We were sobered by last weekend's massive beef recall and strengthened in our resolve to be very careful where we buy our meat. We are cooking a big beef curry this weekend for some friends and we are thinking that even the "hormone-free" supermarket brand isn't quite good enough.
We are on the hunt for local, well-raised, humanely-butchered beef. Here are some of the resources we consult.
• Eat Well Guide - Eat Well is the first place we looked. It's a large searchable database of farmers, butchers, produce markets and more. We searched for beef within a 20-mile radius of our home and promptly found 10 farms that hand-raise beef, pigs, and goats. Eat Well is privately funded through GRACE and it is developing into an absolutely great resource for well-organized and clear information on local food resources.
• Eatwild Directory - Eatwild focuses on grass-fed and raised animals and meat. They also are a great resource for finding good meat.
• Farmers Markets - And of course, try your local farmers market. We have two butchers in our local permanent indoor market and they give us good advice on choosing meats. They all use local meat and meat processors.
Where do you buy local, hormone-free, well-raised meat? Leave us a comment telling us where you are and where you look for meat you trust. Maybe we can build our own mini set of resources and reviews from around the country.
• Do Pampered Cows Taste Better?
• One-Minute Tip: How to Cook Grass-Fed Beef
• Why Tougher Meats Make Good Braises
• How to Broil a Steak in the Oven
(Image credit: Kaisers Celtic Cattle)
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Fox and Obel in Chicago has just started carrying Bill Kurtis' pasture raised beef. I believe he has pastures in Illinois and Montana.
Tallgrass.
http://www.tallgrassbeef.com/bill_kurtis.php
Whole Foods also offers a selection of local pasture raised beef in addition to their, "um, yes mam, all of our beef is like natural, and doesn't have antibiotics and stuff."
view art's profile
As a new resident of Los Angeles, I was thrilled at the abundance and variety of food at the farmers' markets here. I usually go to the Sunday morning Hollywood farmers' market, where you can buy delicious local, pasture-raised beef and pork, directly from the farmer. There's also a farmer there selling pasture-raised bison meat, which I haven't yet tried. Not every local farmers' market has meat, but I know that it can definitely be found at the Santa Monica market as well.
view jooleeyet's profile
My local co-op (in Seattle) does extensive research on local companies before agreeing to stock their meat in-store. They display brochures and encourage conversation. I trust them completely.
view wesaturtle's profile
I came across Fox Fire Farms on an internet search, and they seem very interesting. They do organic grass-fed beef, lamb, goat, apple-finished pork, organic apples, eggs...
...although based in Colorado, they ship nationwide (no, not local, but has less of an environmental impact than the massive distribution networks of meat and grocery products from supermarkets)...
http://www.foxfirefarms.com/index.asp?PageAction=COMPANY
view monika1's profile
in SF, i try to buy from Marin Sun Farms at the farmers' market or my neighborhood market (Bi-Rite), but i've been considering going in on a CSA-style split half from Morris Grassfed Beef with some friends.
Local Harvest seems to have a good nationwide database of information about ranchers that sell through farmers' markets or directly.
view bakingAndBokeh's profile
We use a meat CSA formed by a few farms in upstate New York. They deliver free to a pretty large surrounding area of northeastern states. Grassfed lamb and beef and pork. The meat is amazing, the cuts are really good, and its fun to find new things to cook with what we get every week. Eight O'Clock Ranch. They also sell cuts invdividually.
http://www.eightoclockranch.com/investor.html
view sunnyteigh's profile
I fear that the AT's solution of "Buy Local Meat" does not properly address the issue. AT is assuming, as do most "localvores", that meat from local animals is safer. Just because one eats meat from a farm closer to her does not mean: a) the meat does not contain any disease; and/or b) the meat comes from animals that were humanely reared and slaughtered. Sure, items a and b are more likely to occur on a smaller scale farm compared to a giant factory farm. But how many "localvores" have actually VISITED the farm they buy their meat from? How about just not eating meat?
view SkippyB's profile
i can say that i have actually stepped on the farms that i have bought any product from--meat, honey, cheese, fruit. i have done so because it is important to me to have a personal connection, and because the farms are all within a rather short distance. i think if one lives in a city, then the research that should be done gets a little more difficult, but trusting a co-op or butcher is reasonable.
skippyb, have you rigourously researched all the sources you get your veggies, fruit, etc from? food safety issues are not limited to meat.
view fourinonehalf's profile
My primary concern is meat raised to high standard. Local is a bonus. And it must be exquisite in flavor.
Our eggs, chicken, and bison are local and humane (purchased at the Hollywood Farmer's Market).
Some of the lamb we buy is imported from New Zealand or Australia. I hate the air miles but the quality is very high and the standards are as well. We've bought half lambs by mail order a few times. Quality has varied (I stupidly specified a huge huge animal one time not realizing that it meant an old old animal.) We find that we really enjoy eating our way through the animinal. Both options are very inexpensive.
I travel to SF for work at least once a month and have traveled back with enough raw meat, sausage, cheese, and bread that I am probably on a TSA watch list. I love the goat. It turns that you can check raw meat without any problem. Again, air miles. *sigh*
And we always, always have a half pig from a local farmer friend.
view JudiAU's profile