Organically raised pasture-fed beef & organic cage-free chicken

Does anyone know where I can get this locally? Any good experiences? I'm also looking for reasonable prices.

megan megan
Jul '14

http://www.minimacfarm.com/

Reasonable prices, yes, but you are obviously going to pay more than you would at the grocery store for commercially-raised meat.

Rebecka Rebecka
Jul '14

$44 per pound for filet mignon is reasonable? $12 per pound for pork chops?

I can't imagine that the taste is that much better that it justifies a 400% markup. I guess I'll be sticking with the supermarket, lol.

ianimal ianimal
Jul '14

Here are some other threads for recommendations on similar topic

http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/573769#t573774

http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/451348

JrzyGirl88 JrzyGirl88
Jul '14

The taste is superior, but it's really about the way the animals are cared for, Ianimal.

I generally don't eat meat, but if I buy it for others, I like to avoid CAFO meat. Anyone else read The Omnivore's Dillemma?

Rebecka Rebecka
Jul '14

ianimal, I'm with you, those prices are ludicrous. Most chefs will tell you that the taste of any meat is derived primarily from how it is seasoned and prepared, and not whether it's commercially raised or coddled in an air-conditioned facility and hand-fed while listening to classical music. With beef, it's the fat content that is important as well.

And let's face it, no matter how the animal is raised it isn't going to live to a ripe old age and die a natural death in it's sleep before it comes to your table.

I'll take my steak rare to medium-rare, please!

JerryG JerryG
Jul '14

JerryG - do you know or care about how your medium-rare steak was treated as a living, sentient animal before it came to your plate?

Rebecka Rebecka
Jul '14

i been buying all my meats from artic foods in washington nj..........

dismom dismom
Jul '14

I've been in this business for 15 years, my family over 40. There is a very distinct flavor profile in grass-fed beef or an animal that is grass-fed grain finished. . Better/Worse who knows, my customer is always right, and if your checkbook can afford it I will sell you whatever you want. But in all the years I have been in this business, I have never had anyone ask me if the animal was treated well, most people only ask "How Much?".

I can on a retail side of this business recommend Fossil Farms they are located in Boonton and are super nice to do business with.

JrzyGirl88 JrzyGirl88
Jul '14

Rebecka: I know how my "living sentient animal" was raised before it went to the slaughterhouse, and I know that however YOUR steer was raised (or chicken, or whatever), it too eventually went to the slaughterhouse. It is/was still an animal raised to be food for humans.

I've had VERY expensive 100% grass-fed beef that was poorly seasoned and prepared and tasted awful, and I've had factory-produced (for want of a better term) beef at a fraction of the price of the grass-fed that was seasoned properly and well prepared that tasted MUCH better. That was the point I was trying to make; I just don't see that the difference between the two methods of raising a steer justifies the price difference.

JerryG JerryG
Jul '14

It's the life the CAFO animal had before it went to the slaughterhouse that disturbs me, Jerry. Read about CAFOs.

Rebecka Rebecka
Jul '14

Rebecka, I know what a CAFO is. Let's not lose sight of the fact that these are animals being raised for food. They are not cute, warm, cuddly pets.

There are over 7 BILLION people in the world today, all of whom require food to survive. Without mass production many more people would be malnourished than already are. With as many people as there are world-wide already suffering from famine and poor nutrition, countless more would starve and die without mass produced food supplies.

Limiting ourselves to only grass-fed steers allowed to roam acres of land until mature, or free range chickens is not an option that will feed those 7 billion people.

So we're left with continuing to raise animals for food the way we currently are, finding a way to reduce the world population by a few billion people overnight, or eliminating mass production and suffering world-wide malnutrition and starvation.

JerryG JerryG
Jul '14

That's like saying - no one is recycling in China or India, so why should we bother to recycle in the U.S? It's about individual choices, and everyone's choice contributes in either a positive or negative way. I choose to avoid meat altogether. I don't like animal slaughter, and the toll meat production takes on the environment is a large one.

As much as I dislike the saying, I think we're going to have to "agree to disagree" on our particular outlook and choices when it comes to food consumption. If you can eat CAFO meat and be happy with that choice, then that's fine. I choose not to. It really is an individual decision, and I don't judge others for their choices. I was simply stating my opinion, and I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with me. You made some valid points.

Rebecka Rebecka
Jul '14

Mini Mac farms in Long Valley, and Klein Farm in PA, out a bit past Bangor. Both have organic, humane raised beef, chicken & eggs; Klein's also have an extensive cheese store, yogurt, and soon, ice cream. Google both for a look!

