Trader Joes ground beef

[Mama2Kayla]

Around here, it is 1.99 a lb. The only other place I have found ground beef at that price is at our discount grocery store, and it is most definitely NOT hormone/antibiotic free. However, TJ's claims theirs is. What is the catch? How is it priced that cheap?

Right now, money is tight, and I cannot afford farm prices anymore(you know like 5.99lb for ground beef). So I have been looking for a middle of the road alternative.

Is there something I am missing about the TJ's beef? Anyone know anything?

[avendesora]

This doesn't really answer your question, but our local grassfed beef farm has an ongoing sale of ground beef at $3.50/lb, but you have to buy 50 lbs of it to get it at that price. I'm getting some friends together to get that deal. Maybe you can talk to your farm to see if they have any sales?

Aven

[EviesMom]

We eat vegetarian, so I don't know about the beef specifically, but I cut my grocery bill for the exact same stuff by at least 1/3 just by doing TJ brand stuff. It's cheaper because it's not going through another producer--ie: TJ produces their brand O cereal, then they sell it, 1 markup. Versus General Mills produces Cheerios, marks it up (a lot bc it's "name brand"); Local Grocery buys Cheerios from General Mills, and marks it up again.

I imagine with the beef, like with the eggs and milk, it's not grass fed or free range or organic; but it is antibiotic and hormone free. It's much better than conventional IMO. I tend to buy eggs from the farmer's market here, which yes, are a bit $, but it's an animal rights issue for me as laying hens are often the worst treated farm animals. I buy milk at TJs. The kids don't drink it; if they start drinking it, I might buy organic/grass fed for them, but for DH and I and bc we mainly use it in coffee and cooking, not big glasses o' milk, it doesn't seem worth the increase in cost to me.

[greeny]

I've had really bad experience with TJ's meat. I've bought ground turkey twice and chicken breast once, and all three times had to return it because it smelled rancid (way before the expiration date, and kept, obviously, in my cold refrigerator).