Decoding: Beef - more 'labels'

We have covered the general overview of meat classifications. We've covered how you need to read into your labels because even the meat you buy at your health food store might not be what you preceive it to be.
Now, let's go back to the USDA's definition of 'All Natural'. Part of the definition states there are no added colorings to your beef. But, did you know that grain-fed beef has more redness in its coloring versus grassfed beef? So any beef cow supplemented with grains will havea more reddish color to it, which our culture accepts as a good thing, and therefore, preceives a grain-fed beef to be better for them.

Sadly, the 'All Natural' label doesn't mean that the beef has never had hormone injections or antibitoics. Yes, let me say that again -- the 'All Natural' label doesn't mean that the beef has never had hormone injections or antibitoics. It doesn't even mean that the animal didn't live in some terrible and nasty conditions in a CAFO and 'beefed up' [no pun intended] on a grain based diet. Because, the 'All Natural' label refers to the minimal processing that the beef goes through, after slaughter. In other words, once the beef is processed, it cannot receive any injections or chemical addtions - that's it! THAT'S IT! It has nothing to do with the animal prior to processing.

Really, how good does that make you feel to know that the 'All Natural' cut of beef you are bringing home for dinner was pumped  with all kinds of hormones and antibitoics while it stood knee deep in manure in a CAFO gorging itself on grain? The old saying 'You are what you eat rings ever so true, no?

If you had a choice to be one or the other, which would you be?

Now before you say 'Oh well she is an animal welfare advocate and so of course she is going to get all 'don't eat meat from cows standing in 5 feet of shit' because that is cruel' on me - hear me out. Let's think about this. When you have an excess of animals living in crowded conditions, of course dieases and infection is going to rum rampant. Especially if they are confined in a place that doesn't allow them much if any fresh air, sun and wind -- or, confined in a place where they do get fresh air, sun and wind, but have to stand in their own feces. C'mon, that is common sense! So of course there is then a need to give antibiotics. On the flip side, you have pastured raised beef that is out in the open, with sun, wind and fresh air. They are free to roam and have ample room. They aren't tucked in butt to butt with other cows. Logic would tell you these cows are more likely to be healthy and not contracting and passing diease and infection. AND, they are foraging on grasses, they way they were intended to be. Not gorging on grains.

Ok, so back to labels. I had to run into the grocery store the other day. I needed a few things like bananas and milk. I do go to a locally owned 'chain' grocer when I have to. This one in particular tries to support local farmers when they can and I appreciate that. And they are locally owned. And, I know what to buy there. Like I said, I needed a few things. Banana's and Milk - and they carry the milk I like to purchase! I did end up purchasing some meat while I was there. I knew I'd need it for some dinners and I wasn't going to have an opportunity to buy it at a local farm before I needed it. I tried to make the best, educated decisons when I purchased, and the labels STILL dupped me - some. Let's look.

The Angus Roast I purchased

The roast was located in the section of beef that was 'free of hormones and antibiotics'. Funny, while I was looking, another lady asked the 'butcher' (lady in white coat stocking styrofoam trays of meat on shelf) what was different with 'that' section of meat. When the employee told her, she swiftly hiked it back to the 'other' sections of meat. Back to the roast.....I chose a 'CAB Natural Certified Angus Beef' cut of meat. I figured it was my safest option. The label states how the cattle this cut came from was never given antibiotics or hormones, contained no artificial ingredients, was minimally processed, traceable to its birth place and fed a 100% vegetarian diet.

So what does this tell us? Obviously good things like being hormone/antibiotic/artificial ingredient free. Traceable to it's place of birth is interesting for meat bought at this type of establishment. And obviously, Vegetarian Diet means no animal by-products, but still likely feed corn. I sent an email via the Certified Angus Beef Beef website asking how I can trace the roast I purchased to its birth place, but I have yet to receive a response. I was hoping they'd have a link on their site where I can input a serial # from the package and do it right there, but no such luck!

Update: This is the response I received from the Certified Angus Beef bran rep: 'Certified Angus Beef LLC and our licensed processors have internal auditing systems in place to track Certified Angus Beef® brand Natural product back to the ranch of origin. These systems are in place to ensure the cattle have been managed in such a way that no antibiotics or supplemental growth promotants were ever administered, or animal-derived feeds were ever fed. These processes are not in an automated system where consumers can trace an individual cut but rather for our company to ensure our label claims of “natural” are being met. They are similar to processes used for organic products to ensure the authenticity of the claim.'