The enormous number of people we feed, and the subsequent practices of mass production, shouldn't negate efforts to re-evaluate what we do, and seek ways to incorporate heathier and kinder ways of raisinig food animals.


Readington Farm free range non drugged chicken - sold at Shop Rite - is very tasty and makes the other stuff taste - well like nothing ----

5catmom 5catmom
Jul '14

"The enormous number of people we feed, and the subsequent practices of mass production, shouldn't negate efforts to re-evaluate what we do, and seek ways to incorporate heathier and kinder ways of raisinig food animals."

We should seek ways to do it that don't end up costing $44 a pound for tenderloin and $10 per pound for hamburger and hot dogs. That's "udderly" ridiculous... Someone should break it down and figure out how much these farms are charging for a single head of cattle... I'm guessing it borders on the absurd.

ianimal ianimal
Jul '14

When you take the tenderloin from an animal, you take away the best part, processing choice is usually to take a couple pieces of tenderloin, OR a whole bunch of nice steaks, each with a bit of the tenderloin in them, think the small part on a Porterhouse. So tenderloin costs.

Farmers have to pay a fortune to clean up and get certified to produce organic food. Or to put in fencing to raise grass fed beef. They're at the mercy of the market as prices rise and fall. Not saying those prices are all ok, but really I've never seen a rich farmer in this generation. Most farmers are land poor, no cash, just trying to get along like the rest of us.

hktownie hktownie
Jul '14

A+ Rebecka
A+ MAN

As far as "mass production" feeding the 7 billion people of the world .......
well, it's NOT! There are billions of starving people in third world nations.
Factory farming is obviously not the answer. The use of grains to feed farm animals uses MORE food than it produces. If those grains were used for human consumption it would feed billions of people. Factory farming will also ultimately create a water crisis as this agriculture uses about 75% of the planets fresh water. Scientists calculate this will occur in approximately 35 years.

happiest girl
Jul '14

Well, now you're adding another log on the fire...

I could care less about "organic"; personally, I believe it's the biggest load of crap dumped on the American consumer in the last 20 years. I refuse to pay a dime for anything a farmer has to do to get himself "certified organic".

I'm talking solely about the humane treatment of the animals. I could also care less if they eat solely grass. I know I've had grass-fed beef from Australia and I hated it.; I thought it was gamey and just tasted "off".. but I'm not sure if that was because it was grass-fed or because it was Australian.

The way I hear it, a grass-fed cow essentially gets an extra year of being a cow than a grain-finished cow does. So what? If you've lived three months as a cow, what's another year? 365 more days of eating grass and swatting flies with your tail? Big deal... it's not inhumane to deny them an extra year that you have to pay to feed them. Grain-finished cows also have a lot more marbling and fat content in the meat, which leads to better taste and a juicier final product.

So, keep the organic and the grass-finished price increases to yourself, but give them room to roam and kill them as painlessly as possible. If I had to pay a small premium for that, I would.

ianimal ianimal
Jul '14

There is a farm on 517 heading to Andover that has a sign with a phone number. Grass fed beef. Sorry I don't know the number

Stacey
Jul '14

I am a lamb lover. I just found out a few years ago that you could get American grain fed lamb at Shoprite if you asked for it. It is like the Lamb I grew up with. That Australian grass fed is tasteless no mater how you season it. When I went to Scotland, I thought, boy I will get some great Lamb. It was the same Australian we are getting. I pointed it out to our cousin, He said there good grain fed is only for export. To each there own but I am asking for mine all the time. The butchers tip was if the have lamb shanks there usually grain fed since the Grass fed usually don't come to them with the shank on.

Old Gent Old Gent
Jul '14

Rebecka, you too made some valid points. Thank you.

JerryG JerryG
Jul '14

happiest girl: The third world nations are still trying to raise animals for food without mass production and CAFO. A flock of chickens allowed to range free until slaughter and a couple of cows will not feed a village in Somalia. That same village will never raise enough grain or corn to feed it's human population without the use of fast maturing strains developed to be disease and drought resistant. While this country has an abundance of food a great part of the rest of the world does not, and is still farming and raising food animals using 19th century technology. Until that technology is brought up to date there will never be enough food for the third world.

JerryG JerryG
Jul '14

Pittenger Farms in the Andover area (Best's farm carries some of Pittenger farms meats and you can find Lou at the Blairstown farm market on Saturdays)
Ort Farms is selling their own beef
Melick's sells their own beef also

Minimac offers a meat CSA.

