Organic / Free Range / Grass Fed Meat

thisismynewmindset

...where do I find it? I live in a big city and have no idea where to go.

I saw the documentary "Food Inc." on the weekend (so that's where this is coming from).

ChantalGG

check out a market or in the meat section they are there you just have to read the labels.

beth_hayden

Check Wholefoods.

staceyGO

super store has grass fed meat.. most stores do, they are all labeled. Or http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok

eeeekie

real butcher shops

Wuggums

Try a local farmer's market - the one I like to go to near home has a vendor that does grass-fed beef. Or, if you have a Whole Foods near you, they also sell grass-fed beef, free range chicken, etc.

mlemonroe2

local butcher or whole foods market

StaceyL76

Usually local co-ops or whole food markets.

ensure it has 100% grassfed on it.

anna_lisa

you search in your area for local small farms.
Farmer's market
look up "CSA"s These are organizations that are usually small farms and usually organic that you pay a small seasonal fee and then you get fresh seasonal produce for the season and you have to like donate an hour a week at the farm helping out. These are great. Usually through these networks you can find full farms that also will have self sustaining, grass feed and free range food.

Search for Michael Pollen: he is a great resource for this kind of info.

He wrote several books put two that are great "In Defense of Food" and "Food Rules"

ennaejay

You may have to take a drive. Google it I live *near* a big city but there are local farms within 15-20 minutes.

fitniknik

Go to a Co-Op thats where I found it when I tried it. I didnt really like the taste tho... and its kinda tough... but it is much better for you!

Reisse62

Read the labels carefully. 'Natural' is not the same as organic/Free Range/Grass Fed

anna_lisa

you can also check with your states department of agriculture as they will have info for you and here is a website

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
http://sustainableagriculture.net/

Alot of these organizations do not just handle "Organic Food" But also the Grass Feed and Free Range Food also as the "total package" allows the farm to be self sustaining and truely organic as it almost becomes it's own ecosystem.

Jade_Butterfly

Well I know when I eat chicken . . . it is foster farms which is hormone free. . . It is not organic though. . .Although I know that they carry organic chicken at costco. . . Haven't looked for red meat as I don't eat it. . . They also have wild salmon. . . Hope this helps a little. . .

But I would look at Whole foods, Henry's Market place, perhaps Trader Joes, or whatevery your local healthfood market is. . .

rebsaganes

Go to eatwellguide.com and all you have to do is put in your info & it will tell you places near you that sell & raise all kinds of organic items, including beef.

Jade_Butterfly

Go to eatwellguide.com and all you have to do is put in your info & it will tell you places near you that sell & raise all kinds of organic items, including beef.

Thank you for the additional info. . much appreciated~

redheadmommy

Go to the farmers markets, therer are many in Calgary. Beside the meat they have best seletion of produce, egg, honey and I personally just love their spirit. I used to live in Calgary, and my fav farmers market was inthe south a bit east from the stampede ground. Planet organic has stores in Calgary and they are a huge supermarket éhealth food store that only carries organic from almost everything (see planetorganic.ca)

Actually many regular grocery stores carries organic meat too like Safeway , Coop. Their selection is not that great, but the basics are there.

Also do not forget that the government regulations in Canada are much more strict then in the US.
Here all the growth hormones are banned and can not fed to cattle here. So no meat or milk has growth hormones, and only organic milk can be imported from the US.
I know we had a few BSE cases in the past decade, because here they test every single cow for it, where they only sample test in the US.

I am not saying , you should not eat organic meat, but do not get so scared just because you watched a movie ,which does not describe the situation in our country.
Also organic farmed meat doesn`t necessarily free of all problems either. This year ecolie outbreak, which was biggest in history, originated from a German organic farm and did not even come from animal product but sprouts.

ShannonMpls

Try a local farmer's market - the one I like to go to near home has a vendor that does grass-fed beef. Or, if you have a Whole Foods near you, they also sell grass-fed beef, free range chicken, etc.

This. I also live in a city and found a farmer at the market. We place bulk orders for mixed packages every 4-5 months. MUCH cheaper than WF.

girlinahat

not all 'good' farms are organic, as it can be a lot of hoops to jump through, but they can be just as sustainable, have good welfare facilities and care about the animals they farm (another fan of Michael Pollan here - read 'The Omnivore's Dilemma').

Farmers markets really are the best way to get to know the farmers and where the food comes from. I have a healthy distrust of 'big organic'. We don't have many CSA's here in the UK but I know they are pretty big in Canada.

Remember - grass-finished does not mean grass-fed.

CaWaterBug8

Something to remember as well is the degree to which a product is organic. The USDA has variations of what they certify organic http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004446&acct=nopgeninfo For example, certain foods can be listed as USD Organic, w/ the little logo, but if you look closely, you can read that it might actually only be 70 % organic.

Another couple of great docs I've seen on Neflix lately are Ingredients, Food Matters, and the Future of Food. I know that I've been raving about them a lot lately on here, and that they may not all be 100% accurate in themselves, but every last topic those films discus is so important to think about and discus.

Another thing too, is that even in the city, if you're willing to work hard enough or have the time, you can raise your own chickens. I live in a rural area and I owned some chickens for a while (I moved and had issues w/ the coop and had to give 'em away). But when I was getting the supplies I heard dozens of stories of people who lived in big cities who were very successful in raising chickens. So something to Google in the future.