I found a very good article here that further discusses grades of beef here. They also mention how the Certified Angus Beef logo is really more marketing, rather than 'fact'.

The main take away here, once again, is to 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food'. But more importantly, know how to 'decode' your food - sad that's what it's come down to, isn't it?

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This post is linked up at Freaky Friday and Pennywise Platter

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From the Beef Files!

Decoding: Beef - from 'healthy stores'
Decoding: Beef 

Decoding: Beef - from 'healthy stores'

In yesterdays post, Decoding: Beef, I mentioned what is most likely plastic wrapped for you at your local, chain grocer. But let's take another look at what might be offered at your locally owned 'health food/organic' type grocer.

Referencing what is available at the one closest to me, they sell what they label as 'All Natural Free Range Beef'. It is 'Certified Piedmontese' Beef to be exact. There is no claim this beef was 100% free ranged, so right off the bat, I question. Upon further research on the website for Piedmontese Beef, I find that this meat is never fed any animal by-products, emphasizing species appropriate/natural diets. It also states they are raised without the use of routine antibiotics and without added growth hormones. Note -  'All Natural' as defined by the USDA means the beef contains no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed.

After further reading I also learned that Piedmontese Beef is a rare cattle in our country, not easy to come by. Can't the same be said for 100% Grassfed beef? At least in some areas, right. The website also states their cattle is fed a pure vegetarian diet, but let's not forget, grain is not a meat, and therefore, can fall under the terms of 'vegetarian diet'. In a nutshell, they are telling us their cattle are not fed any animal by-products. And don't get me wrong - not feeding animal by-products is an absolute must, or should be, for the meat you consume. Hello, mad cow disease anyone?

I emailed 'Certified Piedmontese' to get clarification on their definition of a 'natural and humane environment', as they state that is how their cattle are raised. Most of you know this is another loose term, especially if you have ever researched into the poultry industry. I received a fairly speedy response from a representative that stated "Our animals are allowed to graze freely for the span of their life however; we also provide them with quality grains and forages, never feeding animal byproducts." So, if I understand correctly, it sounds like their cows are out on the 'free range' so to speak, but are also offered additional feeds. I am not sure why a cow would feel the need to eat additional forages if the pasture is plentiful, but I guess that is up for further research.



Photo Source


My other question, when emailing Certified Piedmontese, was to ask what the average life span of their cattle is. They state on their website that "The decision to raise Piedmontese, and to do so in this fashion, was the result of careful research. “Originally we looked at raising grass-finished beef,” says Peed. “That would have provided some of the same health benefits as Piedmontese.” And in fact, the company’s Piedmontese cattle do spend theajority of their lives on grass. But finishing cattle on grass, say experts, takes a very long time, and the extra time means that you end up with older cattle that have lots of connective tissue and tougher meat." According to their rep that responded to my email, their cattle have an average life span of 18-22 months.

I then emailed a local farmer I purchase grassfed beef from to ask him the average life span of his grassfed cattle. He told me his 100% pasture raised beef has an average life span of '18 months to two years, or even longer, not much past 3 years of age'. That is the same life span as the Piedmontese beef, give or take 2 months. Granted, he did say 'or even longer', which would help back up Piedmontese's claim that finishing cattle on grass can take a very long time. (I would equate that to those individual cattle that require the 3 year mark my local farmer mentions.)

Photo Source

However, this brought up yet another question for me, which I emailed back to the rep. In talking about the decision to raise Piedmontese, again as mentioned above, the website states 'the company’s Piedmontese cattle do spend the majority of their lives on grass' - huh? Wait a second. The majority? In the original response from their rep, her email said that their 'animals are allowed to graze freely for the span of their life'. Sounds contradictory, no? I haven't yet heard back from Piedmontese on this, however, my local 'natural' grocery store responded with the following explanation: "This is a common question we get and it is not black and white. They are 100% grassfed until the last 60 days which then they have the option to eat a mix of grains, corn etc. to give them more flavor."
**UPDATE: The rep from Piedmontese responded to my email asking if the cattle were pulled off their free ranging regime for a period of time before slaughter. Her response was "Yes, the cattle are removed from the range environment for the final phase where they receive a complete, balanced diet."

Piedmontese does not claim to be 100% grassfed beef. They do state they are 'All Natural', which is true...as far as not having any antibitoics or hormones injected. And they are raised on open land with room to roam. Sometimes though, as consumers, we see the 'All Natural' label, and assume that means 100% grassfed & finished.

