The “Cliff Notes” on Why our All Natural Local Grass Fed Beef is…The BEST!May 10, 2012
Filed under: Local Vendors, Natural Living - greenacres @ 5:23 PM
Have you noticed GreenAcres meat just tastes better? Ground buffalo, ordered fresh from Yoder meats, is all-natural, grass-fed and promises to be moist and delicious even on the grill. In fact, we serve our famous buffalo burgers every Tuesday and Saturday afternoon right up to the Fall, and anytime we gear up for a celebration—like our Gluten Free Festival or our yearly Anniversary Party. This year, we’ve added two more burgers to our menu: Greek lamb burgers, and for the vegetarian in all of us: Portobello mushroom burgers. You haven’t lived till you’ve tried our burgers!
You don’t have to wait until we fire up the grill to enjoy good, natural, hormone and antibiotic-free meat. Stop by and take home some of our Lucky Star Beef and see if you can taste the difference. It’s kind of like the old adage, “good in, good out.” That’s how we feel about all natural, free-range, grass fed cattle. It’s the purest beef you can get.
But just for a little education, 100% all natural beef means there is nothing in that package of beef--but beef. No additives or other substances. Organic, grass fed means the cattle have never grazed on grasses treated with pesticides from birth to processing. Nor have the cattle been fattened unnaturally through the use of hormones or been treated with harmful antibiotics. No grains ever have been fed to all natural, organic, grass-fed cattle. All natural beef where the cows roam free and feed on grasses grown without dangerous pesticides has less bad fat, more good fat (omega 3s,) and that’s a good thing. The beef’s natural marbling comes from cattle which feed on pure, natural grasses and have not been fed grain during the last few months before processing. It’s the grain that becomes harmful to humans, breaking down the livers in cattle and thus becoming toxic to us.
Certified, Angus beef only has to have 55% Angus genetic material to qualify as certified. Lucky Star has 85% Angus material which defines what is known in the industry as “heritage breed,” kind of like what heirloom tomatoes are to produce. It means the genetic line of beef is purer, bred for domestic purposes and is the best of the best.
So that gives you a capsulated version of what to look for when you’re buying beef or buffalo. Later on, we’ll discuss poultry and what to look for in all natural, free-range chickens who are allowed to feed in their natural environment. Besides being much better for you, free range, organic poultry just tastes better.
One Bad EggOctober 12, 2010
Filed under: Local Vendors, Organic - kkeith @ 2:01 PM
One bad egg can definitely spoil the bunch. A half a billion bad eggs can cause widespread panic and uncertainty.
Recently, 550 million eggs produced at two Iowa farms were recalled after more than 1600 people became sick after eating eggs contaminated with salmonella. Both farms voluntarily recalled their eggs, creating the largest egg recall effort in United States history and leaving consumers looking twice at the egg cartons in their local grocery and wondering if certain types of eggs are safer than others.
Purchasing eggs from local smaller farms, many of which sell free-range and organically fed products, may feel like a safer choice to some shoppers. These smaller, local farms often have smaller flocks, where salmonella, a potentially lethal food-borne bacterium, has a lesser chance of spreading. That could mean a healthier chicken, a healthier farm, and ultimately a healthier consumer.
Locally, the Maddick family operates Campo Lindo Farms, just north of Kansas City in Lathrop, Missouri. Theirs is a real family farm of 280 acres where 3600 hens supply Kansas City with Grade A large brown eggs. Though Jay and Carol Maddick also raise all-natural beef and lamb, chickens and eggs make up the majority of the farm’s business. Campo Lindo hens are all-natural, free-range birds with outdoor space to run and grow. In addition to the natural pasture, their hens also get natural feed of corn and soybeans, with no added growth hormones or antibiotics. “We feed no antibiotics or hormones, though I like to stress that poultry feed never contains hormones,” says Carol Maddick.
The extra attention small farmers give to their herds, like that provided by the Maddick family, creates not only a better tasting egg, but ultimately a more secure shopper. “I think it’s important for people to know where their food comes from” Carol Maddick adds. And although the claims that eggs with labels such as organic, free range and cage free have lower levels of salmonella are unsubstantiated at this time, knowing your local farmer and where your food comes from can ease your mind that you are purchasing and eating safe, disease-free products for you and your family.
