Instant Pot Osso Bucco Recipe: A Comforting, Nourishing Dish

Instant Pot osso bucco

Osso bucco is a classic northern Italian preparation of beef shank that is tender, comforting, and extra delicious due to the presence of bone marrow. Bone marrow is a nutrient dense food, and it’s a bountiful source of vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B1, and calcium.

Traditionally, beef shank is slow braised for hours, but this recipe uses the pressure function of Instant Pot to speed up cooking time. This osso bucco recipe is perfect for the holiday season when families are gathering round to celebrate and spend time together. The meat is tender and full of grass fed flavor, and the bone marrow is silky and savory, a real treat!

This osso bucco recipe was inspired by this blog post.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Saint John’s beef shanks

• ¼ cup flour

• 2 Tbsp fat (oil, lard, tallow, butter)

• Salt and pepper

• 1 onion, diced

• 3-4 carrots, peeled and diced

• 3 stalks celery, diced

• 2 Tbsp minced garlic

• 1 cup dry white wine*

• ½ cup broth (beef works best)

• 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

• 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

• 1 can San Marzano tomatoes (14.5 oz), chopped

NOTES:

* One can substitute ½ cup apple cider vinegar mixed with ½ cup water for dry white wine.

METHOD

Seasoning Saint John’s beef shanks.

1. Season the beef shanks with salt and pepper then coat lightly with flour, shaking off the excess.

2. Select “Saute” setting on Instant Pot and when the display shows “HOT”, add 2 Tbsp cooking fat. When the fat is melted, sear the meat until browned on both sides, 2 minutes per side. Set meat aside.

3. While Instant Pot is still on “Saute” setting, add onion, carrots, and celery to pot and cook until somewhat soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute, taking extra care to not allow the garlic to burn.

4. Pour in white wine and cook until it is reduced to half the volume.

5. Add rosemary, oregano, broth, and seared beef back to the pot. Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir well.

Osso bucco ingredients added to Instant Pot.

6. Select “Manual” setting and cook for 60 minutes on high pressure. When the cooking cycle is complete, release pressure after 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy while hot!

Instant Pot osso bucco

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

• Bread is a must, spread the bone marrow on top!

• Roasted root vegetables or mashed potatoes

• Sauteed winter greens

Enjoy this preparation of grass fed beef shank! When you try this recipe, let us know by tagging us on Instagram or Facebook.

Grass Fed Beef Cooking Tips: How to Avoid a Tough Steak

Cooking grass fed beef isn’t drastically different from preparing conventional, grain fed beef. For the most part, you can use grass fed beef in the place of grain fed beef in all of your favorite recipes. That being said, here are a few tips that can help you make the most of your organic, grass fed, grass finished beef.

Succulent Roasts: Low and Slow

Grass fed beef roasts make an ideal meal for busy families, and they’re a cost-effective way to enjoy our organic, grass fed beef. To make the most of your roast, we recommend:

• Season with salt and pepper, sear 1-2 minutes on all sides on medium-high heat

• Add 1-2 cups of water, onions and carrots, and cook on low in a slow cooker 8-10 hours

• Roast is done when it flakes easily with a fork

Our favorite grass fed roast recipes:

• Oven Braised Chuck Roast

• Instant Pot Roast with Red Wine

• Herb Rubbed Top Round Roast

Tender Steaks: Hot and Quick

Grass fed beef steaks cook more quickly than conventional grain fed beef, so plan to cook steaks ½ or ⅔ of the time as you usually do.

For tender steaks:

• Season with salt and pepper.

• Whether using a grill or skillet, sear the meat on high heat to seal in the juices, then turn the heat down to medium-high to finish cooking.

• Use a timer and take the meat off before you think it’s finished cooking. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.

Our favorite grass fed steak recipes:

• Simple Steak

• Carne Asada Tacos

• Entrecôte à la Bordelaise

Juicy Burgers: Sear for Flavor

Grass fed burgers cook more quickly than conventional grain fed beef, so plan to take it off the heat before you think it’s finished cooking. To seal in the juices and have a great flavor, sear the meat on high heat and make sure your skillet or grill has time to warm up before putting the meat on.

For juicy burgers:

• Similarly to steaks, sear the meat on high heat using a grill or skillet, then turn the heat down to medium-high to finish cooking.

• Use a timer and take the meat off before you think it’s finished cooking. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.