I would recommend taste tasting the meats before buying a large amount due to the cost.

christy christy
Jul '14

".. but I'm not sure if that was because it was grass-fed or because it was Australian. "

I'm inclined to say it was the Australian part. I've had US grass-fed ribeyes and grain-fed. I prefer grass fed. With a ribeye, it still has some nice marbling of fat and a bit more flavor in my mind.

I found the Australian grass-fed beef to not have as much fat (hence flavor) and what flavor it had was a bit weird. I'm sure it was simply a matter of personal taste but I'll take US beef.

I would love to support local businesses like Mini Mac but those prices are unjustifiable. To me, it's just taking advantage of your "local" status. I went to buy one of their steaks (I think it was Mini Mac) at the farmer's market one time. For the price, I could've had one at a good steakhouse.

emaxxman emaxxman
Jul '14

I am definitely concerned about the inhumane practices of Commercial giant farms. Of equal concern are the hormones, antibiotics and whatever that are being pumped into the animals , poisoning first them and then us.

Dansker Dansker
Jul '14

If you are comparing Mini Mac prices to the antibiotic and steroid induced meat and chicken at the supermarket (i.e. Purdue) than yes, the prices are higher.

I am a member of their CSA. I think the meat tastes better and it makes me feel better to know where my food is coming from. For our family, the numerous recalls of meat, inhumane conditions and improper handling are what convinced me that we had enough of supermarket meat. See this article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/26/california-beef-recall-cancer_n_4861305.html

You don't know what you are getting in the supermarket and to say Mini Mac meat can't taste any better than the slab of meat you purchase as the supermakert, without even trying it, is just ignorant. I wouldn't expect any different from the members on this site! If you think the prices are inflated, than by all means continue to buy the cheaper cancer stricken meat in Shop Rite or Costco.

jdach jdach
Jul '14

We went up to the farmers market in Sparta on Saturday and there was a vendor selling pork products, certified magalistsa pork, but at $16.00 for 12 ounces, just not affordable for me.

Bessie Bessie
Jul '14

I don't know exactly how the beef industry does it but I do know there is no such thing as organically grown fruits or vegetables. Unless you're growing them in your backyard.

farms are allowed to use a list of chemicals and pesticides to spray on their fruits and vegetables and still call yourself organic

oldred
Jul '14

As always when it comes to this topic I have to chime in and advise that you purchase your products from a facility that is USDA inspected and has a validated HACCP plan in place. From a food safety standpoint this is of utmost importance.

@ Ianimal "If you've lived three months as a cow, what's another year? 365 more days of eating grass and swatting flies with your tail? Big deal" It actually could be a big deal from a safety standpoint BSE (mad cow) usually presents in cattle over the age of 30 months. Which is why I stress the importance of USDA guidelines.

JrzyGirl88 JrzyGirl88
Jul '14

So, are you saying that grass finished cattle that is allowed to mature to 30 months or older is a lot more likely to develop bovine encephalopathy than a grain finished cattle that is harvested at 18 months or so?

ianimal ianimal
Jul '14

I don't mean to belittle the seriousness of BSE, but you're at much greater risk just walking across the street. If the cow is fed properly, either grain or grass, no animal protein, there should not be an issue. US borders are very careful about what beef comes in.
We eat our own beef that is not USDA inspected all the time, however we cannot sell it. There have been only 4 cases of vCJD reported in the United States, and each has been traced to meat consumed while traveling abroad.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/05/health/mad-cow-disease-texas/index.html

More information below.

(CNN) -- Here's a look at what you need to know about Mad Cow Disease, a transmissible fatal brain disease found in cattle.

Facts:
It has been linked to a fatal brain disease in humans called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

The official name of mad cow disease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). BSE lesions are characterized by sponge-like changes seen under an ordinary microscope.

Eating contaminated meat or other products from cattle (excluding dairy products) with BSE is thought to be the cause of vCJD.

BSE is passed between cows through the practice of recycling bovine carcasses for meat and bone meal protein, which is fed back to other cattle.

Both mad cow disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) are fatal.

Symptoms of vCJD involve psychiatric symptoms and behavioral changes, movement deficits, memory disturbances and cognitive impairments.

BSE Statistics (Cattle): (source: CDC)
Through April 2012, 23 BSE cases in North America have been confirmed, 19 cases in Canada, and four in the United States. One of the infected cows that died in the United States was born in Canada.

hktownie hktownie
Jul '14

Not at all! It has nothing to do with Grass Fed vs. Grain Fed. I was just trying to tell you that depending on the cow, the age could be an issue, more so out of the United States but still a factor.

