We spoke about fish yesterday, and today our Earth Week attention needs to be focused on beef. There are plenty of books and tales of unhealthy slaughtering conditions and unhealthy animals so what’s a consumer to do? First off we have the organic discussion followed by questions regarding sustainability. Whatever our budgets can afford, and yes, there are significant price differences. Beef has taken on a whole vocabulary full of words that distinguish one animal’s upbringing from another’s.
Upton Sinclair (The Jungle) started the dialogue about humane animal and slaughtering conditions early in the 1900s, and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) laid the cornerstone for the 2000’s, and now here we are at Earth Week 2010 still searching for healthy meats. Some nutritionists quickly chime in and say that the phrase, healthy meats, is an oxymoron as we need to limit our beef input significantly or eliminate such consumption. Let’s say we understand but recognize the reality includes beef. What are the best products to purchase? Where’s the beef? Maybe that’s not the question we need to ask, but whose beef is this?
In this age of numerous and ongoing beef recalls, food safety must be paramount in our decision-making.
If you purchase limited quantities of beef, then it is easier to justify your expenditures from top purveyors. In many instances, you will be surprised that their prices are not so-called, out of line. Many of these suppliers are individuals who trek to the farm markets to sell their prize products. The grass-fed movement has finally taken off, and for many it is the answer to the most humane question. If Wagyu or Kobe Beef meets your budget, then that natural route has a number of suppliers. As for organic and humane, consider a farm that specializes in such meats, such as Virginia’s Ayrshire Farm.
To help you locate who has the best beef for your money and to understand the range of beef possibilities, consult Local Harvest or Eat Wild, both of whom have devoted discussions and extensive lists of suppliers who can provide the top-quality meats.
Sustainable, organic, humane: All words we need to consider when we have a beef discussion. Whether you purchase directly from the farm, visit a farm market, or spend your beef dollars at a grocer who purchases this top quality, this is the week you should organize your thoughts and ready your commitment.
Bites.
It does not take rocket science to analyze what food establishments whether they be cafes, full-service restaurants, quick shops, or grocers are doing to capture our attention and our food dollars. We have to eat, and it seems we continue to figure out ways to economize the approach.
The “other” flours are finding new-found popularity in this heightened allergy world that quickly points the finger at wheat products, especially whole wheat. Not just obvious, allergic reactions, but there’s plenty of medical discussions and research about behavior-altering reactions from the wheats. Did you know you could buy rice flour, potato starch flour, or tapioca flour? Pay attention, these products, and other similar non-wheat flours, are not that difficult to find anymore; they are gaining greater visibility on grocery shelves.
We’ve talked a lot about restaurants lately, but the food world has plenty of supermarket news worth noting, too. As more people eat at home, which explains the difficulty restaurants face, grocers have found inventive ways to pick up the slack. Last week 