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BGE & Animal Welfare
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I find it laughable that some beef is touted as being "corn fed", like that was in your best interest. Cows will eat corn of course, but it's not a natural food for them. It does provide plenty of starch converted to sugar which is then stored in the animal as fat (marbling) to give them some bulk at slaughter, and since corn is federally subsidized, it's a cheap way to fatten livestock. (and profits)The problem is, start them on corn too soon, and they'll be sick from lack of proper nutrition when they go to slaughter. They're gassy, lethargic, and loaded with intestinal flora they wouldn't have if they ate only grass.Grass fed and finished beef is leaner, certainly tastes different, a LOT more expensive, but it's my preference. I'm not a purist, I'll buy choice when times are tough (no pun intended) but in the weeks following a good business month, we eat the good stuff.I like what Searat wrote above, my wife and I have been talking about investing in a side of beef to store in the freezer. I might even try a side of bison - a much healthier alternative to corn fed beef.
Indianapolis, IN
BBQ is a celebration of culture in America. It is the closest thing we have to the wines and cheeses of Europe.
Drive a few hundred miles in any direction, and the experience changes dramatically.
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They're gassy, lethargic, and loaded with intestinal flora
The cows or us?
Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN -
@Botch - we have had the green can program for some time in the greater Vancouver area. For weekly pick-up we have blue boxes for tins, bottles and plastics, blue bags for newspapers, yellow bags for cardboard and shiny flyers, a green can for yard trimming and all kitchen waste (soiled napkins, food scraps, bones) and a garbage can. I think the next step will be garbage can pick up every two weeks.I am running out of places to sort and store my garbage!Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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DieselkW
I support your choice to eat what you please, but I can tell you for an absolute fact that grass fed cows are very gassy. I can vouch for this from helping in my aunt and uncles milk house over the summers in the 1960's and being blasted when stepping around them to get to the next cow on the milk line. When a cow lifts its' tail move away quickly, sometimes it isn't just gas or a fly about to be whisked away. And other than young calves there isn't a lot of friskiness amongst the bovine clan. One of the reasons small farms have gotten out of tending livestock is that they can make a lot more money selling the grain rather than running it through an animal.
A poor widows son.
See der Rabbits, Iowa -
I think about this stuff a lot. Think about how many shops and stores there are in our country alone and how many animals get slaughtered everyday so we can stuff our faces. It's kind of sad when you think about it. I'll never watch a youtube or anything else about some of the bigger slaughter houses. I have an idea of what goes on there, but I don't want to watch how they live and get treated, which I'm sure is awful. All of that said though, there is no way in hell I will, or ever could give up meat. Imagine a world with no hot wings, no steak, or even worse... no bacon. :(
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Skiddymarker said:@Botch - we have had the green can program for some time in the greater Vancouver area. For weekly pick-up we have blue boxes for tins, bottles and plastics, blue bags for newspapers, yellow bags for cardboard and shiny flyers, a green can for yard trimming and all kitchen waste (soiled napkins, food scraps, bones) and a garbage can. I think the next step will be garbage can pick up every two weeks.I am running out of places to sort and store my garbage!Yes, we have some sorting in some communities, but this was the first I've heard of separate "Compostable" waste (right now my leftover pizza would be in the same container as, say, styrofoam). A question: do your food scrap containers have odor issues after two weeks?_____________
Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...
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That was my mentality for a long time. Out of sight, out of mind. I knew it was going on, but I didn't want to think about it.cheeaa said:I think about this stuff a lot. Think about how many shops and stores there are in our country alone and how many animals get slaughtered everyday so we can stuff our faces. It's kind of sad when you think about it. I'll never watch a youtube or anything else about some of the bigger slaughter houses. I have an idea of what goes on there, but I don't want to watch how they live and get treated, which I'm sure is awful. All of that said though, there is no way in hell I will, or ever could give up meat. Imagine a world with no hot wings, no steak, or even worse... no bacon. :(However, with my new outlook, it has forced me to reevaluate what I eat and where it comes from and from a personal perspective, makes me feel better.Like I said earlier, there is no way I am ever giving it up, but I try to be more aware.BGE in the ATX -
I've seen a few cooking shows where they were whipping up some grub at a farmhouse in Europe somewhere, where their chickens just roamed around the yard and the nearby fields. It always amazed me when they would crack open their eggs, solid orange yolks as opposed to the light yellow of our own commercial eggs. I'd love to taste those.There are European tours available where you just rent someone's house in Europe for a couple weeks, and either you or a guide cooks with the local produce. That's on my bucket list._____________
Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...
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We bought a dozen fryers from an Amish farm near Kalona, IA last Friday and she had a couple dozen eggs more than they needed for their own use so we bought them. The yolks are much darker in color than store bought. The taste is richer and more earthy also. I cannot wait to put one of those birds in the Egg but the wife is travelling right now so it will have to wait.