Our favorite grass fed burger recipes:

• Herb-Infused Burgers

• Gourmet Smoked Burgers

• Barbecue-Infused Burgers

If you try these tips to cook your grass fed beef, upload a photo and tag us on social media @saintjohnsorganicfarm. Enjoy!

What is the Difference Between Grass Fed and Grain Fed Beef? Not All Beef is Created Equal

Cows grazing on pasture at Saint John’s Organic Farm.

When purchasing meat, we have many options that seem similar. At the grocery store, labels like “pasture raised”, “all natural”, “grass fed”, “naturally raised”, and “organic” abound. All of these evoke an image of happy cows spending their days grazing on green grass. The truth is often contrary to that idyllic image because not all beef is raised well. Some of the aforementioned meat labels are regulated and some allow for surprising caveats. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Grain Fed Beef?

Most grocery store beef comes from cows that are raised on large feedlots called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). In CAFOs, cows are crowded, confined, and fed a grain-based feed, typically consisting of soy and corn. It’s common to supplement their diet with small amounts of dried grass.

In the US, most beef is grain fed. Almost all cows begin life with mother’s milk and grazing grass for the first months of life. After that, most young cows are transferred to a feedlot to finish growing on a grain-based diet, and they are sometimes supplemented with dried grass.

The saying “you are what you eat” applies to cows as well as people. Cows were meant to eat grass and have room to roam and graze. Cows raised on CAFOs are routinely given antibiotics and steroid hormones to maximize growth and profit. The beef harvested from these animals is nutritionally inferior to Organic, grass fed and finished beef.

What is Grass Fed Beef?

The USDA no longer regulates the term “grass fed”. If the cow ate some grass at some point in its life, the beef from that cow can have “grass fed” on the label, as “grass fed” is mostly an unregulated term. There are some independent, third-party grass fed certifications popping up, and they all have different requirements and standards.

Technically, almost all beef is grass fed beef because most cows in US farms graze some grass when nursing with their mothers in the early weeks and months of their lives. It’s the “finishing”, or what they eat after weaning, that matters. 99% of beef raised in the US is grain-finished or supplemented with grain. To complicate matters further, corn is botanically classified as a grass. Our farm is part of the 1% that raises exclusively grass-fed and grass-finished beef.

The grass fed label may mean that the cow was mostly raised on grass or it may mean the cow was raised in confinement with grain and hay. It’s simply unclear. The grain diet or grain supplemented diet causes cattle to gain excess fat and leads to depletion of various nutrients in the final beef product.

For the average package of grass fed beef from the supermarket, we don’t know how the cow was raised, whether it was injected with hormones or antibiotics, or what it ate. This highlights why it is important to know and talk to your farmers. Ask questions to know what you are purchasing.

Additionally, avoid the most inexpensive “grass fed” beef from the grocery store because it was likely imported, as Congress has eliminated Country of Origin labelling. Imported meat is more likely to come from animals raised in confinement and supplemented with grain.

Young, Brown Swiss cows curiously looking out.

What is Organic, Grass Fed, Grass Finished Beef?

Fully grass fed, grass finished beef accounts for less than 1% of all beef raised in the US.

Cows that are 100% grass fed and grass finished spend their days grazing in pastures, where they eat a variety of grasses, clover, and other healthful plant matter. They are commonly supplemented with hay in the winter. They are not supplemented with grain and have access to pasture year-round.

Organic is a heavily-regulated term from the USDA. Beef labelled organic will be free of antibiotics, hormones, and synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. It’s worth noting that beef can be labeled organic without being grass fed and grass finished. Organic beef can be mostly grain fed or grain supplemented, as long as the grain is organic.

It’s important to look for all three: organic, grass fed, grass finished.

Conventional Beef vs. 100% Organic Grass Fed Grass Finished: Nutritional Differences

Compared to conventional grain-fed beef, organic, grass-fed and grass-finished beef is:

• 10X higher in vitamin A

• 3X higher in vitamin E

• Substantially higher in calcium, magnesium, potassium, & B vitamins

• Lower in cholesterol

• An abundant source of anti-cancer conjugated linoleic acid

• Free of GMOs

• Free of synthetic fertilizers

• Free of hormones and antibiotics

• Free of glyphosate and other pesticides or herbicides

Cows at Saint John’s Organic Farm.

We provide organic, grass fed, and grass finished beef because it’s best for the animal’s health, quality of life, and for our own health. We know that this is a sustainable way to feed our community, and we use regenerative practices to steward our land. As an added bonus, the meat’s flavor is more complex and enjoyable!

Farm News November 2021

Nala, one of our Brown Swiss mamas, taking an autumn stroll.

It’s November 2021. This is Claire writing.

October on Saint John’s Organic Farm brought the usual autumn changes, as well as some unexpected things and things new to our family. 

We finished calving early this year, in September instead of November, so all the calves are putting on thick winter coats and are big and well set to go into winter. Some of the animals are saying it’s going to be a long winter, so it’s nice to have the calves already a couple months old. 

Lots of fall color, the sumac trees were especially bright, and even though we had a few days of frost, Indian Summer has been lingering, and there are still raspberries (a fall-bearing variety) good to pick off the canes.

Our irrigation pump quit the first of October, so instead of being able to water all the fields generously one more time before the irrigation ditch is turned off on October 15, we are going into winter feeling a little dry. But thankfully, we were given 5 days of good rain last weekend, and the fields are doing their best to grow some more grass for winter feed.

Aaron is taking a break from the farm. He is starting security work in Boise.

Strider and Ginger grazing.

And while October has been good, it will be interesting to see what November brings!

How to Eat Beef Liver: The Best Way to Hide It In Your Favorite Recipes

Beef liver outshines other foods when ranked by micronutrient density.

Beef liver. It’s the king of nutrition that hardly anyone wants to eat. Liver and onions was once a mainstay of American diets. This tradition sadly faded in America when eating offal became associated with poverty, as the cuts of organ meats were the least expensive. Over time, families stopped preparing organ meats regularly in favor of more “choice cuts” as the American middle class grew. Because many were not exposed to the tastes and textures of organ meats in early childhood, liver is now undesirable for most people. However, there are many reasons to bring back eating liver, chief among them being nutrition.

Why Eat Grass Fed Beef Liver

Saint John’s organic, grass-fed beef liver.

In nature, it’s common to see predators prioritizing liver and other organ meats over the muscle meats, often leaving the muscle meats for scavengers to eat. In wolf packs, the alpha wolf gets first dibs on the liver, and orcas are known to kill a shark just for its liver. There is some wisdom here beyond science, and it’s intimating not to skip the liver.

Iron and Vitamin A

Liver is a rich source of iron and vitamin A, and is well known as essential to recovery from anemia. It’s the most concentrated dietary source of vitamin A, a vitamin key for vision, reproduction, and immune system function. The vitamin A from liver is in retinoid form, the form in which our bodies are most easily able to absorb and assimilate the vitamin A. Compared to carotenoids (as in beta-carotene from carrots and other yellow and orange vegetables), 

There’s an association between carrots, sweet potatoes, and other orange and yellow vegetables and vitamin A, with their pigmentation as a supposed indicator of beta-carotene. It’s a common misconception that beta-carotene is vitamin A. In truth, carotenes are a precursor to vitamin A, and most humans can convert beta-carotene to vitamin A. Our genetics and gut health determine if, and to what extent, we are able to convert beta-carotene into usable vitamin A.

For example, let’s compare carrots and beef liver. 100 grams of cooked carrot contains about 10,200 mcg of vitamin A in beta-carotene form, but only 852 mcg will be converted to active retinol form, given good gut health and genetics. Only 8% of the beta-carotene was convertible to active vitamin A in this case. In stark contrast, 100 grams of cooked beef liver contains 7700 mcg of vitamin A, all of it preformed and ready to be absorbed.

Classic Liver Preparation: Liver & Onions

You can’t go wrong with liver and onions...unless you don’t like the taste of liver. Here are a few tips to make an honest liver dish a little more palatable.

• Soak liver in milk, buttermilk, or whey for a few days prior to cooking. This is a traditional cooking method that helps to remove some of the pungent flavor.

• Pile high the onions.

• Use bacon and bacon fat. Bacon and bacon fat make everything more delicious, including liver!

• Don’t overcook, a little pink is best to maintain a creamy texture and prevent a leathery, overcooked texture.

My Favorite, Painless Way to Eat Beef Liver

Here is how to eat liver…advice that goes beyond “buck up” or “plug your nose”.

