallam County. Clark Meats have a distinct and delicious taste, a true terroire! The Clarks sell their no hormones, no antibiotics, grass-fed meat to many people like me who can no longer eat commercially raised beef. You can catch the Clarks at the Poulsbo Farmers Market.
Contact info: Holly and Tom Clark, 863 E. Anderson, Sequim WA 98382. Phone: (360) 681-5499
Local Meat Processing
Did you know that only meat processed in a USDA facility can be sold at farmers markets? There are no USDA processing plants on the Olympic Peninsula, so farmers have to ship their animals a significant distance to be processed. Two regional facilities inspected by the Washington State Department of Agriculture can process meat sold to an individual. However, this meat can’t be sold to anyone else or donated to a food bank.
The two “custom exempt” facilities are:
Farmer George in Port Orchard
Sunrise Meats in Port Angeles
When you go to the farmers market you find vendors there with freezers full of meat. They’ve had their meat processed at a USDA facility. They also offer to sell quarter, half and whole cows, lambs, and pigs. The way this works is, you sign up to buy the animal and put up a deposit, or pay in advance. The farmer raises the animal – this takes a while! The farmer will take the animal to the butcher. The farmer or the butcher will contact you when the animal is processed to come pick up the meat. You pick it up, take it home, and put it in your freezer.
How much freezer space do you need? Less than you think. I have an upright freezer and put half a pig on one shelf. Cliff and Marilyn Holt say “A rule of thumb is one cubic foot of freezer space for each 35-40 pounds of cut and wrapped meat.”
How to Cook Local Meat
Now you have meat like your grandmother used to eat! It’s healthy food and it’s going to taste fantastic. Remember though that it’s much leaner than the meat you’re used to eating. That means it doesn’t have as much fat. Also, no one has injected this meat with brine so it will plump up in the pan. You may be used to just dropping a steak in a dry pan, but that will dry up this meat. You’ll need to fry it in butter, olive oil, grapeseed oil, or whatever fat you prefer to use.
Here are more tips from Sustainable Table: How to Cook Grass-Fed Beef.
