Foraging vs. Factory?

henapple said:

I guess I'm an old southern guy but animals were made to eat. At what point does cruelty come in. Read about foie gras last night and the outraged people.

I have no qualms about eating animals but I do feel that animals should have as humane a life as possible.  I won't buy Kosher or Halal meats, buy free range eggs and try to support businesses that feel the same way.  It's not a religion for me but I do feel better about consuming ethical food.

I think it has partly to do with what we have been conditioned to eat. Back in pioneer days there weren't factory farms. I feel the same way about the taste of grass fed beef. It just doesn't taste the way I expect it to taste. I do eat organic eggs, chicken, and milk, but that's about it. I prefer their taste over the factory products.

There are all sorts of reasons I can think of why the pork wasn't satisfactory. The first one that comes to mind is that whatever the pig ate while foraging wasn't very good. Pigs are the only animal that I know of that transfers the fat in the food they eat to their own fat. If they eat lots of acorns, the classic diet for fine pork, or peanuts, they end up tasting spectacular. The fact there wasn't much fat may indicate the forage food was not very good. It may also mean the pig species was not a very good fat producer. The Berkshire hog is noted for its excellent fat production, Tamworths for their copious bacon fat.

Beef is similar. Do a search on "Mark Schatzker steak." The fellow traveled around the world looking for the best steak and found that the quality of grass fed ranged from awful to sublime.

I buy pastured organic beef and pork. The beef tends to be somewhat tougher and less fatty than commodity. But the flavor is astounding. The farmer lets the cattle eat whatever they want, and he says they seem to like millet. My DIL's family has a small herd they let roam around their farm in Idaho, and again, while the meat is tougher, the flavor is spectacular.

Being lucky enough to live in Iowa, I have access to locally raised beef and pork.  I have a pal that raises both on his farm and does a combination of pasture and feed lot finish.  Fabulous meat with good flavor and texture.  I seem to be getting the best of both worlds.  The weather here can really suck at times but the options for grilling make up for that.

bettysnephew said:

Being lucky enough to live in Iowa, I have access to locally raised beef and pork.  I have a pal that raises both on his farm and does a combination of pasture and feed lot finish.  Fabulous meat with good flavor and texture.  I seem to be getting the best of both worlds.  The weather here can really suck at times but the options for grilling make up for that.

This is how I get my beef and it is by far my favorite. Grass fed most of its life and then grain finished. I buy a half cow each year and have trouble eating anything else.