Hunting to Provide Organic Sustainable Meat

[wankerjake]

It is my understanding that the antibiotics fed to beef to make them grow faster are metabolized by the animal and these metabolites are found only in trace amounts in the meat. The key here is trace amounts, and they will not harm you when you consume the animal. Your body is very good at metabolizing molecules of various origins, and you do it all the time. The promotion of antibacterial resistance is a much bigger concern. I'm not too privvy to the steroid issue (i've heard lectures but don't remember), but as I recall it probably isn't a big deal either. Eating fat and cholesterol in moderation along with regular exercise and a balanced diet will be a much better way to stay healthy than boycotting non-organic beef. But we all know how easy that is

 

[Sunray]

"...Hunting to provide organic sustainable meat..." It isn't a reliable source of food. Isn't inexpensive either. The meat is far more expensive than farm raised meat and far more lean, but you can't rely on it, given the restrictions. Seasons, assorted limits, etc.
Hunting is about recreation.

 

[wankerjake]

Isn't inexpensive either. The meat is far more expensive than farm raised meat and far more lean

Not for me, not during elk season. Works out to like a dollar a pound. And there are plenty of areas in this country that are overrun with deer, and it is a completely reliable source of food. Unfortunately for me Arizona is not one of these places. The elk are doing great though, pretty reliable. My family has harvested elk as the principle meat source since I started hunting them at the age of eleven. That's 16 years in a row for us with myself, my dad and my brother hunting them, at $1.50 a pound tops. We butcher ourselves. Others pay a lot more than we do to hunt which makes it less economical, depending on how you look at it...

 

[Victor1Echo]

It is the only reason for me to hunt/fish.

 

[Art Eatman]

kbbailey, it sounds as though your neighbor doesn't realize that "organic farming" has its own rules and needs--and a heckuva lot of hand work.

 

[Old Shooter]

Isn't it ironic that we, myself included, would rather eat wild game that we don't know what they ate than store-bought meat which we do know what they ate, were injected with, raised, etc.

Is the "meat for the masses" an advance for mankind or is it like that box of chocolates where we don't know what we'll get?

 

[longdayjake]

Well I may be judging the "organics" a little too harshly perhaps.
I am the 5th gen to live here on this farm and earn a living from it. I use every tool available to make a profit. We have never poured any steroids into our beef. Yes we have used antibiotics from time to time as needed for a healthy animal. Never part of daily management, as so many believe is common.
In our grain production we use pesticides: insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, and lots of fertilizer all at rates approved by the EPA. I am certified by the state as an applicator. I follow guidelines set by the IDOA, USDA, EPA, and US DOT. Records are kept. Audits are made. Best management prctices are followed to the letter.
Across the field I have a neighbor (ex-professor) who farms organically. His cattle get lots quality ragweed hay, a little weevil infested grain, and all the muddy water they can strain through their worn-off teeth. His grain fields are so weed infested and insect riddled that it isn't uncommon for him to just abandon them without harvesting. When he does harvest he hauls semi-loads of noxious weedseed away from his bins and dumps it into gullies eroded out on his farm. (makes for great quail hunting, lol)
I'm sure some of you get top-quality organic beef and grain.
I'm sure some of you don't.
IMHO...you're getting scammed.

Here is a big +1 from me. I recently came up here to northern Idaho where there appears to be a big push for organic foods. I haven't much time here but I can sure tell you that "organic" farms are nasty.

 

[Art Eatman]

Aw, I dunno 'bout nasty. Plowing behind a horse, it's probably wise to watch where you step, from time to time. The drawback is that the view never improves--but does tend to create antipathy toward politicians from excessive togetherness.

But I thought one time I'd lost my chewing gum in the chicken yard. Thought three different times that I'd found it...

The health problems from being raised on organic farms meant that none of my parents or grandparents made it past age 98.

If somebody's organic farming deal is nasty, I'd expect that the rest of his life isn't something I'd enjoy sharing, either...

 

[longdayjake]

Okay, so maybe nasty is a little harsh. All I know is when you don't use pesticides, fungicides, etc. you WON'T avoid what they are designed to prevent. Its one thing to eat a deer that hasn't been pastured or a berry grown in the wild, but my bet is that most modern organic farms are selling you stuff that is "contaminated" in some other way. Just because there are no hormones or chemicals doesn't mean there isn't something else lurking inside your food.

I am not saying you can't find good food that has been grown organically, I am just saying that you should not be fooled to believe that it is somehow better.

My grandparents mostly ate food from their garden and I can tell you their tomatos, apricots, plums, strawberrys, beans, asparagus, grapes, onions, apples, walnuts, peanuts, cucumbers, etc. tasted about a million times better than any hydroponic crap you find at the store. That said, my grandma died right before she made it into her 70's of diabetes and heart failure. She was never over weight and she exercised all the time. Genetics did her in as it will probably do me in. My grandpa is still very much alive and he still eats from his garden. So, though I can't say that eating that way didn't help my grandma live a little longer, it doesn't guarantee that you will live to be 98.

I just get the feeling that some people look down on conventional farming techniques. Though to a minority they may do some harm, the huge increase in life expectancy over the last 50 or so years sure doesn't seem to indicate that eating "normal" produce decreases the amount of years one lives. Sure you can claim that its all due to advances in medicine, but most medicines are just those horrid "chemicals" we are supposed to be avoiding. We are a healthier society nowadays so I think its backwards thinking to believe that somehow organic foods are better. EVEN if the farmer can avoid all the bugs and disease.

 

[paintballdude902]

i like havig the ability to feed myself. i like knowing that the meat i get is healthier than what people buy. i like the skill involved. hell i like everything about it. except when its cold then i just get pissy LOL

the meat is way healthier than store bought and way cheaper.

 

[Armored farmer]

Art,
I'm sure he doesn't realize the guidelines and requirements of a "certified organic" farm.
However, he is a past president of the SE Ill blah blah organic whatever ass o see acean.

 

[longdayjake]

However, he is a past president of the SE Ill blah blah organic whatever ass o see acean.

What? Does anybody understand this? I don't know what you are smoking but I bet its not organic and I want some anyway.