Tag Archives: meat

The Carnist Viewpoint

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An interesting read from a “carnist”:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2077750,00.html

The author admits he is a meat lover, but stresses the importance of choosing humanely-treated meat and animal products.

We skimmed through some of the comments… most of the commenters were fired up: either “how dare you tell me not to eat meat!” or “how dare you take livestock abuse so lightly!” Obviously not everyone is as motivated as Haute Pasture readers to seek out humane products; the average American probably doesn’t think about the animals at all as he or she is ordering a burger from the drive-thru. We view an article like this as a positive thing, that may get the average Joe to wake up and start taking baby steps toward being a more responsible consumer.

Whole Foods Meat

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We braved the insanity at the shiny new Whole Foods in Charlottesville today. A security guard was directing traffic in the parking lot, and the place was a zoo, but it was beautiful. We have a couple posts planned around Whole Foods, but in the meantime, we’ll just say we were very impressed by the new store, and appreciated this sign:

Humans need to eat less meat

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Mark Bittman writes in the New York Times’ Opinionator column today:

In limited quantities, meat is just fine, especially sustainably raised meat (and wild game), locally and ethically produced dairy and eggs, the remaining wild or decently cultivated fish.

No matter where we live, if we focused on those — none of which are in abundant supply, which is exactly the point — and used them to augment the kind of diet we’re made to eat, one based on plants as a staple, with these other things as treats, we’d all be better off. We can’t afford to wait to evolve.

Interesting, quick read about the global trend towards eating more and more factory-farmed meat and non-local produce: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/meat-why-bother/

How farms should be: Polyface, Inc.

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You may have heard of the Salatins and Polyface Farms from the farm’s feature in Omnivore’s Dilemma. Building their family farm from scratch, the Salatins formed strong principles regarding how a farm should treat both its denizens and customers. They believe that the earth and animals should be respected, so they allow the livestock free-range access to foods that they would naturally eat in the wild, and they compost and encourage healthy soil. They also respect customers, and do not ship food in order to give consumers the freshest possible food, and therefore the best possible experience.

All animals, including chickens, cows, turkeys, rabbits, and pigs, at Polyface are allowed to eat as much grass as they’d like. Cows are moved to new grazing areas daily, and chickens roll in behind them to enjoy the newly-cropped grass. As the chickens graze and scratch, they break up the manure, cleansing the ground. Pigs root through the fermenting hay and corn bedding in the cows’ shed, aerating it, and turning it into rich compost that is used around the farm. Poultry birds’ diets are supplemented with local grain, and the rabbits are specially bred to thrive on a roughage-only diet.

To get the best sense for how Polyface operates, visit the farm for a special tour, and if you live in the area, be sure to patronize restaurants that purchase Polyface products.

“A journey toward independence from an industrial food system”

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The Paleo diet and its relatives preach the importance of choosing free range meat and animal products over factory farmed options, for health reasons. Unhealthy, stressed animals have toxins and sickness flowing through their bodies, which are then transferred to humans upon consumption of the meat, eggs, or dairy products the animals produced. The Paleo argument tends to focus primarily on “think about what you’re putting into your body” and less on “think about the treatment of the animals.” However, FitFemaleForty has a reprint of an article written by Jeremy Gordon, a CrossFit instructor, that addresses the humane treatment of livestock to a Paleo audience.

http://fitfemaleforty.com/2010/07/21/paleo-diet-why-grass-fed/

The article presents some horrifying information about the effects of a grain diet on a cow’s digestive system. The grain raises the acidity in the digestive tract of the cows, who were built to eat grass only, which can lead to an abscessed liver and the introduction of E. Coli. From a nutritional standpoint, the fatty acid composition of the meat is negatively affected, and fat soluble vitamin content decreases.

Factory farmed meat eaters who aren’t concerned about the treatment of the animals could be swayed to change their ways based on the descriptions and evidence in this article.

What is Food with Integrity?

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The answer can be found here:

http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx

–at least as far as Chipotle is concerned. Whenever possible, they use locally farmed produce and meat, and meat that was not fed hormones or antibiotics.

They’ve had their best success with pork. Since 2001, 100% of Chipotle’s pork has come from “naturally raised” pigs, who eat a vegetarian diet without antibiotics and live outdoors or in a deeply-bedded pen. Beef has been more challenging, but the company has used the weight of its large demand to lean on suppliers and push them to improve standards, to the point that 85% of the beef they purchase comes from farms that meet the company’s “naturally raised” standards. They won’t purchase any dairy from cows that have been treated with rBGH, or recombinant bovine growth hormone, to increase milk production, and they won’t buy chickens that have been fed antibiotics or other dangerous feed additives. Their goal is that one day soon all their meat and dairy animals will be pasture-raised.

Chipotle prefers to use organic produce, but is realistic about weighing the value of the “organic” label against the importance of sourcing produce from smaller farms that may follow organic-type practices but are not certified organic due to the required bureaucratic hoop-jumping. They also purchase produce locally as much as is practicable.

So the next time you, as a responsible consumer, have a craving for a burrito, patronize Chipotle over other burrito chains.

Whole Foods cares about farm animals

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From The Statesman in Austin, TX:

http://www.statesman.com/business/whole-foods-implements-new-animal-welfare-rating-system-1228991.html

Kudos to Whole Foods for making it easier for concerned shoppers to purchase from farms that value the living conditions of their resident livestock. A color-coded system rating farms on animal treatment will help consumers make informed decisions about the products they are purchasing, starting with pork, beef, and chicken, but eventually covering all meats sold at the store. The non-profit Global Animal Partnership, who collaborated with Whole Foods on the project, is in talks with other retailers about expanding the program beyond Whole Foods.

Whole Foods already has baseline standards of animal treatment that must be met by farms whose meat is carried at the store. For example, chickens may not have their beaks trimmed, and pigs must be allowed to root freely. This new initiative promises to protect many more farm animals while making it easier for consumers to choose responsibly.

Arguments against patronizing factory farms

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From the McGill Daily:

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/02/factory-farms-are-destroying-us/

This article gives a nice breakdown of the standard categories that vegetarian’s reasons for not eating meat usually fall into: health, environment, and animal cruelty.

The health issues related to eating red meat have long been known. E. coli and salmonella are in the news more and more often. The average meat eater probably doesn’t think about the link between MRSA and other bacteria-resistant infections, and meat consumption. The overuse of antibiotics in farm animals leads to stronger bacteria, to the point that known antibacterial drugs are useless in fighting off these infections. More and more people are getting sick from feces contamination on meat, as well: modern machines that tear apart the animals can spray the contents of the intestines onto the meat.

Factory farms are huge polluters, contributing more than 20% of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and polluting waterways which leads to killing massive numbers of fish with animal excrement. Forests are clear cut to make way for farms or land to grow corn for livestock feed.

Nobody can deny that animals are abused in factory farms. Apparently there is a legal loophole allowing farms to participate in “common practices” without consequence, so if most other farms are abusing animals, it’s okay. Animals drop dead due to illness and injury, or are killed for being sick or too small.  In addition, the article points out the psychological hardships and injuries inflicted upon workers.

Here are a few of the horrifying factoids from this article:

  • 99% of the 10 billion animals slaughtered each year are factory farmed
  • it’s estimated that the average American eats the equivalent of 21,000 ENTIRE animals in his lifetime
  • the majority of antibiotics pumped into farm animals are banned in the EU
  • the FDA reclassified feces from dangerous contaminant to “cosmetic blemish”
  • nearly one-third of the planet’s surface is used for livestock