A poor widows son.
See der Rabbits, Iowa -
If I went into depth about the conditions behind counters in the food and coffee serving restaurants, none of you would EVER eat out or get a coffee from Peets or Starbucks ever again. The level of filth,contaminates, dirty employee handling, horrible fake additives, sugars, and artificial sweeteners is at epic proportions, to me that is what you should be concerned with. Animal production for food has and will be subjective to anyone who has not been raised on a farm or had production butchering experience. I also say to each his own, and I will continue to put the "pet animal" mentality to the rear of my brain while I grill that steak!!! It's food, people.
Using a MBGE,woo/w stone,livin' in Hayward California," The Heart Of The Bay " -
Thievery said:
My initial point was about mass produced farming.AR_Pork_Producer said:Don't complain about farmers with your mouth full. Some day there may not be anything on the grocery store shelves when we are over regulated to the point of not being able to produce anything.Regulation long ago became a joke in this country when special interests line the right politicians to get away with what they do. Whether it is safety issues, hiring illegals or introducing feed that should never given to be an animal. The list could go on and on.Regulations should be put in place to protect the consumer, not just the producer.I wasn't singling you out. I was talking about the general American public who don't have a clue about where their groceries come from. If certain organizations were as concerned about human life like they are concerned animals the world would be a much safer and better place.
Large BGE, Holland Gas Grill, Masterbuilt electric smoker, Oklahoma Joe, Flame Boss -
My 2 cents. I grew up in the country where men are men and sheep stay nervous. Seriously, I remember my friends grandmother breaking a chicken's neck and frying it up.
There's so many angles to this thing. I love my mini schnauzer and would butthurt anyone that messed with her. She's a companion. The bacon at krogers isn't. I'm not into animal cruelty but, it's a cow, or a pig, or a chicken.
If you believe the bible we were given dominion over the animals. They're here to serve and sustain us. Cruelty? No, but food nevertheless.
If you believe in evolution we are merely the more evolved. Survival of the fittest. To the victor.....
I have no problem with herding cattle through a fence and smashing their head with a sledge hammer and carving them up. I've worked farms and a processing plant as a kid. I have no reluctance to splitting a lobster in half and egging it. Fresh fish is the best.
We get caught up in political agendas, feelings, corporate hate, monsanto, gmo, ...there's a **** pot of people on earth that wished they had those problems.
On a final note...I've always blamed Disney for the animal rights movement. Basically, Bambi is a crop ruining, lymes disease carrying rodent on long legs.Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN -
Survival of the fittest is right. It'll be a virus or infection that takes us all out. Maybe an asteroid. Still, just because they are food doesn't mean they should be abused. Isn't humanity what separates us from animals?henapple said:My 2 cents. I grew up in the country where men are men and sheep stay nervous. Seriously, I remember my friends grandmother breaking a chicken's neck and frying it up.
There's so many angles to this thing. I love my mini schnauzer and would butthurt anyone that messed with her. She's a companion. The bacon at krogers isn't. I'm not into animal cruelty but, it's a cow, or a pig, or a chicken.
If you believe the bible we were given dominion over the animals. They're here to serve and sustain us. Cruelty? No, but food nevertheless.
If you believe in evolution we are merely the more evolved. Survival of the fittest. To the victor.....
I have no problem with herding cattle through a fence and smashing their head with a sledge hammer and carving them up. I've worked farms and a processing plant as a kid. I have no reluctance to splitting a lobster in half and egging it. Fresh fish is the best.
We get caught up in political agendas, feelings, corporate hate, monsanto, gmo, ...there's a **** pot of people on earth that wished they had those problems.
On a final note...I've always blamed Disney for the animal rights movement. Basically, Bambi is a crop ruining, lymes disease carrying rodent on long legs.
At least Bambi got one thing right: douchebags and campfires. Every year, it seems like the western wildfires are started by some jackass with matches. -
I'm not supporting abuse. Simply put, they're animals. Food. They are not human or equals with us.Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN
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I know. You mentioned pigs as just "food". Pigs can be kept as pets and are smarter than dogs. I suppose it is what animal you "humanize" that determines what one does with it. For many cultures, most animals are a means to an end. Horses, dogs, and cats are food in many countries but that fact would horrify most US citizens.henapple said:I'm not supporting abuse. Simply put, they're animals. Food. They are not human or equals with us.
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Mr. Eggcelsior, you sound like you're rooting for the virus or asteroid. Bambi didn't get anything right because Bambi is a fictional character invented by a human.Flint, Michigan
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I'm not rooting for anything Fred, just being pragmatic. I was referring to Bambi as the movie itself(written by real life people!), not the character itself. Being existential and what not, what could destroy the human race? Besides nuclear holocaust, it's going to be those little things we can't see. Or aliens, maybe. I've seen movies!
