News and Blog

I just finished Michael Pollan’s latest book, In Defense of Food.  It is an excellent book.  Allan Nation, the editor of Grass Farmer magazine had a good summary in the Feb issue.  I am going to include some of his summary.  I hope this will compel you to get the book and read it.  For those who have access to the Trails Regional library, you can check it out there.  I gave them a copy. 

"Pollan also advises when shopping for food to distinguish between food and food products.  If the label has more than five ingredients or if it has an ingredient that you can’t pronounce, leave it on the shelf.     The best way to eat healthy is to “Shake the hand that feeds you”.  He says consumers should invest in a freezer so they can buy grass-fed meats, and do a little gardening of their own as well.  Particularly, of green leaf plants. "

 Comments from Dr. Mercola.

When I first became aware of grass-fed beef, I was only superficially aware of the importance of omega-3 oils. I have now grown to appreciate that balancing the optimum amount of omega-3 oils is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy.

If you are not yet familiar with the benefits of omega-3 oils, please review my recent article on the cardiovascular actions of omega-3 oils.

Most nutritionist don't yet realize that it not only the amount, but the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 oils that controls much of our disease and health outcomes.

That is why it is so important to consume animals that are primarily eating grass. These animals will have far lower levels of the potentially dangerous omega-6 oils that nearly all of us have a surplus of.

The practical way to do this is to consume free-range chickens and turkeys and pasture or grass-fed beef. Unfortunately, you cannot buy this grass-fed beef at your local grocery store.

Obtaining free range poultry is relatively straight forward but you must be careful regarding the beef. Many stores will advertise grass-fed beef but it really isn't. They do this as ALL cattle are grass fed, but the key is what they are fed the months prior to being processed.

As this wonderful article explains most all cattle are shipped to giant feed lots and fed corn to fatten them up. I knew this before reading this incredible story, but I now have a far better understanding of the process.

You will need to call the person who actually grew the beef, NOT the store manager, to find out the truth.

The least expensive way to obtain authentic grass fed beef would be to find a farmer who is growing the beef who you can trust and buy a half a side of beef from him. This way you save the shipping and also receive a reduced rate on the meat.

An inexpensive, yet effective way to determine if the meat is really from a grass fed animal is to purchase the ground beef. Slowly cook the beef till done and drain and collect all the fat. Grass fed beef is very high in omega-3 fats and will be relatively thin compared to traditionally prepared ground beef.

It will also be a liquid at room temperature as it has very few saturated fats which are mostly solid at room temperature.

Here is an interesting site that explains how your milk is processed.  I'm sure glad we have our own REAL MILK.  

: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1/1/does-tainted-milk-cause-crohn-s-disease.aspx

Here is a further detailed breakdown of the 569 lbs. of take home meat.

Chuck - 209.5 lbs total, which is 29% of the dressed/hanging/carcass weight:

Round - 155.8 lbs. total, which is 22% of the dressed/hanging/carcass weight:

Thin Cuts - 134.6 lbs. total, which is 19% of the dressed/hanging/carcass weight:

Short Loin - 115.7 lbs. total, which is 16% of the dressed/hanging/carcass weight:

 Rib - 66.6 lbs. total, which is 9% of the dressed/hanging/carcass weight:

Miscellaneous - 32.7 lbs. total, which is 5% of the dressed/hanging/carcass weight:

Definition of Dry Aged Beef:

·         Forty years ago, most of our beef was dry aged. In the early 1960's the process of vacuum packing beef became the norm for most processors.

·         The advantage of this process was that they could "wet age" the beef in the bag and not lose any of the weight of the beef. Wet aging was much more cost effective for the processors so a weaning of the consumers' taste buds began to occur. Slowly, the consumer forgot what the real taste of steak was.

·         Beef is aged for 7 to 21 days. During this process a crust forms on the outside of the loin, very similar to the texture of beef jerky. This layer is trimmed away, leaving steaks that are superior in tenderness and flavor. During the dry aging process, the juices are absorbed into the meat, enhancing the flavor and tenderizing the steaks.

·         Research from major universities, including Kansas State University, indicates the enhancement of flavor and tenderness occurs in this Dry Aging process. Dry Aged Steaks are very popular in the fine, white linen steakhouses on the coasts.

·         The dry aging process takes special care and requires a relatively large inventory. It is very time consuming and expensive, requiring extra effort, storage and high-quality beef.

·          Up to 20% of the original weight of the loin is lost during the dry aging process. This is why dry aged steak is offered only in fine restaurants, upscale grocery stores and gourmet steak companies.

·         Dry aging occurs while the beef is hanging in a refrigerated cooler, at a specific temperature and humidity, for 10 to 28 days after harvest and prior to cutting.