Surely they were fed the highly nutritious vegetable skittles (see below)
Yet another reason to buy grass fed
Fiorella
#61
Emacfarland
(Erin Macfarland )
#62
I like grass fed and finished ground beef but steaks and roasts I prefer grain finished despite knowing it changes the nutrient profile. I get my roasts and steaks from Whole Foods, which utilizes an animal welfare rating system that is based in part on what the diet of the cattle is composed of. They specify that re steaks I buy are “pasture centered” meaning they are raised on pasture but finished on grain. I am VERY curious about their utilization of waste products and if they engage in this type of practice. I wonder how I would find that out?
Fiorella
#63
@Emacfarland, The way to find out is to get to know your farmer.
I hope this thread does not discourage people from buying beef. Not everyone can afford grass fed, depending what part of the country you are in, and so on. And some people (who can afford it) don’t want to spend money on that, and I respect their choices, too…embrace everyone’s point of view, as we are all different.
Step number 1 is buying and eating fresh or frozen beef. This is much better than any processed food in the store. Step 2 is buying grass fed from a grocery store, where you have to have faith in the labels they put on the meat (it may or may not by true). Then step 3 is getting to know your farmer…it takes time and money, and you get the farmer to reserve parts of their pasture raised produce for you, and you receive highest possible quality.
But, I cannot stress this enough…getting to step 1…just buying fresh beef at the store is a HUGE step to improving or maintaining you and your family’s health. This is important.
Emacfarland
(Erin Macfarland )
#64
I guess I should have specified I have been a volunteer for a local food co op for years that offers pasture raised meats from small family farms. So, I am very familiar with the importance of grass fed. All my meat comes from these farms except my steaks which I prefer grain finished. The taste is more appealing! So I get them from Whole Foods because they have a pretty decent standard of care for animals.
jfricke
(Guardian of the bacon)
#65
I thought this would be my opinion also as I have always enjoyed a nice fatty grain fed steak. We recently purchased a side of beef from a small local farmer to be sure we were on the right track in raising our own grass fed herd. It’s a lot of time and money to invest if we don’t enjoy the end product. I must say the steaks and roasts that we have cooked from this animal have been awesome. I have cooked them all so far with the Sous Vide and then pan seared on cast iron.
I’ve never Sous Vide a grain fed steak. My preferred method of cooking steak has always been on the grill. Between my surgery and the weather it has not been good grilling conditions. I am anxious to try grilling some of these steaks as well as searing them on the grill after Sous Vide.
Emacfarland
(Erin Macfarland )
#66
I sous vide my steaks then they go on the grill. Still like the grain finished ! But it’s good to know there’s lots of support for local farmers out there! I love my farmers
DBatting
(Derek I. Batting)
#67
THE PLOT THICKENS! (Dun dun dunnnnn…)
Mysterious Skittles spill on highway gets another twist
Sat, 01/21/2017 - 7:00am | The Associated Press
A mysterious Skittles spill on a rural highway in Wisconsin is taking another twist, with Mars Inc. saying it doesn’t know why the discarded candy might have been headed to become cattle feed.
A variety of food byproducts are commonly used for animal feed, and Mars says it has procedures for discarding foods for that purpose. However, the company says the Skittles in question came from a factory that doesn’t sell unused products for feed.
“We don’t know how it ended up as it did, and we are investigating,” Mars said.
Linda Kurtz, a corporate environmental manager at Mars, said the company sells unused candies and ingredients to processors that incorporate them with other materials to make animal feed. She said Mars does not sell directly to farmers, and its procedures follow Food and Drug Administration regulations.
Kurtz said Mars determined the spilled Skittles came from its plant in Yorkville, Ill., which does not sell products for animal feed. The other U.S. plant that makes Skittles, in Waco, Texas, sells to a local processor that melts them down into syrup.
Josh Cribbs, a cattle nutritionist and director of commercial development for the American Maine-Anjou Association, which promotes a particular cattle breed, said that the food byproducts that get used for cattle feed vary depending on what’s available in the region and particular time of year.
Cribbs said specific byproducts would be mixed with other ingredients to achieve a particular nutritional profile.
“You might think, ‘Oh my gosh, they might be eating a Skittle.’ In reality, that piece of candy is being broken down,” he said.
Justin
(Justin Blow)
#74
It’s likely Mars paid a company to haul and discard the skittles. The company then decides to double dip and go against theit contract with Mars and sell the skittles to a farmer instead of paying dump fees. Happens everyday in every field from bellsouth servers to contaminated soil, along with lawsuits from the product source company for breach of contract against the haulers.
I do perfer skittles conspiracy though!
carolT
#76
That was more for comedic effect. Also, the spoiler tag does not transfer automatically to quotes, thus spoling the spolier.
