Sweet Meat

I've struggled with meat for years. So much so that I was a vegetarian eater for several years and even a vegan for a short period of time. Initially, it was due to my concern over the standard of living of food animals as well as environmental factors. When I got married, I discovered that it was difficult to cook separate meals and I greatly relaxed my meatless dining habits only to be told in the early 2000s that I could no longer give blood due to potential exposure to variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) (aka Mad Cow Disease). Guidelines state that you may not give blood if:

You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames

* From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany

You spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 5 years or more from January 1, 1980, to present, in any combination of country(ies) in Europe, including

* in the UK from 1980 through 1996 as listed in above
* on or associated with military bases as described above, and
* in other countries in Europe as listed below:

o Germany

-American Red Cross

I lived in Germany from 1981 to 1992, guess I got the message, I can not give blood because I may have eaten some bad meat. Not only did this news irritate me but once again I was repulsed by meat. After more investigation though I became more disgusted with the practices that allowed a disease like vCJD to spread. You see, large production farms, always looking to save a buck, decided to grind up the waste bits of farm animals and use it as food to feed other farm animals such as cows. That this was not banned at the outset is absolutely disgusting. What freaking moron thought of this practice, probably the same stupid fat f*ck who decided to grain cattle to "fatten" them up so that they can be ready for slaughter faster and make more fat f*cks. What's wrong with feeding an animal their natural diet? We could save ourselves so much by just feeding our feed animals the things that they are naturally made to eat. For cows, it's this green stuff that grows out of the ground. Stuff like grass, alfalfa, hay...Stuff that makes naturally lean beef.

Graining cattle is appalling and it's taken me years to get that through my spouses cranium but guess what, one taste of our own naturally fed beef and he's hooked. Graining cattle is force-feeding so that a cow can fatten up for slaughter in six months as opposed to the 2-4 years of normal growth to slaughter size. Corn-fed beef is also bad for you and I.

After the news that I could not give blood I absolutely refused to purchase beef from our local grocery stores, instead opting to travel to the nearest Whole Foods Market, about an hour away, to ensure that I could get grass-fed, hormone free beef for my family. Now, I'm practically spoiled, my beef is in my backyard, eating what they like to eat and generally looking pretty damn happy.


That's Honeymoon above, she's the boss (maybe it's the horns! or that she's bigger than our little Gelbvieh girls, Black Betty and Black Berry). You should see them running to us when we come up to the fence with a treat, yesterday it was dandelions that I pulled up from the yard. They are social animals and have not only provided my family with safe meat but are fun to be near and help us teach our child about responsibility.

So, what brought all of this on today?

The recall of 96,000 pounds of ground beef due to E. coli 0157:H7 contamination last night. The product was packaged on March 10th and the first illness was reported on May 13th, resulting in the recall on May 21st. E. coli is naturally found in intestines, so in the most basic sense, the beef in question is contaminated with fecal matter which is not exactly unusual in meat processing plants. That's why they want you to cook your meat to a certain temperature, and especially be wary of ground meat, because any contamination has been mixed into the meat instead of just resting on the outside.

View the recalled products here. You'll note that the products in question are USDA inspected but keep in mind only a small percentage is ever actually inspected. Read all about meat processing and inspection at Sustainable Table.

Bottom line, if you do eat meat please think about where your meat comes from, it could save your life. If you live nearby, I'll serve you naturally fed Scottish Highland beef and you won't even be able to stomach mass-produced beef again!

Sidhe, The Wandering Elf
AWOP Contributor
Author of Musings of a Wandering Elf Blog

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Peace Y'all