Stay Tuned
Now THAT was interesting!
Eight of you were kind enough to take part in my little informal survey... and then I was stuck trying to figure out how to carry on this discussion/question/answer/survey thing. I hope you find this interesting and not a lecture and/or too boring. Randy suggested I explain each of my topics I asked you about... so I'm starting there!
I think the American consumer is becoming more "food conscious"... and to me that means, you want high quality, plentiful, safe, and local food... at least to the extent possible. You know you're not gonna get locally grown bananas in Minnesota in the wintertime!
Americans have become fairly *spoiled* (haha...) about their food. Does anyone remember getting an orange in their stocking for Christmas? Or nuts? Why? Because that was a *treat*, it was *special*... You just couldn't get that in the wintertime... but now we can.
Consumers can also talk with their money about what is important to them. Obviously, many people believe organic is *better* and they are willing to put out the extra cash for that trait. Ditto *grass fed*. Even the story about beef with the label of *Wolf Friendly* which is probably just a Rural Legend, but almost believable. (The cow must have not been TOO friendly with a wolf, or she would have ended up on the inside of the wolf instead of a market in New York City 
)
)COOL, or Country of Origin Labeling, is a controversial government labeling program for fresh meat and fruit and vegetables. It's like a t-shirt whose label says "Proudly Made in the USA". Or a car, or furniture, or whatever that states where it was made. The majority of consumers, including you kind folks that answered my survey, state they'd prefer to buy local or made in the US. That's all it wants to do, but it's been held up in court or some such debate... as opponents (other countries) see it as a trade barrier. I don't see why it is so hard to support US ranchers over imports myself, there's nothing wrong with Australian beef <waves at Bush Babe and smiles>, but can't you give the consumer the information to make his choice?
Our "Natural" steers are headed to a Tyson affiliated feedlot in Nebraska, the way I understand it. Since they will continue the Natural label, if one gets sick with pneumonia (yes, cattle get pneumonia) and they give it antibiotics to recover, they will also pull that steer from the program, since Natural means no antibiotics or growth hormones. It is NOT the same as organic. Organic is no antibiotics or hormones PLUS the feed the animal eats must be organic (no fertilizing fields of hay and then feeding that hay to the cattle) and also free ranging.
Grassfed or grainfed. It's all personal preference. Do you like your coffee black or with sugar and cream? Vanilla or Moose Tracks? Automatic or standard? Me? I much prefer grainfed. Meat animals absorb the flavor of what they eat to a certain extent. Ever killed an antelope off of an alfalfa field versus a sagebrush flat? How about a whitetail out of a marshy swamp or dry desert grass? My dad used to say moose taste like willow bark... though I never chewed on willow to see if he was right! I have had willow tea, yech... but my headache went away. (salicylic acid is found in willow bark)
(salicylic acid is found in willow bark)Not only is the flavor enhanced with grain, the steer gets fatter. We use our own barley and oats. Fatter means more marbling in the meat, spreading the flavor throughout the cut, also making it more tender. To do this, it's common to feedlot them, making it easier to feed them plus it limits their activity... making them into bovine couch potatoes. Eating lots of grain, getting fat... gonna be a great steak in my book. Those looking for leaner cuts of meat, choose the grass fed. Grass fed doesn't have the marbling, and sometimes can make for tougher cuts... a different style of cooking can help, I've heard.
I'll have to finish this tomorrow... I feel like I'm writing a rough draft for an opinionated research paper! I've found this pretty interesting.
I'm thrilled that you eight participated. I might just have to hand out a prize! Stay tuned.
P.S. The frogs are from the Garden Walk last Saturday... here's some more.
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June 30, 2010 Wordless Wednesday - "Old Man Leaning"
June 30, 2009 Eye on the Sky
June 30, 2008 No entry.
Carol, even though I didn't ask a question, I am finding your comments on these questions to be most interesting, informative, and not in the least, boring. But the vimeo of the puppies eating does beat it out.
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Yay, I'm glad I didn't bore you... sometimes it is hard to decide how much is too much information! Puppies beat almost everything else out!
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woooT! you read my comment, never ever thought i would be mentioned lol....very interesting and will be more attentive at the butcher counter. I look forward to the rest of your 'lesson'...and yes, grain fed is my preference with lots of marbling, though i know i should be eating grass fed
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I read ALL my comments... and appreciate each and every one! Why do you feel guilty about grain fed meat?
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grass fed is supposedly heathier-less fat.
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Hi, thanks for writing on this. It is very interesting. I am surprised at how some groups might be against labeling where your food comes from. I lived in England for a bit and a large number of the fruits and vegetables were labeled with what country they originated in. It was quite neat to watch the place of origin shift throughout the year and to have an idea of how far that food had to travel to get to my local grocery.
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It is easy to see fruit and veggies from New Zealand or Mexico... why not a simple sticker on your beef too? It seems such a simple supportive idea.
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Hey there! That was fascinating! I particularly enjoyed the grass fed v. grain fed bit. The reason I didn't comment yesterday was because I felt kind of dumb for not knowing the difference. Thanks so much for taking the time to explain it! Looking forward to more!
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Well, that's the simplified version... but I'm glad I could help! Next time, just ask... I promise I won't bite!
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The husband likes to check out the beef prices in Costco but we always eat our own, grass fed and natural beef. Usually a 3 year old heifer.
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So does Canada have a COOL label?
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I forgot to come back yesterday to answer the survey. I don't buy a lot of beef because of the price, but when I do, I look for natural. Would love to buy the organic but can't afford it. Thanks for the explanation on a lot of the other things because I learned a lot.
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Alice, if you ever have more questions, just ask, and I'll try my best to find the answer for you!
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Yes, we grew up getting oranges and nuts in our stockings and that was our favorite part!!!
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Later my parents switched it to our favorite foods... my brother'd get a bottle of ketchup, I'd get olives... we were more excited about those!
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I would agree with this wholeheartedly (even if we ARE considered 'the opposition' here!). I think all nations should look after their own farmers - surely the very best place to source their meal ingredients (and be able to examine the things that are important to them about their food?).
Of course you can trust Aussie beef - not only the cleanest (thanks in part to our isolation from the rest of the world!) but also best tracability system in the world. (sorry you know I had to do a plug!).
My concerns lately have been along these lines (but different!):
http://bushbabeofoz.com/2011/06/17/imagine-we-are-sisters/
Have an awesome day, y'all! (that's my best Texas accent there).
BB
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BB, thanks for answering my request! And, honestly, we'd LOVE to hear your Australian accent! Maybe we should do a vlog together!
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I prefer grain feed also or corn fed when available. If you know who Nolan Ryan is - I try to buy his label of beef here in Texas. I also love to find the beefaloe and buffalo meat that is grown here in the Fort Worth area. Growing up, we always knew where our beef came from since it was raised on the family farm or my great uncle the butcher would split a cow with us.
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Nolan Ryan = baseball. I like buffalo, but don't buy it often! I think a lot of our problem these days (misunderstandings between pasture/field and plate) is because people don't have relatives on a farm anymore!
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So, I realized I responded to yesterday's entry pretty darn after-the-fact! That's what happens when you go on vacation to the north woods and make a pact with the daughter not to open the laptops for 3 days. I am still very interested in the comments, since I work the consumers of beef almost everyday. I know what people buy, and yes, price is often number one, but often people will pay more for better quality (as they perceive it) and just buy less quantity or less often. It is important to know what they think is 'better quality', and why, and your blog has given me lots of insight to share with them.
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