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I've seen War of the Worlds and it's the little things we can't see that saves us. I'm a "glass is half full" kind of guy.
Flint, Michigan -
True. They can just as quickly turn since without them we would die. Our gut is the second most important part of our defenses after our skin, due to the billions upon billions of little buddies killing all the naughty stuff we
ingest on a daily basis. -
@Eggcelsior. Cruelty is relative and in the eye of the beholder. To some vegans all meat is murder. Some vegetarians eat fish. Some want home farmed groceries. If someone has a pet pig, great. That doesn't make all pigs a pet.Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN
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henapple said:@Eggcelsior. Cruelty is relative and in the eye of the beholder. To some vegans all meat is murder. Some vegetarians eat fish. Some want home farmed groceries. If someone has a pet pig, great. That doesn't make all pigs a pet.
It makes most of them delicious.
NOLA -
I know it gets lonely on the farm sometimes man, but geez, can't you stick to the bacon and leave the sheep alone?henapple said:I grew up in the country where men are men and sheep stay nervous."I've made a note never to piss you two off." - Stike -
@henapple that's exactly what I said above. I can empathize with a vegan's reasoning, but science beats that out. There is a reason we have incisors. As a meat eater, my definition of cruelty may differ from a vegan's. However, I do believe all living things deserve some modicum of respect before meeting their fate. That's why I respect hunters so much. They are stewards of the environment and make death as humane as possible. A poor shot can ruin meat if the animal doesn't stop bleeding asap. The same cannot be said for factory farms/slaughterhouses. Remember Operation Wagon Train? Colleagues of my wife worked that raid and saw some FUBAR **** I had never imagined. That's why I try to buy local as much as possible because I myself can see how they treat their livestock. I'm lucky to live in the largest agricultural County in Maryland.
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Searat said:I appreciate the topic and the discussion. That's what makes this country great. (If only our politicians could learn to discuss topics and come to common ground for the good of the population not their re-election accounts but I digress.)
I'm the second generation off the farm on my side of the family and my wife is as well. I sent summers on vacation harvesting crops in the south. I've sent time with my wife's family big farming operations in the north. I can still hear smell that, it's the smell of money from the pig farmer. I've also sent time with the members that work in meat processing plants (chickens and cows).
It's already been pointed out there are good operations and bad operations. The process starts from the animal being raised and feed through the processing. The only way to solve your concern is farm to table approach. In some of the larger cities, butchers are starting to embrace this approach. That means they buy whole animals. This means that us consumers need to eat more than pork butts, ribs, briskets, etc..
BGE is a wonderful tool for exploring some of these cuts. I've got a long way to go and would like to see other folks recipes and off normal cuts they are using. (I tried beef tongue recently) So you hunters that do whole animals probably have a running start on this so please share.
Sorry for the wordiness of this comment but it's a big topic with a lot of options.
And how was the beef tongue? I've always heard about it, but not sure I could stomach it. Harder to convince SWMBO. I'm not even going to consider tyring to convince a 3 year old to try cow tongue... -
I think it's a fair assumption to think many of us are in the do-it-yourself camp, when it comes to consumables like BBQ. You touched on something that is another habit of mine that I would like to share with everyone: home coffee roasting. I can't stand Starbucks, and I can no longer drink commercial coffee. I've been buying green beans and roasting them in my garage for the last 2 years, never looked back. I'd suggest looking into it, starting small with something like a poopcorn popper. (Just to ge tthe idea) The more stuff you make at home, the better off you'll be!anton said:If I went into depth about the conditions behind counters in the food and coffee serving restaurants, none of you would EVER eat out or get a coffee from Peets or Starbucks ever again. The level of filth,contaminates, dirty employee handling, horrible fake additives, sugars, and artificial sweeteners is at epic proportions, to me that is what you should be concerned with. Animal production for food has and will be subjective to anyone who has not been raised on a farm or had production butchering experience. I also say to each his own, and I will continue to put the "pet animal" mentality to the rear of my brain while I grill that steak!!! It's food, people.
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henapple said:I'm not supporting abuse. Simply put, they're animals. Food. They are not human or equals with us.
I recall a similar rant from Frost in the movie "Blade", when talking about humans... -
@SeahawksEGGHead
I finally tried a beef tounge taco after seeing it pushed as good on the food TV shows.
It basically had no real distinct taste to it. Nothing special and nothing.missed.
BTW I.love our Seattle food sorting rules. My family of four uses only one bag of trash a week and that's with someone I'm diapers.
No food smell in the trash just use the bio bags and put it with the yard waste.Seattle, WA
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