Know Your Meat!

Do you really know what is in your meat?  Do you know where it comes from?  Do you know how your meat has been raised?  What the animals ate?  What drugs they were given?  Likely not.  Certainly, when you cruise down the meat isle in the local grocery store you won't find many labels that give you these answers.  When I search the web for information I am bedazzled with term such as "natural", "growth-hormone-free" and "organic".  Certified organic meat is a growing standard, but is still confusing.  And now, a new study says that half of supermarket meat may have staph bacteria.  This bacteria is easily killed during proper cooking and washing of hands.  The most alarming part of this study, according to a yahoo news article, is not that there is bacteria on meat, but that  "half of those contaminated samples had a form of staph that's resistant to at least three kinds of antibiotics".  Why?  Because most animals grown for meat are consistently fed low doses of antibiotics as a precautionary measure.  This might prevent sickness or death in animals, since animals raised in unnaturally tight living quarters are less healthy (no brainer there)  and thereby a potential financial loss to the producers.

We are cautioned by health officials to avoid antibacterial cleaning products in our house so we don't create resistant bacteria.  (Read "Don't Wash Your Hands Before Reading This" )  Even medical doctors are avoiding the use of antibiotics unless absolutely necessary for the same purpose.  But our meat producers are using antibiotics in a haphazard way.  The risk to us?  Quoted from Natural News:

Because many bacteria can transfer between human animals, and because many of the same drugs to treat humans are also used on livestock, health advocates have singled out agricultural antibiotic use as an area of major concern. According to the Union for Concerned Scientists, 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States in 2001 went to livestock for growth-promotion purposes, while another 14 percent went to animals for disease prevention or treatment.

So potentially, bacteria that causes infections in us could become resistant to treatment, ultimately resulting in human death.  That sounds scary.

My search for the true definition of USDA Certified Organic led me to an interesting site.   Here is a quote from http://www.organic.org/: 

The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) defines organic as follows:

Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled "organic," a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.

Here is a link to products labelled Organic in Canada.  But still, how do you KNOW your certified organic meat producer is ALWAYS following the strict regulations set out for them?  You don't.  You just have to trust the farm and those who regulate it.  Here are your options.  You can trust the Organic label, become a vegetarian or... you can raise your own meat!

Enter 25 gorgeous, fluffy yellow balls of sweetness.  They cost $1.10 each at the local feed supply store.  In 8 short weeks they will become huge, fat eating machines, ready to be processed.  They will be worth at least $15 each since that's what I pay right now for my whole free range chickens.  But they will be much more valuable than that!  Everything they eat is put in front of them by us.  We are feeding them certified organic chicken food, and in a few more short weeks they will be free-ranging in a chicken tractor eating greens from our own, unsprayed land.  And they have never been fed antibiotics.  Thanks to my husband's occupation as a commercial fisherman we have an unlimited supply of wild sockeye salmon.  Now if only we had room to raise a few head of beef... 

Obviously this isn't the solution for everyone.  Lots of people can't raise their own meat simply because they don't have the space.  But maybe you know someone who does, or know someone who knows someone... and you will not only be more confident of you meat source but you will be supporting local farmers.  Here is a great article from Mother Earth News that provides links to farms in your area.   If you are Canadian (like me) check out this great site called Canadian Farmer's Markets.  They have a list of food producers from fruit and vegetables to a variety of meats.  And of course, check your labels and look for USDA Certified Organic which is a lot different than simply organic or all natural.   An informed consumer is a lot healthier than an uninformed one.  Oh, and by the way, those 25 meat birds are all spoken for! 

stock photos provided by www.dreamstime.com.