grass fed beef near san diego?

[rjruiz_415]

I live in northern san diego county and am looking for a reasonably priced source for grass fed beef and free range chickens. There are soooooo many in central and northern cali, but are there any in southern cali? I found one but it comes to around $10/lb... I suppose I would be willing to order from someone up north, if any of you ladies have good reccomendations! Thanks so much!

[mkloz]

The only place I have found grass fed beef is in a small shop in La Jolla (can't remember the name, though, sorry- all I know is that it was near the x-mas parade route and not far from Burger Lounge where you can eat out grass-fed beef) and they carry some at Cream of the Crop on coast highway in Oceanside (although it is NOT local).

[tifpaul]

So the shop in La Jolla is called Homegrown Meats. It's on the corner of Kline and Fay, I think, a block towards the ocean from Vons. There was an article about their operation - they have a ranch they use on Palomar Mountain - in the most recent edition of Edible San Diego.

Basically there is no slaughterhouse in San Diego County and so they have to drive all the cattle up north to butcher them. Michael Pollan mentions this barrier for small operations in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Whole Foods and Jimbo's also carry pastured meats.

Trader Joe's has organic, grass-fed ground beef for $6 a pound. From Australia, but the price is the lowest I have found in the area.

The print edition of Edible SD also has advertisements from small farmers growing animals by hand for meat. Maybe that would be a resource for you. Another option would be to buy a cow or a portion of a cow.

Let me know what you discover.

[mammom]

Hi Jackie,

We are looking for a cow as well. My research has led me to Organic Pastures. I asked Mark McAfee himself about drugs (hormones, vaccines, antibiotics, etc) and his animals are clear of them. I am not sure how much shipping would be (I haven't placed an order yet), but I am hoping to actually make the drive up there to pick some up (I would love to see his farm).

Here's a link to his pricing: http://www.organicpastures.com/shop.html#beef

[Happiestever]

I wish I were more familiar with the area, we have been buying from Trader Joe's and Halal stores. Thanks for posting this question.

[ZoeyZoo]

I use Organic Pastures for my dairy products and have been happy with them.

I don't know the farm but some of the farmers markets have meat. I know the Hillcrest one did last summer.

[lohter]

I belong to a local CSA, and one of our farms (Sage Mountain) grows a few types of steer, fed organically: Grass Fed only (June and July), Grass and Organic Vegetable Fed (July thru December) and
Grass, Organic Vegetable and Organic Grain fed (May thru December). You can contact them at [e-mail]

[beefeater1]

Check out Green Beef www.eatgreenbeef.com there a local CSA in San Diego 100% Grass fed and grass finished!