Thoughts on humanely raised meat and poultry...

GoldenEye_

Tomk652015 wrote: »

GoldenEye_ wrote: »

Tomk652015 wrote: »

no one can guarantee the animal was treated "well" thats just to subjective. you rather eat the family pet cow or just buy a steak at walmart with no emotional connection??? I was raised on a farm...anyone selling "protein" for a living is just raising it, feeding it with quality feed and sending it to slaughter.."treating it well"...like what does that even mean.

I know you mean well, but putting "protein" synonymous with meat is not entirely right and a misconception many people make (You probably know this, but saying it like that maybe confirms that belief to some). There are so many people who don't know protein can be just as easily obtained from plants that I just wanted to mention this. Other than that I completely agree!

i didn't say other things aren't protein. meat is a protein.

I know! (: I just wanted to say it because people love taking things out of context and could easily misinterpret it that way (especially if they don't know any better). You directly replaced meat with protein. meat is a protein, but protein isn't necessarily meat, thus making a propositional fallacy that could easily be misinterpreted by someone who doesn't know any better, especially since you continue to describe it as meat in the rest of the sentence (It is used as a tactic in debates for a reason!)

"I was raised on a farm...anyone selling "protein" for a living is just raising it, feeding it with quality feed and sending it to slaughter."


We agree with each other. I just want to help the misconception regarding this out of the world. I didn't and still don't want to argue with you by any means.

highwood125

dutchandkiwi wrote: »

As much as we can we buy certified organic meat in general stores. We also have some animal friendly system here that gade the living standards for eggs and poultry.

We also have a butcher that raises part of his own pigs. I have seen them and I'd trade places with them What a (short but sweet) life! He is certified organic too, but a little out of the way for us. So we go there on intervals. Expensive worth it.

Now I am very fully aware that no system is 100% but I do my best where and as I can.

I guess all I can do is like you, just try and trust/hope that who I am buying from is treating the animals decently. As well I can go meatless for meals as often as I can, there are many dinner/lunch choices that are meatless as it is.

French_Peasant

Tomk652015 wrote: »

i'm HUGELY skeptical on topics like this. We "trust" the label... "humanely raised" "grass feed" but its marketing. just don't fall victim to the marketing. if your going to be skeptical about the food you consume, then also be skeptical about the marketing of the same food. its about the almighty $. never forget. its FAR cheaper to "grass feed" your cow...yet it costs you more to buy it because of the Label!!

When we supplemented our animals it was for their well being not because we could say...hey gave that cow a one a day multi vitamin with breakfast...now pay me more for it. we got the same price as someone who grass feeds only.

just be careful is all i'm saying. do very careful research and then just make your decision. no one has to agree with you, its your choice to make. just don't fall victim to the hype one direction or the other.

Great perspective, Tom. I agree, if you really want to know what you are getting, you should be able to shake your farmer's hand, chat with him or her, and visit the farm, many of which will have "farm stores" set up.

We buy from a Lutheran pastor who inherited the farm that was in his family for generations; we can see with our own eyes the care and attention to detail for the property and the pasturage; and the cows running around being cows, the chickens running around being chickens (in their chicken tractors following the cows), and the pigs running around and being pigs in their large corral with a cool, comfortable wallow.

What is amazing is that this farm smells great, as opposed to the CAFOs with hundreds of animals shoved into a small space that smell like the third circle of hell miles away, with the massive amounts of filth.

The meat is much more expensive even through the animals are pastured, due to the amount of hands-on work required with pasturing and the fact that you can't achieve competitive economies of scale against the 1000-cow CAFOs. Also, if people are willing to pay a premium price to support these kinds of operations, more power to these farms.

That being said, I also have opportunity to visit a large conventional dairy farm, where the cows are confined in close quarters and supplemented (on a top-quality scientific diet--they grow most of their own forage, and it is very interesting to hear how they structure and create their feed with a lot of different ingredients). It is absolutely state of the art, from cow massagers to a self-select automatic milking parlor, to a self-cleaning manure channel, to spotless happy Holsteins lounging about on deep beds of clean sand under a vaulted roof and large fans. Although it is the epitome of "evil agribusiness", I would happily buy milk and meat from this farm as well, because the animals and farm are so well cared for. They send their milk to a local dairy, which I am also happy to support, even though the milk is more expensive than your typical Walmart milk.

Don't even get me started on the pricing (or the quality of care and sheer beauty) of the farm that raises Wagyu cattles hereabouts.

Motorsheen

I only eat beef that has been treated like royalty.

French_Peasant

Motorsheen wrote: »

I only eat beef that has been treated like royalty.

This is the place for you, then! http://josephdecuis.com/

robertw486

Roadkill.

They didn't see it coming....