These days more and more people are becoming aware of the drive to support ethical farming. They see disturbing pictures of cows cooped up in horrific conditions, and treated like battery hens until they die. The irony is that cows that are treated humanely provide the tastiest steaks. Let’s discuss how we can support ethical farming right now.
Choose Your Sources
95% to 98% of American meat originates from factory farms. This means it’s harder to find ethically-reared products. If your local supermarket has no labels on the meat to say the animal was ‘slow grown’, ‘grass-fed’ or ‘outdoor reared’ it’s highly likely it wasn’t. If you use a local butcher, don’t be afraid to ask where the meat comes from. They will know, and the quality of the steak will confirm it. Some people find a solution when looking online. They may want to learn more about subscription services using meat from family farms. They desire to hear about animals reared using ethical methods and fully sustainable practices. In some cases, humanely raised beef is delivered for free by these companies. Their websites may also feature reviews from customers.
Understand The Benefits
If someone is going to pay more for ethically produced beef, they need to be sure of the gains. The truth is that when an animal has experienced a good life, the flavor of the steak will be better. It will be healthier for us to eat and have a different texture and smell. Animals raised in confined spaces contribute to environmental pollution and receive hormone and antibiotic injections. The meat flavor will always be inferior as a result.
Understand The Terminology
When a meat label says ‘organic’ it means the cow was reared on certified organic land. This means that the grass did not receive any chemicals, and the animal food was not sprayed with pesticides. A label that says ‘grass-fed’ is not just telling you the animal’s diet. It’s saying the cow had access to fields in which to graze naturally. In turn, this benefits the soil, the plants growing in, and creatures like butterflies and bees.
A sticker that says ‘certified humane’ indicates that the animal was cared for in a kind manner from birth till death. It could be outdoors to eat and drink, and would only receive antibiotics if it was poorly.
Be Prepared To Pay More
It always costs more money to rear animals in a humane way, and to create quality steak. Rather than wasting our funds, we are tasting nature at its best and investing in the future.
The environmental issues we face aren’t going to go away, and everyone needs to take action. We can already see ‘cracks in the ceiling’ and for the sake of our children and their children both individuals and governments need to act.
As we have seen, it’s all a matter of who we buy our steaks from. We won’t be able to choose the right items until we understand the terminology on the packaging. But what could be better than enjoying our food, safe in the knowledge that we have financially supported ethical farming?
