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GrassRoots Meats Newsletter March 2008
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in this issue
-- New Packages / Website Changes
-- Price Changes
-- Mother Earth News
-- Consumer Reports Article
-- Ethanol and E.coli
-- Lamb Ribs (riblets) Recipe
-- In Closing... |
New Packages / Website Changes
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We are very excited about the changes we have made to the Beef and Lamb Packages on the website. Some of the old packages have changed. Hopefully you will find they have improved. And we added some new packages, which we hope you like as well.
We added a new beef package that has a complete sampling of nearly all the cuts we offer - the Vaquero Variety Package. A new Ground Beef Package offers you a discount price on the purchase of 40 pounds, so you can decide when you want it to be on sale! Two new lamb packages will give you more options as well. The Basque Sampler is only $79.00 and gives you a sampling of nearly all the lamb cuts we offer. Be sure to check them out and let us know what you think.
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Price Changes
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It was necessary to make a few pricing changes, and the first was in the Ground Beef. We had to raise the price to $4.89 per pound. Even at this price we are less expensive than most "all natural" products, and a lot less expensive than the ground beef from other grass-finished producers. I probably sound a little defensive but Allan and I hate raising prices and are trying to hold to our present pricing as long as we can. We really do want to offer a product that is affordable for most families. One thing you might want to keep in mind is that you can always get a good discount on the Ground Beef if you order in 40 pound quantities, our new Ground Beef Family Package. If this is too much Ground Beef for you, you might try to find someone to share the order with.
In addition all beef and lamb wholes, halves and quarters will now be vacuum packaged, resulting in a small price increase in all of these packages. For a number of reasons, but primarily because of the higher quality of the Kryovac packaging, we have chosen to use this packaging exclusively. Whole and half beefs will now be the same price, with quarters just a little higher. Many of you will not be affected by this change, since you do not order in such large quantities. For those of you who are affected we hope that you will welcome the change in spite of the price increase.
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Mother Earth News
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Thanks to Mickey Harlow from Arvada, Colorado, for the following email she sent us: "Mother Earth News, February/March, 2008, issue: 'What You Need to Know About the Beef You Eat. Supermarket Beef is an Unnatural industrial Product.' This is a very long article and I think you would enjoy reading it. One statement I found interesting. 'When calves are finished on high-grain diets a certain amount of suffering is simply taken for granted.' Also, to further cut costs at feed lots cattle are fed 'byproduct foodstuffs'. This can range from nutritious ingredients such as beet pulp and carrot tops to junk, stale bread or candy and heat treated garbage. Byproduct foodstuff is anything that is cheap, keeps the cattle growing and can be found close to the feedlot. In New York chewing gum has been used as a cheap food supplement. The chewing gum, still in its aluminum wrappers, can replace 30 percent of cattle growing or finishing diets without impairing feedlot performance or carcass quality (so they say). In other parts of the country, cattle are being finished on stale pizza dough and candy bars as well as heat treated garbage. Feedlot operators drive to the manufacturing plants or municipal landfills and load up their trucks with this fare.
"A May 21, 2007, Wall Street Journal article states, 'reliance on junk food has shot up in recent years because the cost of feed corn has doubled due to the increased use of corn for ethanol production.' One farmer now feeds his cattle a ration that is 17 percent stale candy and 3 percent stale 'party mix'. Another feeds a 100 percent byproduct diet including French fries, potato peels and tater tots. The article goes on. If anyone needs justification to spend more on grass fed, good beef, this article will send them over the edge...." Thanks, Mickey. If you would like to read the whole article click on the link below.
Mother Earth News Article
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Consumer Reports Article
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Mickey also told us about this article. She writes, "Check out the March 2008 Consumer Reports article 'Is Grass-Fed Beef Better???' The article does go into less fat per serving. Grass fed steak can also have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids which may help reduce heart disease risk. Grass fed ground beef usually has more conjugated linoleac acid, which might improve the immune system and help fight cancer, arteriosclerosis and type 2 diabetes, lab and animal studies show. Raising cattle on well- managed pastures can lessen erosion and boost soil fertility, the scientists' group found. The review was conducted by the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists." Click on the link below to read the Consumer Reports article.
Is Grass Fed Beef Better
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Ethanol and E.coli
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Thanks to Trish Deissler from Santa Fe, New Mexico, for emailing us the info on the following article about the link between ethanol by products being fed to cattle and E.coli outbreaks. Very interesting and once again confirms that eating grass finished meat is better for you in more ways than you can imagine. Click on the link to read the article.
E. Coli Outbreak and Ethanol By-Product - Is There a Link?
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Lamb Ribs (riblets) Recipe
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Thank you Dianne Bailey of Albuquerque for sending us the following recipe for barbequed lamb ribs: 3 pounds lamb riblets, 1 6oz. can tomato paste, 1/2 c. catsup, 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/4 c. honey, 1 medium onion sliced, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco. Arrange lamb riblets on rack in shallow roasting pan. Bake in 325 oven for approx. 1 and 1 /2 hours. Drain off drippings. Combine remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour and brush some of sauce over riblets. Continue baking for 1 and 1/2 hours more, basting occasionally with sauce. Turn riblets twice if desired to coat underside.
We have found we like to also add a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos for a bit of an extra kick and a bit more moisture. Hope you enjoy this one. It's from Lamb Around the World cookbook.
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In Closing...
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We never did get to Oklahoma in February. Every time we tried to leave we were dumped with more snow. You just cannot imagine how hard it is to get around, to do anything, with this much snow. Tales of roofs collapsing, record school closing days, roof leaks, roof leaks and more roof leaks kept the local murmur at a record high. Think it generated more talk around here than the Hillary vs Obama campaign! God bless you all and stay warm. Please DO NOT write to tell us how warm it is where you are.
Lois & Allan
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Quick Links...
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· Our Website
· Why Eat Grass Finished Meats?
· More About Us
· Products/Packages
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Contact Information
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Email: grassroots@centurytel.net
Phone: 970-731-1471; 800-681-2260
Website: http://www.grassrootsmeats.com
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