I finally got to see Food, Inc. last night.  That’s how the movie ended, with simple text on a black screen urging viewers to change the world…  Seems tough with the entire US food industry and farm policies stacked against the consumer.  So, this morning I’m doing my small part.  My daughter and I are headed to the Matthews Farmers Market.  April to November, they have a Saturday morning operation (downtown) that is open 7:15 to noon, and a Tuesday operation that runs 10am to 2pm (near Presbyterian Matthews Hospital).  They even have a winter market every other Saturday downtown.

My garden (previous post) has done well this summer, but can’t provide all our veggies.  But my main mission is to pick up my grass-feed beef order from Baucom’s Best, a local operation near Matthews.  A parent of a student turned me on to their operation.  I grew nostalgic for the grass-fed beef my grandfather raised.  He gave my mom a half a cow each year at Christmas–we had a freezer just to hold that beef.  I realized that the beef I grew up on, was healthier than the feedlot beef my kids were eating and decided to try something different.  Why grass-feed beef?

Well, here’s what is under the FAQ section at the Baucom’s Best website:

Isn’t All Beef Grassfed?
The term grassfed beef can be confusing to some, after all most cattle enjoy grass as part of their diet during their lifespan.  However, this does not make them grassfed.  Conventional cattle start receiving grain just a few months after birth and spend the last 90 to 120 days at a feedlot where they have no access to grass at all.  Although cattle from “natural’ or organic beef producers may stay on pasture their entire lives, most are still supplemented with grain.  True grassfed beef consume no grain at all.  Why is this distinction so important?  Because all of the wonderful health benefits of a grass diet diminish as soon as grain is added, even just a little grain.  If the “natural” or organic beef you are buying isn’t 100% grassfed, then  you are missing out on more than just antibiotics and growth hormones.

I recently read a book called Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch, by Dan O’Brien.  Great read.  O’Brien switches his cattle farm over to buffalo (another story) for several reasons, but along the way he does a good job explaining why we’ve come to favor corn-fed over grass-fed meat.

• Corn-fed meat can go straight to market, whereas grass-fed meat is supposed to cure for a while.
• Corn-fed meat has more fat (marbling), so it doesn’t burn or char as easily on the grill.
• Corn-fed meat is cheaper (due to the surplus of corn the US maintains).  American farm policy tipped the scales in favor of cheap corn in the early 1970′s.  Since then, the majority of our beef supply has become corn-feed.

So yeah, it may cost you to change.  But, you can “vote” for change in our food system when you spend your dollars.  Beyond cost, their are numerous health and environmental reasons to choose grass-fed over corn-fed.  That’s probably best left for another post.