More about sustainable, organic and beef

Mar 5, 2008 at 6:14 PM
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So, I'm back from the depths of the black whole.....or I just realized it's been a while since I've blogged. So, um, sorry about that. But of course, I saw something from a friend of mine over at IdeaBite.com that got me to speak up and ask:

"What's so gosh darn important about organic, sustainable meat?"

No, seriously, I don't get it......okay well maybe I do, but for those of you that don't I wanted to provide some easy, quick resources so you can find a little more out about sustainable meat. Here are the characteristics of what makes meat sustainable:

Typical minimum requirements for eco-meat labels:

"Organic" - animals get access to the outdoors (cows, sheep, and goats get pasture time), bedding materials, and aren't injected with hormones or antibiotics.
"Cage-free" Poultry - birds aren't kept in cages.
"Free-range" - animals are given access to the outdoors.
"Pasture-raised"/"grass-fed" - animals get access to the outdoors and can graze.
"Humanely raised" - animals get exercise and their cages are big enough for them to move in.
"Hormone-free" - cows aren't injected with any hormones (using hormones on chickens and pigs is already against the law).

And I'm thinking....."Isn't that the way things should be anyway?!?!??!!??!" Well, guess what? It's not the way things are anyway. Which is really sad, and also GROSS!

So, here are a couple resources that you can take a look at, and pass on to your less enlightened friends, about why spending a dollar or two more on those steaks could totally pay off for them and their bodies in the long run: