Meet Your Meat

When you walk into the grocery store, do you feel overwhelmed by the options? It’s difficult to know what meat is the best when there are so many different labels on each. This is a short guide as to what they mean:

Organic: When a meat is labeled organic, it means the animal was fed a vegetarian diet, free of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and herbicides. The animal was given access to pasture on a regular basis and was not fed anything containing genetically modified material.

Natural and/or Grass-fed: Since there are no restrictions on calling something “natural” and since most all cattle are fed grass at some point, these terms are useless. Don’t assume that since your beef is labeled “natural” or “grass-fed” it is healthy. Look for the label “American Grassfed” instead, which means the cattle was never fed grain, given antibiotics or hormones or locked up in a confined space. 

Certified Angus Beef: This is the best quality cut. Gold stars all around!

rBGH- or rBST-Free: The cattle with this label was not given growth hormone to increase their milk production. Growth hormone given to cattle can cause health problems in humans who eat the cattle. Look for and purchase meat with this label! 

Next time you go to the grocery store, make sure you are looking for the right labels. What you fuel your body with can either harm or heal you. Don't fill yourself with added antibiotics and hormones. Be aware of your purchases. There is a Portlandia episode making fun of restaurants who tell you exactly where their chickens were raised and what they ate. It's funny, yes, but how great would it be to know that what you are eating is the very best?

So fuel with knowledge!