This is why you hear people say "Know your Farmer, Know your Food". If you truly want to know what you are eating, sometimes you are going to have to do a little research. Sometimes, when you see the label 'All Natural', sometimes, it might not mean exactly what you think it means. And as consumers, we need to appreciate the companies that are willing to answer our emails and phones calls, giving us answers to our questions. So, next time you are purchasing meat from your local 'organic/health food' type grocer, ask a few questions and see if they way it is labeled/marketed means what you think it means!


Come back again tomorrow for more info on beef - we are digging into some USDA definitions!

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From the Beef Files!
Decoding: Beef
Decoding: Beef - more 'labels'

Decoding: Beef

I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I am constantly amazed at the whole 'food' topic. All the things I am learning, all the things I thought were good but really aren't. All the things other people think are good, but they really aren't....the list goes on and on.

I was having a conversation with a co-worker awhile back regarding purchasing a half a cow. He was telling me the great deal he got on his and I asked "was it grass fed"? He looked at me stumped. He didn't know, nor did he really care. I made a comment along the lines of wanting to purchase 'grass fed beef' and another co-worker chimed in "GRASSFED? Why would you want GRASSFED? Grain fed is the good stuff - that's what you WANT". *sigh* I digress. Some people will only ever see their point of view, and I get that. But some are open-minded and willing to look at the flip side of the coin. So for those of you that fall into that later group, I hope this post is helpful to you.

So - get comfy and let's dig in, shall we?

First things first - all beef is NOT created equal.

In the most general of terms, you have your grain fed beef and you have your grassfed beef. Beyond that it gets tricky because you can have grass fed beef that is grain finished or 'All Natural' beef that was still grain fed! This is where you have to employ your super sleuth skills to decode those marketing labels just so you know what you are feeding your family.

Here are the definitions Wikipedia gives:

Grass fed or pasture-fed cattle, grass and other forage compose most all or at least the great majority of the grass fed diet.

Cattle called "corn-fed," "grain-fed" or "corn-finished" are typically fattened on corn, soy and other types of feed for several months before slaughter.

The later of the two definitions is the meat you are most likely purchasing if you are not specifically seeking  out grassfed beef.

So what's the big deal? Grassfed or Grain-fed...
Cows are ruminants. Ruminants are mammals that digest plant-based foods. In other words, they're designed to eat grass. I know this is hard to believe, but cows were not made to eat & digest corn! Humans are the ones who have tried to manufacture the cow into a ruminant tolerable of consuming corn and adequately digesting it. So why did we change this, you ask? 'As a high-starch, high-energy food, corn decreases the time to fatten cattle and increases yield from dairy cattle. Some corn-feed cattle are fattened in concentrated animal feeding operations.' (Source: Wikipedia) In other words, how to get the biggest bang for the buck. And this doesn't always equate to 'healthy'. I don't know about you, but that is not the motto I use when speaking in terms of my family and their health.

So how do you know what kind of meat you're purchasing at the store?
Beef not labeled with any particular type of 'feed classification', just packaged up in Styrofoam trays and plastic wrap, is generally, if not always, going to be Grain-fed Beef. However, the 'butcher' around the corner from me displays all his meat openly in glass cases and packages them in freezer paper. Nice marketing ploy and even though it tricks some consumers into thinking it is fresher, better meat, it is still grain fed beef. How do I know? Because if it was grassfed, it would say so! There is also a good chance it was previously frozen too!

You will see some beef labeled as 'prime' or 'black angus', etc ... but at the end of the day, it is all grain fed beef. It should be more appropriately labeled GMO grain-fed on a CAFO! I digress...

Beef ... otherwise known as a CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation)



100% Grassfed is going to be labeled and marketed as such and most likely is going to be sourced directly from your local farmer, buying club or CSA.

  

100% Grassfed Beef at Miller Livestock Co.



Grassfed standing alone is a loose term. This can imply the cow was feed grass as some point in time, but nothing more. Meaning, yep - you guessed it - probably majority grain-fed. And this defeats the purpose of the benefits that were present from the cow being grassfed. This also is not a guarantee that the beef you're eating wasn't given hormones and antibiotics. Heck, it isn't even a guarantee the beef you are eating was raised in this country!

Just looking at these photos, which cow would you prefer to be on your plate?

Come back tomorrow for another does of beef!

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From the Beef Files!

Decoding: Beef - from 'healthy stores'
Decoding: Beef - more 'labels'

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This post is shared at Real Food 101 and Monday Mania