My point is simply to purchase from a USDA facility to ensure that proper regulations / specifications are followed to ensure the safety of consumers. Thankfully the US has had limited number of confirmed cases because we do have such guidelines in place.

JrzyGirl88 JrzyGirl88
Jul '14

Hktownie ~ for some reason your post popped up for me after my post, but your facts are spot on. I didn't want to post all the details of what the cow eats to get it, thought it might be a little too .. well .. you get it.

JrzyGirl88 JrzyGirl88
Jul '14

jdach

I'm sorry but not everyone is rolling in the dough and can afford local, organic meat. Most of us shop the supermarkets because it is all we can afford. I suppose you think we should all turn into vegetarians?

Jazzykatt Jazzykatt
Jul '14

Back on topic now... I know not real close but another place to try for free range poultry is Goffle Poultry in Wyckoff

http://www.gofflepoultry.com/about.html

JrzyGirl88 JrzyGirl88
Jul '14

How about you just buy what you want to buy and can afford to buy.

Steve-0 Steve-0
Jul '14

Can anyone tell me what they think of the Coleman organic chicken from shop rite? Mimimac is a little out of my price range so I'm thinking of going with Coleman.

The same goes for Shop Rite's organic beef. Has anyone tried that?

megan megan
Jul '14

I've tried the Coleman chicken from Shop-Rite a bunch of times me and the wifey love it,I can tell the difference from that and say Perdue.Just my opinion....


JrzyGirl88, yep, I get it :o)

And I understand that eating meat isn't the most efficient use of the planet's resources too, but I for one could never give up meat entirely after eating meat all my life. Eat less maybe!

Steve-0 has the best post.

hktownie hktownie
Jul '14

Megan, I have bought the Coleman Organic chicken from Shoprite it is very good.

My problem with conventional meat is the antibiotics in it. I know chicken can't legally have added hormones but I'm not sure about beef. I'm fortunate enough that my Father in Law buys half a cow from a friend who raises 2 a year. He shares it with us and my brother in laws family. We don't eat red meat too often, about 2 or three times a month, so we get more than enough to last us a year. It's packed so well that when I defrost it, even a year later, it's still bright red with no freezer burn. I look at the dull pink ground beef and steaks in the grocery store and have to wonder just old it is.

jrsemom jrsemom
Jul '14

I like the Readington Farm chicken from shop rite --- also free range and no drugs/antibiotics --also buy the local eggs at sr

5catmom 5catmom
Jul '14

JerryG: Hunger is caused by poverty and inequality, not scarcity of world-wide food. There IS enough food available to feed the hungry, but it is not being made available to them. The world produces more than 1 1/2 times enough food to feed everyone on the planet. But the bulk of industrially produced food goes to confined animal feedlots and biofuels. Factory farmed livestock consumes 1/3 of the global grain harvest.
Hunger has nothing to do with technology. It is about political power and oppression.

happiest girl
Jul '14

happiest girl: You can't take the total amount of food produced worldwide and blissfully say there's plenty to go around for everyone. Following that logic, the GNP of the United States is such that every citizen should be a millionaire; it just needs to be better distributed.

Beef and grain (to use just two examples) produced in this country cannot be magically transported to Somalia or any other region of the world where famine and malnutrition is a way of life, and where subsistence farmers watch their villages starving for lack of food. Hunger and a lack of technology go hand in hand. A farmer in an area plagued by a decade of drought would benefit from modern crops that have been developed to be drought-resistant. If you can't import the actual food then you have to import the technology. If you do neither, then you can stick to centuries-old technology and watch your children starve to death.

And maybe, just maybe, the reason why there is 1.5 times the amount of food needed to go around is BECAUSE of modern food-producing technology. If we go back to 19th century food-producing methods in this country we could never feed the 315 million living in this country, let alone worry about the rest of the world.

JerryG JerryG
Jul '14

Back on the actual topic rather than how to solve world hunger and peace. I bout a sample beef pack from the farm on 517 in andover mentioned earlier and it was pretty good. There chicken and eggs are very good but they do not have chicken pieces just whole. We mostly by Coleman organic chicken at shoprite. I have not found a local farm with beef I like enough to buy a lot of. I drive back to Maryland and buy from a farm I bought from while living there. We just bought a half of beef at 4.00 a lb hanging weight. It is a lot up front but best price quality texture and flavor we have found. We get to tell the butcher exact cuts we want and plenty of bones for the dogs. It is also nice to know it was not meat laying around or transported all over the country. I see where it comes from, what it ate and how it was processed


Jdem- is that Rock Ridge you're speaking of? I'm thinking about trying to split a cow from there with someone, but it would be good if I knew someone who had tried it and been happy first.

megan megan
Jul '14

JerryG: Extremists who deny economic development, corruption, violence, oppression...........these are the reasons for the suffering. No bag of GMO seed is going to fix that. Do you have a vested interest in Monsanto?