My favorite way to eat liver is to whiz it up in the food processor and use it in any of my dishes that use ground beef or other ground meats. I’ve found that by adding a little ground liver to those dishes, we usually don’t notice the taste and neither do our dinner guests! I stick to a ratio of ⅓ lb liver to 1 lb ground beef. If you’re feeling hesitant or you know that you really don’t like the taste of liver, lower that ratio to ¼ lb or even ⅙ lb. It’s important that you enjoy your food and have success while still adding a powerful nutritional boost to your meals.

Saint John’s liver in the food processor, before being ground up.

Pulse the liver until the desired texture is reached, it should look somewhat liquid-y.

Ground up liver.

If you don’t have a food processor, try cutting the liver into small pieces to resemble ground beef. If you go this route, freeze the liver for 30 - 60 minutes until it is semi-frozen. This will help with the slippery texture of liver and make cutting much easier.

If the liver taste ends up being too strong throughout the dish, add more hot sauce, ketchup, or other acidic condiments, and take a deep breath. Allow yourself to experience a new taste and texture, knowing the good you are doing for yourself.

Recommended Recipes

For grinding liver in the food processor, I recommend recipes that have some acid or spice to them, and I’ve found Asian dishes really don’t pair well with added ground liver. Spicy dishes like tacos or enchiladas and acidic, tomato-heavy bolognese are ideal.

My favorites include:

• Meatballs

• Shepherd’s pie

• Meat loaf

• Taco meat

• Bolognese / spaghetti meat sauce

I haven’t tried adding it to burgers, but I bet that would be delicious!

Liver, an ancestral superfood, has fallen out of fashion in recent decades, but it certainly deserves a place on our plates, for our benefit! If you try one of these methods for eating beef liver, let us know by tagging us on Instagram or Facebook!

We have organic, grass-fed, grass-finished beef liver available, please contact us for more information.

Microplastics in Meat: How the average person eats a credit card sized piece of plastic each week

Plastics are everywhere. Plastics have been instrumental in medical sanitation (through single-use wrapping) and have played a major role in our economy and lifestyles through the use of convenience items, for better or worse. Plastics and modern industrialization appear to have grown in lock-step.

What are the detriments of plastic’s ubiquity? The effects are subtle yet powerful. A viral video (since removed) showed boxes of processed food -- e.g. crackers, cookies, cereal, etc. -- going into an industrial grinder, still in the packaging. The workers claimed this would go to animal feed, cardboard, plastic, and all. While shocking, this type of recycling is completely legal and commonplace in the industrialized world. This immediately triggered in my mind studies I’d come across on microplastic contamination of meat, and I decided to do a little digging.

Microplastics: What are they?

Microplastics are defined as small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in size, and they range in size from microscopic to the length of a grain of rice.

In the natural world, microplastics are commonly found in water sources -- (oceans, rivers, rainwater), soil, air (wind is a major microplastic transporter), and wild animals. Due to wind and water currents, “plastics now spiral around the globe” and there are few places on Earth untouched by microplastics. In the US alone, 94.4% of tap water sources are confirmed to contain microplastics. Because microplastics are discoverable nearly everywhere, they’ve become part of our bodies, too. A recent study found that 100% of human stool samples collected contained microplastics.

The World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) No Plastic in Nature combined over 50 studies and found microplastics are ubiquitous enough that “an average person could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week”, or roughly the equivalent of a credit card. The average amounts ingested varied based on consumption habits. The grocery items that were the biggest contributors to microplastic consumption were drinking water (tap and bottled), shellfish, beer, and salt.

Microplastic Effect on Meat

A British farmer documented the microplastics clearly visible in the animal feed he purchased.

What does this have to do with organic, grass-fed beef? Conventional meat (beef, pork, and poultry) in the US is commonly fed grain-based animal feed. Often, part of this animal feed is “recycled food waste”. From the beginning of agriculture, we’ve been feeding livestock our leftovers. However, today’s recycled food waste involves sending processed foods still in the packaging -- cardboard, plastic, adhesives and all -- to an industrial grinder where the powder is then used as an ingredient in animal feed and pet food.

The ground up recycled food waste is also used as an ingredient in many fertilizers, meaning these microplastics get sprayed all over crops and leach into groundwater. This has led to some controversy in the Organic farming community concerning if these fertilizers should be considered USDA certified Organic. Environmentalists are touting the environmentally-friendly and sustainable nature of using food meant for waste as fertilizer, but who can say the long term impact of microplastics in the soil will be good for the environment?

