No! Grass fed is NOT a keto rule

(Brian) #167

I would suggest that there may be some middle ground. Not all cattle are raised/fed at one end of the spectrum or the other.

Yup, there are some really awesome grass fed operations where the grass really is like they paint in landscape portraits for much of the year. Yup, there are some really terrible feedlot operations that take a bovine all the way from newborn calf to slaughter and they may never see grass other than the hay trucked in for their feed. And there are a lot of places somewhere in between.

I suspect where you are, what’s local for you, may play more of a role than one might expect in what you can easily get and what you’ll pay for it. Kinda the same thing with local produce. It being “local”, the situation could change dramatically even a short 1/2 hour drive from any given point. What I can easily find right close to home might be “rainbows and unicorns” for someone else who may not have anything like that near them.

I do tend to be leery of ultra cheep food, no matter what it is. And I have this notion that what the animal that I eat ate and how they lived may have some effect on how good that animal is for me to consume. Quantifying any of that is nigh unto impossible because there are so many variables, even within a fairly specific sounding label.

(Brian) #169

And some of us are there. It happens. It’s not easy for many, though, and I appreciate that. We do the best we can.

(matt ) #171

ADMIN TIME: Lets reign this in before we start deleting posts or locking the thread.

Chill on the personal attacks. This is the only warning.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #172

I’m not sure there are birth to slaughter feedlots. Most of your AFO and CAFO spend a year or more getting up to 600-700 lbs before spending 8-10 months on the feedlot. Ballerstedt suggests it’s even less time on feed. That’s why finished should be the term, not fed.

Personally, I would greatly prefer if the beevs were given like 3 months for finishing and two years on grass. But the American consumer values lean tenderness over flavor.

(Ken) #173

If you like beef heart, you should pickle some with onions. It’s awesome, keeps forever in the fridge, and is great for snacks. One of the wonderful things one of my German Grandmothers used to make. Same with pickled ham. Or turkey gizzards. Or eggs. Wait a minute, now I remember she used to pickle about everything!

(Todd Allen) #174

I hadn’t heard of that before but Googled and instantly found recipes. Will give it a try. Thanks!

(linda) #175

What about the quality of pork? chicken? Any thoughts on that-Or should that be another thread? My desire is to have the best quality food (and water) and from what I am reading people are passionate about their opinions - concerned about their money and conflicted in their informational sources!

(Ken) #176

IMO, all are good points in favor of buying a dairy cow for your meat. It won’t quite be as tender, but it will be fatty and more “beefy” tasting. And yes, I do recommend finishing for two or three months on feed and corn.

#178

This is a good question, sometimes I think we forget what “properly raised” means for different animals and the potential effects it may have. A cow’s dairy is impacted more than the meat for example (probably debatable). The eggs of a chicken seem to be impacted more than the meat (my observation). I think quality pork makes a huge difference taste wise but it’s hard for me to find. But you do raise a good point.

Mostly I just find it frustrating the food supply has gotten so jacked-up that if I want meat from pastured animals I practically have to have it shipped to me in a Styrofoam box. For that reason I do what I can and prioritize certain things over others. I actually asked Ted Naiman this exact question. His response was something to the effect of “beef in this country is grassfed 80% of it’s life anyway so it doesn’t matter much, the fatty acid profile isn’t that different anyway. But I shop with my wallet, I always buy the good eggs and wild caught seafood for example”. So that’s what I do…spend the money where I see the biggest difference and just hope for the best with the rest. It’s not ideal maybe but it’s the world we live in.

(Diane) #179

That sounds like something I might actually be able to shoot for myself with my budget. Thanks for ALL the information you’ve shared in this thread. I don’t want to always feel bad that I can’t afford the most expensive, grass fed meats and feel that I’m somehow seriously compromising my health due to things that are beyond my control right now. Thanks!!

(Chris) #180

Ditto, this is exactly what I do. Normal beef (90% at least) and the best eggs and seafood I can get, since it’s generally small amounts compared to red meat.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #181

The “Good Eggs” in my neighborhood (Blue Sky Pastured or Vital Farms… I buy Blue Sky if it’s available… packaging or sth) cost $.50/egg + tax. So, 3 egg scramble is $1.65 plus whatever gets mixed in. If folks are tighter on cash and want to improve their food quality, buying the good pasture raised eggs is the first thing I would do.

Wild caught seafood that was harvested in a sustainable manner can get a bit pricey. If I had to sacrifice wild vs sustainable, I think I’d scrub the wild. There are ranges of fish farms, with some being as nutritous as wild, only without the mercury or heavy metal contamination that upper level sea predators (Salmon and ocean trout ferinstance) have. I do buy sometimes the $20/lbs shrimp, but they are immaculately sourced to the gulf, and harvested in a way that will allow my niece and nephew to pay $25-40 for them in 20 years.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #182

I believe it can vary from 90% down to about 60%. But still, most of a cow’s life is spent on grass and hay.

(Diane) #183

I’ll look for those. I do buy some wild caught shrimp at Trader Joe’s every now and then. I think they taste much better and I can afford them as an occasional treat.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #184

“Pastured” or “Pasture Raised” is the key phrase. Blue Sky puts their average sq ft per hen on the front of the box. Cage Free get about 10 feet. The Pasture raised get over 100. Much better. And maybe a nickel or dime more per egg. I think the cage free ones go $4.99 a dozen vs 5.99 for the pastured. A dollar spread over a dozen is about .08/egg… Worth it, even if the eggs have the same nutrition (they clearly do not… yolks are much more orange, suggesting higher beta carotene in the diet, meaning better feed maybe).

#185

Agreed, and since the only real difference we see is the fatty acid profile it doesn’t seem to matter a lot. I’m fairly confident that in my lifetime we will discover 500 other reason why feedlot beef is a poor choice comparatively but until that science catches up I’m going to indulge my ignorance and buy the cheap/affordable stuff.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #186

Agreed. Given that I’ve heard about eight theories on why I shouldn’t eat red meat, I’m confident that they’ll sort it all out someday and find the real killer.

(Brian) #187

Something I see tossed about in regards to red meat isn’t so much eating it or not eating it but how it’s prepared. Burning or charring it seems to be what gets pointed at as a cause for health issues related to eating it. And I’ve been wondering whether the sous vide is very likely nullifying the bad stuff that most of the news articles seem to point towards.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #188

That’s pretty much the latest version of don’t eat red meat or processed meat. Now, it’s the char. So, cook it in ways that are less viscerally pleasing, and now you won’t get cancer of the bowel.

I’m skeptical. Sous vide without a sear would comply with the guidelines (which are largely pushed by plant based eaters and vegans). Once you sear, you are charring, though maybe not as deeply.

As always, there is no lab work on this, so even if it is HCAs, they can be mitigated with all manner of things… But I’mma keep searing.

(Brian) #189

Me too. I’m not one to really make things burned or black. But I like them a little browned at least.