Jdem: LOL!
Thankfully we are educated about the dangers of GMO's and food tainted with hormones and antibiotics and are shunning mass produced factory farm animals. I am also glad so many people are sensitive to the cruelty these animals are subjected to.
While I do not eat meat, I do know that organic meat can be obtained at the Sussex Food Co-op in Newton. I do not know exactly what they have but call and they will tell you and also give you the price.
They also have eggs from grass-fed chickens, also organic eggs, and duck and goose eggs. Also a big cheese selection including some made from raw milk.
973-579-1882

happiest girl
Jul '14

Yes the one off 517 is rock ridge. If you stop by they usually have like 25 lb assortment packs you can buy before making the big purchase . Of course there always variations but at least you have a better idea.


Happiest girl I have done research papers in college on gmo products and it is disturbing stuff.


Grass fed chickens? What kind of bird eats grass by choice?

iPhone-imal iPhone-imal
Jul '14

Lucky ones, iPhone-imal !!

Read some of these if you did not know!

http://lionsgrip.com/pastured.html

http://www.grassfedtraditions.com/pastured_poultry.htm

happiest girl
Jul '14

Chickens eat lots of grass when they can. Tough to do on a factory farm though, especially with their beaks cut off.

Gadfly Gadfly
Jul '14

I'll take your word for it; most of the "free range" chickens I've personally seen spend all day eating insects... can't say I've ever seen them "grazing".

iPhone-imal iPhone-imal
Jul '14

Ianimal - my chickens ate all the grass that was in their enclosure, and now stick their little noggins through the fence to get the grass growing outside. They love it. And it's not because they're not getting enough greens; they have a big lettuce or spinach salad every day. They just go crazy for the grass.

Rebecka Rebecka
Jul '14

happiest girl: You're denying that prolonged drought has any effect whatsoever on the ability of a farmer to produce a good crop? What about pestilence or poor seed quality? Are those non-factors in your fairy tale land?

I doubt very much the third world farmer gives a crap whether his seed has been modified or not as long as he can produce enough to feed his children and keep them from dying of malnutrition or vitamin deficiency related diseases. Scientists have been "modifying" crops since the days of Gregor Mendel and the first true research into genetics. Crops have been crossbred to enhance desired traits for two hundred years.

You want to talk about economics as a cause of hunger? Okay, then please tell me how someone living in this area and working a minimum wage job and trying to raise a child or two on that salary is going to be able to afford your organic produce? Case in point from last Thanksgiving: regular yams at .99 per pound vs. organic yams for $2.99. How is that organic produce within reach of the minimum-wage earner struggling to feed a family?

It's all well and good to sit here in the Land of Plenty and preach about "...economic development, corruption, violence, oppression..." as causes of world hunger, but unless you can wave a magic wand and make all those problems instantly go away, you have to provide some means of getting more food to starving people. I don't deny those political causes exist, but ignoring the advances of science and allowing people to starve because that science offends someone is morally repugnant to me.

JerryG JerryG
Aug '14

Jerryg what does any of that have to do with a person asking for a place to purchase beef and chicken that does have the finance to make a purchase of food produced in a manner they agree with. We live in. Free country that has plenty and people have free choice to
Purchase and eat what they want. If you want to solve world hunger start a charity not make someone feel guilty for purchasing the food they want


JerryG -- For the question about where to buy organic food, you changed the topic.
YOU were the initiator of the starving people of the world. You initiated the topic of technology and GMO seed, and you decided to focus on Somalia.

Ask yourself WHY the Somali don't have the technology.
Ask yourself WHY the Monsanto seed is not available to them.
You are the one living in a fairy tale, who seems to believe in magic wands, and preach like you have the solution to world hunger.
Why don't you wave 'your magic wand' and get them what you think they need if you care about them so much??
Use your aggression to help them instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to devalue the importance of animal compassion and healthy clean food and one's right to advocate for these values.

You are free to eat whatever food you want.
I and others on this post are free to eat what we want.
I don't have a magic wand but I have moral values and the right to live by them.

happiest girl
Aug '14

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