Humane Meat

AriFerrari started this discussion · 4/18/2013

I am interested in finding some meat brands or farms which raise their animals in more humane conditions. I don't want to commit to a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle but I would like to know that the meat I'm buying doesn't come from the often unnecessarily cruel slaughterhouse corporations. I realize that ultimately an animals life is taken in order to have meat, but I don't think the life they have prior to that should be disrespected. I am also interested in cruelty free eggs/milk, we are getting chicks soon in hopes we can have our own eggs for this reason. Anyone with more information about any of this?

14 replies

sexyblack713 · 4/18/2013
The only places know that I know that sells these specific items are Whole Foods, where I shop, and Trader Joes. In Whole Foods any of the meat and seafood counters are equipped with an animal treatment rating. The higher the rating the better the animals were treated; however even to pass the first level of ratings it requires I believe more than 250 points of inspection for the facility and animal lifestyle must be passed.
Dancing Paws · 4/18/2013
My fiancee looked into this recently. There is a good site that has a list of humane farms they certify. http://www.certifiedhumane.org/index.php?page=producers-products I try to eat mostly vegan, so feel free to ask questions. Keep in mind, dairy cows also suffer tremendously, but there are a lot of milk alternatives. I use coconut and almond milk a lot (sometimes even sunflower seed milk.) So delicious makes a coconut coffee creamer, coconut yogurt, and coconut and almond milk ice cream. Amande is an almond milk yogurt. Daiya cheese is yummy, it melts, and is soy free!!! Try to avoid soy, it's not that great for you and mimics estrogen. Look for nutritional yeast in your area. A big concern for vegans is getting enough B12. The yeast and some vegan milks have it.
Certified HumaneHumane Farm Animal Care the administrator of the Certified Humane programThe leading non-profit certification organization dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals in food production from birth through slaughter. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label on a product you can be assured that the food products have come from facilities that meet precise, objective standards for farm animal treatment.
chemgoddess1 · 4/18/2013
Best option is to buy local. Visit your local farmers market, they typically have fresh meat or know where you can go to get it. Also slaughterhouse is not the correct term as all animals end up there; that is the term used for where animals are killed and hung and then butchered. Talk to Lyme, she just recently bought a half cow if I remember correctly. She also just had her first "organic" beef (I used quotes because organic is not a typical term for animals).
chemgoddess1 · 4/18/2013
While I admire what that organization is doing, did you see their fees? I have a hard time believing that any small farmer would pay them what they are asking just to get their stamp of approval. BTW, $75 application, $600 inspection fee for the farm, $700 fee for the slaughterhouse, and then there is a per head certification fee. If you raise less than 25,000 cattle a year that fee is $1 per head. And these fees are yearly. Maybe it is because I live near and know so many farmers that I am jaded to organizations like this.
portableninja · 4/18/2013
The dairy farm across the street from my in-laws house (in rural NJ) is certified organic. They paid the fees that were necessary to be certified so they could truck their products into New York City and other urban areas and sell them at farmers' markets, co-ops, etc. that demanded a certification for retail space. You know what they had to change about their farm before they could qualify for the certification? Nothing. Not a thing. They were already using responsible farming practices and just paid for the process so they could get the sticker and charge higher prices. As chem said, if you care about your meats and animal products, do your research and try to shop locally whenever possible. You can always tour the farm or ask questions to the people who can actually answer them. Don't automatically assume that all farms operate like big factory operations - most have a long history of caring for their land and animals responsibly. If they didn't how would the farms survive for more than a generation? A rather interesting guy I knew would have animal roasts at his house (cow, pig, lamb, ostrich, pheasant, etc) and would always choose a local farm and go pick the animal out personally. It was a pretty neat idea.
Dancing Paws · 4/18/2013
I didn't look at the fees. There is a meat shop in town that sells from that list though. I know it is hard to find humane options in a lot of places in the U.S. I am lucky in that I live in hippie-ville, so I have more options.
