Organic meat prices

[5 Little Monkeys]

I know prices will vary for different areas but I am wondering what you pay for organic meat. I like the taste of farm fresh meat but I only get it when my aunt gives us a package from their own cows. I emailed a local farmer today (MB) and they have a $100 beef package where you get 12 pounds of meat (1 roast, 4 steaks and 5-6 lbs of hamburger). That seems expensive to me....is it?!

[Momof4]

I'm in Ontario, but here's a link to the company I use for home delivery of organic foods. Go to Shop and look under Meats -

http://www.eatgreenorganics .com/home.php

[cfred]

Is their meat ethically raised? I mean side from being organic. I look for 'loved meat'....sounds stupid but it's a term my daughter coined and it stuck :)

[5 Little Monkeys]

Momof4...thanks for the link! Gives me some prices to compare :)


Cfred...cute term! I am not sure though. Honestly, I am only interested in farm meat because I like the taste better. I do not buy organic nor have I bought into the whole organic thing yet but there are some things I like about it so am looking to make a few small changes.

[DCMG]

I don't know about pricing in MB but we buy our beef and pork from a local farm and "loved meat" is part of the reason we choose to go this route. Plus loved meat is more tender and tastes better. We buy a 1/4 of a cow and 1/2 pig at a time and then get to choose how we want it butchered (to a degree). I think the larger package you purchase the more of a price break. We pay $3/lb for beef and $1.85/lb for pork chickens are $3/lb as well. We do this once a year and our freezer is stocked and I don't touch any meat at the grocery store and haven't for 10 years.

[cfred]

Yes, I've found 'loved meat' to taste much better too. I do have a local farm that I buy some meats from and a couple farms I've researched now have meats occasionally at the market by my house....pricey though! Our basic intent is to get as much factory farmed foods out of my house as possible. Working on eggs now. Using egg replacement for baking and free range for cooking, though free range isn't awesome either. I need to find a local hobby farm with a little coop.

[bright sparks]

I buy mine from this place.

[QUOTE http://www.fenwoodfarm.com/product.htm/QUOTE]

I buy direct from the farm but they supply most health food stores in southern ontario too. The link is their product list and pricing although they have monthly deals if you sign up for emails. I caution people buying from farms to ask the question of whether or not the meat is actually from their animals. Sounds silly but I was buying beef from a local guy who runs a store on his hobby farm and the only thing he sells that is his are the eggs, everything else is brought in so turns out it isn't local :(

Also his eggs have pale yolks and his shells are brittle so unfortunately his chickens are clearly not in optimal health. I think it's always best to do some research when buying local. For example buying from your fruit stand at the side of the road. Many of them bring produce in to sell and/or are heavily sprayed so not as beneficial as one would hope.

[FunnyFarm]

I'm looking into buying from nutrafarms. It looks like the animals are well taken care of (not organic, but appropriate food and antibiotic/hormone free) and all the reviews of the qualitly are very good. It is expensive though. My sis-in-law is getting it and it is close to $3000/yr! I was going to post a link, but it seems to be down right now. I also buy organic whole chicken from costco. 2 birds for about $30.

[5 Little Monkeys]

Thanks for the info and the links ladies! I will look at the links sometime today :)

[mickyc]

Sorry to change the topic a bit 5LM but question for those who buy farm fresh meat. Do you feed your daycare children this meat? We bought a pig in the fall. The meat package was stamped not inspected. I was a little worried about feeding it to my daycare kids just in case so I never did (that is ok because it is expensive lol) so just wondering if that is a concern for others?

[AmandaKDT]

Yes, buying a half or quarter cow is the best route. You pay by the pound, not by the cuts of beef. It is a lot of beef and ends up costing hundreds of dollars, but you could always find some friends or family that want to go in on it with you. Maybe email back that MB farmer and ask about how much a half or quarter cow would cost.

Hutterite farms can also be a good place to get meat, eggs, produce. There must be some close to Brandon.

[5 Little Monkeys]

Mickyc, no problem! For myself, it's not a huge concern. Can't be any worse than some of the food sold in stores lol. (I'm thinking like hot dogs, kraft dinner, deli meat, cheese whiz)

Amanda, yes there are hutterite colonies around here. Once a year I buy meat, produce and baking from one of them and other times I get various things from other colonies which my aunt picks up for me because she has 3 she deals with fairly often.

Buying farm fresh is something I want to do for taste but will still be buying store meat in addition because I am not on board with all organic nor can I afford to be! The daycare kids would be getting leftovers but I would still be feeding them (and us) store bought meat and produce.

[Artsand crafts]

Sorry to change the topic a bit 5LM but question for those who buy farm fresh meat. Do you feed your daycare children this meat? We bought a pig in the fall. The meat package was stamped not inspected. I was a little worried about feeding it to my daycare kids just in case so I never did (that is ok because it is expensive lol) so just wondering if that is a concern for others?

Yes, I do. Organic meals is one of the reasons families are willing to pay more for my services. I charge more than other home daycares in my area.

My son and I are not meat lovers (my hubby is) so I don't serve meat everyday. I also serve fulfilling vegetarian meals and seafood. Today we had salmon grilled cheese and veggie chips for lunch. Yesterday was creamy beets soup and mushroom quesadillas, Tuesday was meatloaf, brown rice and cucumber. I'd say we have meats once to 3 times per week.

[mickyc]

There is a difference though between organic meat that is inspected and from an inspected processing plant and farm fresh meat that is not inspected. When you say organic do you mean inspected organic or not inspected organic?

I love the taste of farm fresh meat but didn't know if there was some sort of liability issue in feeding children uninspected meats?

[FunnyFarm]

Organic foods (meat and everything else) under strict testing to be certified as such. Livestock must be fed a specific diet that does not include GMO foods and be antibiotic and hormone free. There are many farmers that are organic, but not yet certified due to the cost involved. I know the government is very strict over qualifications to be certified organic. I recommend talking to the farmer themselves and visiting the farm if within driving distance. It makes a big difference IMO :) Truly it needs to be a gut trust if you go inspected vs uninspected :)

[superfun]

I honestly don't know the answer to that question. I have it in my policy that most of our food is locally sourced and organic when possible. To be honest, my beef comes right from my father's farm. In the thirty-ish years I've been eating it, we've never had any problems. And it seems like there's a recall every month from grocery stores.

[mickyc]

Oh I completely agree superfun that it is likely safer than most a person buys at the store. I was just worried that "IF" something was to happen and a child got sick because of un-inspected meat I didn't want to be sued. I know I am likely just being too paranoid lol. Actually all this talk about it I took out my last pack of ground pork for supper! yum yum.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I think if you have it stated or the parents are aware of the meat (or any food for that matter) that you feed the dck's, than there really isn't much they can do. It's a risk they take when they choose to have someone else care for their child and they don't provide the food. A child could get sick or food poisoning from lots of things we make for them! There is so much food being recalled these days that the risk of "bad food" is quite high when you are trusting someone else to feed your child.

I guess a parent could sue over a lot of things but I just don't know how often they would/do win?