- As many as I’m allowed. Fun fact: grass-fed beef has about the same Omega-3 ratio as salmon.
Keith’s got some really good advice there, as do a lot of the posts.
And I think I may have been a little too extreme before when I said I want to start buying everything organic- its just not possible to buy everything organic - but I am trying to be a lot more conscious of what I get, whereas I scoffed at my wife before when she insisted. The ironic thing is where I live, outside of places like Costco, the organic stuff isn’t that much higher priced than conventional (was at the store last night - difference for a ribeye was $2 per lb) - and that premium isn’t too bad when you only have one meat eater in the house (well, the dogs are but don’t count).
It’d be nice if the Costcos/Sams would start carrying organic. Perhaps hey might one day.
Oh and I have a sore spot for KM&C too, Keith, but with fish and broccoli??
Interesting note on the Omega-3s.
Costco ORGANIC Broccoli is from… CHINA
Omega3 comes largely from GREEN PLANTS. So grass fed animals are full of Omega 3’s. Grains are Omega6; feedlot animals are full of that VS the 3’s. “We” eat feedlot animals mostly and LOTS of grain - we are mostly full of Omega6. Unbalanced.
-OCD
Disclaimer: I don’t want to incorrectly portray myself as one of those who eats properly. Knowing and doing are two different things entirely.
The other thing that’s important to remember is that when the USDA started talking about implementing an “organic” label in the early 90s, the industry lobbyists went to work and the final standard was neutered so much that it’s essentially meaningless, especially for livestock. It tells you basically nothing about what the animals were fed or their living conditions.
We’re fortunate here in OR to have an organization that does organic certification to higher standards than the fed regs.
Just to let yall know where I stand, I personally do not think that there are enough Pancho’s Mexican restaurants in America today! If we can ALL go out and eat tonight at a Pancho’s Mexican restaurant, maybe they will build more Pancho’s Mexican restaurants, and I won’t have to drive like 5 miles to one!!
So with that said, I have read this thread and it honestly has me thinking about the way I eat. Man I am a fast food junky. Breakfast, or lunch at micky D’s, supper at DQ, I don’t care… Whatever will get me back to work the fastest.
Shopping with Moonbeam this afternoon, she thought I was nuts! I was running around the whole store looking for organic stuff! Our Krogers has a pretty good supply of which apparently, I usually have avoided!
So the stuff is not really cheap but that is a given. We don’t pay farmers to grow good foods after all, we pay them to grow fast foods… Guess I realize that.
So tonight is the following…
A gallon of some cool organic whole milk… Moonbeam took this and made a pound of Mozzarella cheese in less than an hour!
Homemade cheese and organic Ritz… Ok…
I went for the good beef as I usually do though when I Q. Apparently some good grass fead, but that’s not too hard to find here in Tehas…
Some home grown potatoes, zucchini all from some organic shelf, (I hope)
And some homemade bread from some spent grains and using the whey left over from the cheese she made…
Gawd I feel good! Really, I really do! I don’t hardly ever concern myself with what I eat on a daily basis. But when I stop and think, and add up what it is that I eat, I should pay much more attention to it…
Where I live, organic/natural/local is the norm. But there’s nothing like having a heart attack to make you rethink how and what you eat!
I think I know what you mean my friend. Haven’t had one yet but I am working on it! 
Yea, you know I will be eating that little fat tip off of my ribeye first as usual!
Take my advice and try to avoid it…it’s not all it’s cracked up to be! 
Funny how a lot of people who don’t care tend to live forever.
Mozzarella in a hour - man don’t tell me that was microwave mozz! :‘( Do we need to start a Microwave thread?
After having said that - I just got back from the grocery store… Boneless rib eye roast 2.99/lb for a big ol’ slab.
Yep, wrong kinda meat. Industrial, grain fed, on a feed lot, global warming and everything. But it tastes so good. 
I do buy grass fed too, ground beef is $4/lb the rest is sold in quarters only. So gotta plan the freezer space and timing.
-OCD
Actually, that’s all it takes to make mozzarella… We started learning from a kit from Austin Homebrew!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5odBodQ0pZM
Know your cheeses man!!
I know my cheeses. ;)
I am aware of that technique, it’s just not for me.
Know your conspiracy theories man!!!
Microwaves scare me.
-OCD
The only Flesh we will eat is what we grow ourselves. Our Heritage breeds for the monment right now are Deleware chickens. This spring we will add Midget White and Bourbon red turkeys. We also have goats and ducks to help provide our meals. We try to raise our own food, Heritage or not. The best food you you can eat is the food you grow yourself. Just remember what you put in it is what you get out of it!. (Just say no to milorganic=Milwaukee’s sh*t)
FTR I eat healthy and work out so I can enjoy life now, not so that I can live forever. The things I enjoy doing, besides drinking and brewing, require me to be in pretty good physical shape. It ain’t about living forever - for me, it’s about enjoying life to its fullest today.
(And I will also admit, there is a little bit of vanity that fits in there somewhere too. ;))
Yes I have heard off this film, I also have heard that it is very biased. I don’t watch much propaganda.
I’m really not sure where to start.
