Hormone/Antibiotic Free Beef -- help!

[moonstones]

Hi lovely mamas, 

I hope I'm posting on the right board.  Feel free to move my post, if not!

My husband and I are in the midst of a food debate, can you help us settle it?  I prefer to buy all of our beef and chicken at Whole Foods where the meat available is labeled hormone/antibiotic free and it has been grass fed.  I feel like I can trust Whole Foods because the meats are labeled such.  

However, my husband prefers to buy our meats at our local grocery chain because the prices are generally significantly better.  My concern though is that the meats aren't labeled hormone/antibiotic free.  How do we know for sure if they are without hormones? Should I assume that they have received hormones/antibiotics treatments?  What are the laws/regulations for labeling meats? Can I trust the meat department at our local grocery department when they say that the meats are hormone/antibiotic free?  

What are your solutions?  

TIA!

[bodhitree]

I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that hormones are not allowed in pork or poultry, so even if you buy those at the regular grocery store, they will not contain hormones. They can and almost certainly do contain antibiotics, though, and I would definitely assume that any beef from the regular grocery store probably contains both hormones and antibiotics. I personally would not trust the employees at a store like that to know anything about the meat that they sell, because unlike in the past, meat counters of most grocery stores are staffed by unskilled workers rather than trained butchers. If you're buying meat labeled "organic," then that might be a different story with respect to the hormones and antibiotics, but in that case you would be losing the cost savings as well.

I think you just have to decide where your personal priorities lie--or more importantly, you have to reach an agreement with your husband about your family priorities. We do not have a lot of money, but for me, I choose not to buy meat at regular grocery stores. I sometimes buy it at Whole Foods or the locally owned health food store, but in the long-term I want to be sourcing all my animal products from local farmers who I know and trust. It's also worth noting that buying meat in bulk brings the price down significantly, so if you have a large freezer, that might be worth looking into.

[1love4ever]

Originally Posted by bodhitree 

I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that hormones are not allowed in pork or poultry, so even if you buy those at the regular grocery store, they will not contain hormones. They can and almost certainly do contain antibiotics, though, and I would definitely assume that any beef from the regular grocery store probably contains both hormones and antibiotics. I personally would not trust the employees at a store like that to know anything about the meat that they sell, because unlike in the past, meat counters of most grocery stores are staffed by unskilled workers rather than trained butchers. If you're buying meat labeled "organic," then that might be a different story with respect to the hormones and antibiotics, but in that case you would be losing the cost savings as well.

I think you just have to decide where your personal priorities lie--or more importantly, you have to reach an agreement with your husband about your family priorities. We do not have a lot of money, but for me, I choose not to buy meat at regular grocery stores. I sometimes buy it at Whole Foods or the locally owned health food store, but in the long-term I want to be sourcing all my animal products from local farmers who I know and trust. It's also worth noting that buying meat in bulk brings the price down significantly, so if you have a large freezer, that might be worth looking into.

You are absolutely correct and I agree with you.  We found a local farmer who raises his cows on a grass pasture and gives them hay in the winter and does not vaccinate them or give them any hormones or antibiotics or anything.  Half a cow costed about $4 a pound in the end, so getting steaks for only $4 a pound is a really good deal, and getting burger for $4 a pound is also less than the organic ground burger at the store here, so I am happy!  You should keep in mind that if meat is not labeled organic or grass fed that the animal has most certainly been fed genetically modified grain(cows should not even be eating grain!  Or soybeans!  But thats the crap they feed them) and it DOES pass thru the meat and into your body.  Yuck!

[cameragirl]

I think that if you can, the best bet is to buy a portion of a grass-fed cow. In many cases you can speak with the rancher directly, see where the animals are raised, etc. In our area it is around $4 a pound as well. The cows are usually sold as a 1/4, 1/2, or whole cow. 1/4 fed two of us for a year with other meats thrown in here and there, and left some for get-togethers. You'll get everything from ground beef, to stew meat, to steaks and filet mignon. You can also get organ meat, or offal like tail if you ask for it. Many will cut to your specifications and vacuum seal for longer storage. Make sure to ask for soup bones for some awesome bone broth!

I know it isn't practical for everyone, but for us it is the best way to go. We know the meat is safe and healthy, it tastes great, it is affordable, and having such a nice selection of meat already in the house makes planning meals easy.

[StanleyTheCat]

I would agree with everyone's reply. With pork and chicken, it is illegal to feed them hormones, so anyone who advertises hormone free chicken, it really isn't a big deal, with the cows it is a big deal. I've heard that more than like 80% of the beef that is out there has hormones in it, and the "fresh" stuff you get at the market they spray with carbon monoxide to help it retain the red color. And with chicken, it's the antibiotics that you need to look for in the labeling. I wouldn't trust anyone who says their food doesn't have hormones or antibiotics but doesn't put it on the label. It does cost more to raise the animals this way, so if they are paying more for it, why wouldn't they put it on the label?

We've gone the 1/2 cow route in the past. I think if you can meet the farmer and see how they raise the cow's and you feel comfortable with it, it's alot better than what you can get at most stores. Ours sat in our freezer for quite a while and it wasn't packaged very well, so a lot of it ended up getting freezer burn. We've been getting our stuff now from Topline Foods who has a ton of organic options. Everything on their site is clearly labeled with ingredients and hormone and antibiotic free. Their shipping is pretty reasonable and everything is individually vacuum sealed, so no freezer burn! They just had a sale a few weeks ago for organic ground beef for only $4.99. I think their site is www.toplinefoods.com if you want to check them out.

Hope that helps! :-)

[moonstones]

I love the idea of buying a portion of a cow from a local farmer.  Cameragirl -- I noticed that you're in Sacramento: what rancher do you buy from and do you know if they would ship to southern California? 

[cameragirl]

When we can, we buy from my cousin at Rockin M Ranch. They're free of hormones, antibiotics, grass fed, and they also offer pork and lamb. I'm not sure if they ship, though. It probably wouldn't hurt to ask. I'll message you their web address.

[craft_media_hero]

We got our 1/4 beef from an awesome farmer on craigslist. She even delivered it @ around $4/lb. As natural as it gets, the steers had free range of her property. I would definitely check CL, eatwild, localharvest and talk to the farmers directly. We have a local facebook group for organic local food posting, too--might be worth starting one up in your are. We had a really nasty experience with buying a rotten organic chicken from the local chain hfs and after that we sourc ed chicken from area farmers, too @ $7/ea some pretty darn big. Same w/ sausage at local flea market--all natural, pastured and fed local corn for $3/lb. I really do not buy meat at the storeexcept organic uncured beef summer sausage (for snacking) and sometimes wild caught salmon if on sale and not from China.

I just really comb all my local resources and then stock up when I hear a good deal. Personally, I find its worth driving a couple hours, investing in a freezer (we just have a mni chest freezer and it totally holds all our meat with space for fruit and stuff too), even paying a little more for quality, sustainable, humane. But in general, all our farm sorced meats have cost far less than conventional store prices, and the longest drive we've had was under 2hrs. Hope that helps give you some good ideas! I know it may be harder in a more urban area, but you are only making the drive/purchase/haul periodically rather than running to the store weekly, so I think it pans out as pretty manageable