chemgoddess1 · 4/18/2013
Yeah, see I have a guy here at work who raises cows and one who raises chickens. The chickens are strictly for egg purposes and he calls them "his ladies". Since we camp a LOT we tend to find farms that have their own meat shops attached to their house. Even the milk I but right now is the closest you can get to raw milk in the state of Ohio and I have been to their farm.
AriFerrari · 4/18/2013
Ladies, Thank you so much for the support and feedback. I was nervous to bring this up because in the past I've had a lot of people who believe that there is no such thing as "cruelty-free meat" and vegan and vegetarian are the only way to go. I think that kind of attitude is intimidating to those of us who choose to remain meat-eaters but are interested in meat that comes from healthier, humanely treated animals. While I respect those who choose to meat-free or even vegan diets, I think that those who forsake any meat-eater is only scaring others away from their cause. I love that so many of the ladies on this site know the concept of "middle ground" :D I've taken the advice of those of you who said to check into local farms. Sadly, we don't have a Whole foods, Trader Joes, or any of that anywhere near us. However, we do live in the middle of no where and are surrounded by farms. Turns out, thanks to my research, I've found a farm literally minutes from mine and my parent's homes that prides themselves on generations of free range, antibiotic/hormone free cows, hogs, and chickens. There entire farm is actually run on "sustainable agriculture methods." Who knew this was literally all right under my nose?! There are even times during the year they offer retail cuts, which is more ideal for me because our household is just my husband and I. We also don't have a deep freezer to invest in a half or whole cow, yet...Also, eggs and certain fruits and vegetables as well! Thanks for all the ideas and information. I will share my findings. I plan to tour the local farm sometime soon, they are calling me back this afternoon with more info on tours, retail cuts, and products they have/offer. I will also look into the dairy aspect and see what options I have there. Raw milk is a new term to me (as most of this information is, sorry if I'm behind here!) but I've been told it's illegal in NC.
chemgoddess1 · 4/18/2013
Raw milk is illegal in most states unless you own the cow. The stuff I get is lightly pasteurized and non-homogenized. I do not drink a lot of milk, however my husband does. I cannot drink "regular" milk any more.
Dancing Paws · 4/18/2013
I hope it works for you. Every little bit helps!
BeccaBuck · 4/18/2013
LoL, am I the only one who read the title as "human meat" at first? ;-)
AriFerrari · 4/18/2013
Pokeyd, dude, seriously, when I first saw my post on the homepage I had actually thought I mistakenly typed that too and was like "Oh sh*t, did I just post that!" Haha luckily not!
Lyme Lyte · 4/19/2013
I also am really believing in buying meat and dairy from farms where the animals are free to roam fields etc., and live the way they should. I found a local farmer who actually has a store and sells all the meat, chicken and eggs from animals on his farm whichni can see are free to roam as they wish. I will tell you that buying stuff this way is about double what u paynin the stores, but it is worth it for me. Not only do I feel better mentally about eating this way, physically I feel a ton better, so it is worth it in my opinion. Here in Michigan, it is illegal to buy fresh raw milk from a farmer, so people have found a loophole where you buy a part of a cow and u get fresh milk from it on a weekly basis. Let me tell you, it is AWESOME! So thick and creamy.......makes milk from the store taste like chemicals and plastic. Do your research, go talk w the people at some of the health stores as we....they will get u n the right direction w connections! Good luck..... :)
Lyme Lyte · 4/19/2013
I also am really believing in buying meat and dairy from farms where the animals are free to roam fields etc., and live the way they should. I found a local farmer who actually has a store and sells all the meat, chicken and eggs from animals on his farm whichni can see are free to roam as they wish. I will tell you that buying stuff this way is about double what u paynin the stores, but it is worth it for me. Not only do I feel better mentally about eating this way, physically I feel a ton better, so it is worth it in my opinion. Here in Michigan, it is illegal to buy fresh raw milk from a farmer, so people have found a loophole where you buy a part of a cow and u get fresh milk from it on a weekly basis. Let me tell you, it is AWESOME! So thick and creamy.......makes milk from the store taste like chemicals and plastic. Do your research, go talk w the people at some of the health stores as we....they will get u n the right direction w connections! Good luck..... :)