So lets start with grass fed Beef? to those who buy grass fed beef why is this you preference? I have eaten it and it really hasn’t made me go wow that’s good. Great beef is a passion of mine!!
On the heritage breeds, one person commented that they raise them for their personal consumption what’s the reason.
Micheal Pollan: Omnivore’s Dilemma, really what is the dilemma. It seems a little neurotic to me or worse, guilt mongering. I have no dilemma when it comes to eating, I eat very well ;D
Now a quick bit about me, I am owner and operator of a small family farm in the NE mainly raising beef along with chickens, meat and dairy goats (yes, we have made the microwave Mozzarella and made pizza for dinner that night also makes good lasagna). I belong to the 60% of Farmers that are small under $1mill in sales, that percentage will vary depending on who’s reporting. This is were my passion for great beef comes from I LOVE a great steak and i eat it on a regular basis.
I hybrid feed my steers they get grain and pasture. The reason is, and there are many studies dating back to the late 50’s and early 60’s that grass feed animals will be on average 25% tougher then grain feed steers. That’s why I grain my steers, the single most satisfying factor surveyed by the NCBA (National Cattlemens Beef Assoc.) is tenderness, it beats out tatse!! .
It’s true and I wont argue that grass feed beef will have a “healthier” fat profile then grain fed, but here’s a little bit of info that isn’t well known that profile is gene dependent, meaning a grain fed steer can have a “healthier” fat profile then an all grass fed steer. Waygu cattle, the breed that can be called Kobe beef, if raised in Kobe, Japan. Kobe beef is fed all grain and has the healthiest fat profile.
Cheap food, think of how you feel after a good a filling meal, you are kind of complacent. if we had a lot of hungry people Washington would have a very different political profile. I have read that the cost for a dozen eggs if adjusted for inflation since the 50’s would cost about $7.00/dozen how many would pay $7.00. I struggle to sell free range eggs at $2.50, I have eaten free range eggs before free range was a buzz word. They definitely are richer tasting. What the average American pays as a percentage of the income dollar has dropped from +/- 40% at the start of the 20th the century to now a decade into the 21st century which is around 10% - 20% ( the 20% I think includes eating out and fast food) a significant change
The agricultural system is in a precarious position. The cost of land far exceeds the value of any product that could be produced on, it except for maybe drugs.
Processing of meat is held by 2 companies and 1 which is a Brazilian company is trying to buy the other. Processing is the biggest headache I face. I have to schedule a slot at the USDA inspected facility (which I have to legally if I want to sell to the consumer) a year in advance at least I the animal I am scheduling is actually on the ground. One facility that I talked to is scheduling 2 years in advance, that means the animal is barely just conceived!!
I do not process any animals myself, I cant do it, not that I lack the skill, I just cant do it. I take good care of my animals as do 99% of all farmers, the mistreatment is once the animal leaves the farm and is under some one else’s care. The video that came out from the political action group PETA of the worker using a forklift the roll a cow enraged me. But, a lot and i do mean alot of the workers in those large processing facilities are immigrant workers mostly form South America. I was once at the Largest goat and sheep processing facility in the US and I didn’t see any English speaking people and the door on the USDA inspectors office was closed. Read into that what all you want The workers at the facilities have a different cultural view of the animals and just working in the processing facility desensitizes you.
Just a little perspective a good year selling calves that weight around 600# and are about 6-8months old will be a profit of $100-$150, typical is about $50.00, this year will be about -$100 with no improvement in site. It is approximately 17months from conception before selling it as a 600# calf.
Just remember that all life is carbon based, once carbon has been regulated and controlled, all life will be regulated and controlled.
A little glimpse of reality
Paul W
Mad Cow Brewing
Have a cow Man!
There’s way too much to quote - thanks for a look into the life of a farmer.
We’ll buy grass fed occasionally because it’s supposed to be better for you. If it’s stew or chilli it doesn’t matter much. For just straight T-bones and filet grain fed is absolutely better tasting Haven’t you heard the things that don’t taste good are the healthiest for you. Seems that way often.
With the eggs - aren’t eggs MASS produced now? Like computers, if you adjust the first PC for inflation it’d be tens of thousands of dollars by now. Production got massive, and cheap. The eggs we eat these days for $.99/dozen I’m sure are much different than the eggs of the 50’s. We’ll buy farm fresh, at $4/dozen as a treat. The yolks are SO different, dark yellow to orange compared to the light yellow of the mass produced stuff. Big taste difference.
My reasonong, right or wrong, is to try and cancel out at least some small portion of my unhealthy choices with these healthier choices. I’m not saying I think a screwdriver is healthy because of the OJ. Just that a little organic, raw, grassfed something added to the diet must be better for me than a happy meal.
-OCD
:o …but…but…here I was downing a double screwdriver every night for my health! 
Well there’s your problem right there. I’m going to tell you the same thing my doctor told me: vodka in the morning, scotch at night.
I always start my day with a virgin screwdriver
Just finished The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Enlightening and a bit worrisome. There is a huge price to be paid (is being paid now) for what’s happening concerning corn based and industrial food production. I know that I’ll be making even more changes in my food choices!