Comments on: Choice Beef

By: Know Your Beef, Know Your Rancher « My Foodshed

Know Your Beef, Know Your Rancher « My Foodshed — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:06:26 +0000

[...] – health benefits of grass-fed Grass-Fed-Beef-101 – site that helps with definitions Pleasant House – blog post from Art and Chelsea Jackson about beef, including an interview with Jody Osmund [...]

By: Sky Full of Bacon » Blog Archive » 7 Links of Terror: Christmas Bonus Edition

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:00:59 +0000

[...] holidays, Art and Chel Jackson (I’m guessing the former since it’s meat-based) posted a terrific long post on beef, what the different kinds (grain-fed, grass-fed, etc.) are, what the practices of more [...]

By: 2010: A Pleasant House Odyssey « Pleasant House

2010: A Pleasant House Odyssey « Pleasant House — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:32:39 +0000

[...] Beef choices [...]

By: Pleasant House a Guest at The Kitchn and in the Sky Full of Bacon « Pleasant House

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:48:38 +0000

[...] Pleasant House because it started with a link from Michael Gebert’s Sky Full of Bacon to my Choice Beef post, a piece that I slaved over for months and pretty much decided at one point would never [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:08:34 +0000

Wow. That was more than a blog post. That was an in-depth report, 20/20 style. Fantastic job, guys.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:27:54 +0000

Interesting, informative, and appreciatively non-biased. I come from Western ND, where most everyone raises beef cattle…..they graze all their life in the pastures, except during the winter when they are fed hay and grain and cake (a high energy, large pellet of alfalfa, corn, and grains). The only chemicals these cattle see is antibiotics if they’re sick…though this doesn’t include a mandatory shot shortly after birth, as well as a small steroid injection in the ear to help the cope with the harsh winter/spring of their first few months. These injections are generally a necessity, as the difficult terrain, climate, and predation of coyotes can quickly cost a rancher a year’s profit. And while there’s truth that a rancher’s hard work can be thrown away once their herd goes to the sales ring, a good foundation can’t be just thrown away. We’re very contientious of breeding programs to attain the best possible animal…be it hardiness, finishing weight, and taste.

Most all ranchers will raise one animal/yr that will be butchered locally for their own freezer, so they do have a vested interest in how their product is produced, because they will live with the results on the table every nite. John Q Public, if unsatisfied with his selection at the local market, can easily find a rancher who will sell an individual animal for their own freezer.