Healthy??? cooking advice/recipe??? (Read 838 times)

I understand that the breeding process to make cattle optimized for feedlots is ongoing and not yet complete. Manure does get back to cropland, but only by being trucked there at a high fuel cost. Cattle raised and slaughtered out in the fields are less likely to have the stress. I agree, government mandated centralized slaughterhouses make pasture-raised cattle less feasible. Methane production does increase on concentrate and on grains. Tastes better? Well, that is a judgement.

Believe me manure doesn't get trucked very far with $3 diesel, most is applied within 10 miles of the lot on corn ground.Your right on the stress if they could remain on the ranch until slaughter they would be under less stress as there would not be the shipping, like I said the shipping and processing and exposure to other animals is when most sickness is going to show up in the feedlot, after that they are pretty blissfull. And the other thing not factored into that ranch to steak concept is winter feed when the grass isn't growing and then cattle are going to take alot longer to get to finish, they won't gain like they do on a concentrate diet (kinda like the one I am on at Christmastime) and use this grass resource longer, so lots to think about. Although you might like the taste of "grassfat" beef the consumer vote taste with their pocketbook and the masses have voted for grainfed beef. We as producers respond to the marketplace, if we don't then someone that does takes our place. respectfully ja Holy cow major apologies for the threadjack, it started out as an innocent little reply.

Threadjack is good. I imagine that most of the beef market is responding to cost more than to corn- versus grass-fed taste. Corn and other grains are so heavily subsidized that there are massive incentives to use them, and then to turn around and sell the beef they produce. You are right about the Winter issue, which is less of an issue if we focus our agriculture to the climes where they make sense.

If it doesn't taste good the masses don't buy it.

Chicken nuggets taste good? Most beef round my parts is sold via fast food restaurants or prepackaged in grocery stores these days, not via butchers. The only butcher I knew in town closed shop long ago. Jeff, interesting article. Wow, it ties together terminology sciences and epidemiology. That is the sort of stuff I love! Has the author written anything else?

Chicken nuggets taste good? Most beef round my parts is sold via fast food restaurants or prepackaged in grocery stores these days, not via butchers. The only butcher I knew in town closed shop long ago. Jeff, interesting article. Wow, it ties together terminology sciences and epidemiology. That is the sort of stuff I love! Has the author written anything else?

Fast food beef is another critter altogether, ok ask a chef at a fine resturant then.

I didn't know critters were involved in that stuff

good point!! parts is parts

Jeff bear with me and I'll try and read that and comment on it, might be a day or 2.

You guys aren't going to let me get any work done tonight are you,lol OK the article in the kindest most humble and respectful way I am going to label it pure bs. The article quotes obscure self appointed "experts" and presents a collection of very loosly related "facts" to support its line and posts a very disturbing visual to further push on the emotions of the reader. I don't have time to refute the article point by point and I don't know cs about chickens, a little more on pork but have beef experience. The average beef calf might get 3-5 days of antibiotic in feed and maybe treated once more If and thats If it shows sickness and were linking that to antibiotic resistant staph???huh Notice use of "recent studies" , 45% of 20 pig farms in Ontario, etc, etc, hit all the "hot scarey buttons" AIDS, Staph, "resistant strains" then we loosely link it to official agencies. Its a hit and run kind of article thats really quite trendy these days. Thats all I got to say 'bout that.

So, R2Farm, I was kidding with Jeff about the author, Michael Pollan. I do, in fact, know who he is, and Jeff knows I know. Hit and Run? Naw, he has been writing in this arena for years, has penned at least three books on the topic and is considered a national level expert. Just sayin. MTA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Pollan

Hit and run because of the loose association of facts with his point then move on, and no doubt a much better and prolific writer than this farmer. Its dribble though, spend a year with me and you would agree. Yes expert at writing this sort of thing I guess, but wonder if he ever cleaned any stuff off his boots?? My family has been producing food at this place since 1904, guess that makes me an expert of some sort in the food biz.......... but very average amateur runner