The trays used to package grocery store meat add microplastics to your meal.

Meat packaging is an additional contamination vector for microplastics. The food trays used to package supermarket meat are usually made of extruded polystyrene (XPS), and small quantities of this material end up trapped between the meat and the plastic wrapping. These particles are difficult to remove by rinsing, and generally end up in the meat when cooked.

Impact on Human and Animal Health

We know microplastics are everywhere now, but is this truly a problem for us or our livestock? Is this just the price we pay for living in an industrialized, modern world?

According to Dr. Heather Leslie, a leading expert in microplastics research, microplastics can pierce the bowel and enter the bloodstream when consumed orally. From the bloodstream, these plastics are transported to and deposited in the tissues and organs of the animal. This has been seen with pigs, dogs, rats, and chickens but hasn’t been tested in humans.

Microplastics end up in the muscle tissue of animals, the part that’s usually consumed by us, but this hasn’t been well studied or tested across different types of meats, environments and agricultural practices. The current available science is limited because microplastics have only been studied in earnest the last 4 years.

It’s not much of a logical stretch to assume that, similarly to pigs, dogs, rats, and chickens, as humans are ingesting microplastics, microplastics are piercing our bowels, entering our bloodstreams, and being deposited in our tissues and organs. The long term consequences are not known, and we should take steps to reduce our exposure.

Because the majority of plastics are made with flame retardants, phthalates, pigments, and Bisphenol-A (BPA), most microplastics contain these additives. The harmful health effects of these additives are well known to be endocrine-disrupting and carcinogenic.

Saint John’s cows with their lush winter coats, grazing on grass and hay.

What can be done?

Replace bottled water with filtered tap water. This step alone reduces a person’s exposure to microplastics 22-fold!

Support community and legal initiatives to reduce the microplastic permeation of our planet.

Buy meat from sources you can trust, and ask questions about what you’re buying. Farmers may not know of the potential microplastics in animal feed. Our USDA Organic, 100% grass-fed, and grass-finished beef is not fed manufactured animal feed. Buying meat without microplastics is one way to vote with your dollar.

Buy food in glass or packaging alternative to plastic.

Microplastics are everywhere; there’s simply no avoiding it. However, we can take steps to reduce our exposure and protect our health.

Grass Fed Beef Tongue Recipe: You'll Slurp It Up

Beef tongue hash, a family favorite.

Why Eat Grass Fed Beef Tongue

When making a bulk beef purchase like a ¼ or ½ cow, you often have the option to take home offal -- the less commonly known cuts of meat. This can include liver, heart, tongue, fat, tendon, kidney, and bones. For most of human history it was normal to eat the whole animal. Our ancestors prized organ meats for their nutrient density, and it’s only in recent years and in industrialized nations that muscle meat is the primary cut of meat eaten.

Grass-fed beef tongue is a rich source of zinc, iron, phosphorus, and B-vitamins (B12, B2, B3, and B6). It’s very tender and can have a “game-y” taste if not prepared with a brine, as included below.

Tongue hash served up with eggs.

About this Preparation

This method is my favorite preparation of beef tongue because the brine removes all “game-y” and offal-esque flavor from the tongue and helps to further tenderize and imbue the tongue with subtle flavor. The taste and texture are akin to a well-prepared brisket, but even more tender. I truly doubt most people would know they were eating tongue if served this dish.

The key is to brine for 5-7 days, covered, in the refrigerator. After 2-3 days, flip the tongue in the brine to help with even soaking. I skipped the brining step once and didn’t enjoy the flavor nearly as much. After brining, the tongue is poached for several hours and then is ready to be used in the skillet hash. The skillet hash is a combination of fried potatoes and peppers with poached and seared tongue.

This recipe is an amalgamation of the tongue preparations in The Meateater Fish and Game Cookbook by Steven Rinella and Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal by Jennifer McLagan.

INGREDIENTS

For the brine:

• 12 cups cold water (may need more)

• 1 cup salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns

• 1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds

• 1 tsp whole mustard seeds

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 stalks celery, cut into chunks

• 1 onion, quartered

• 8-10 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 Saint John’s grass fed beef tongue

For the hash:

• 5-6 Tbsp cooking fat (bacon grease recommended)

• 2-4 potatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces

• 1 cup peppers, sliced (I used bell pepper but any peppers will do)

• 4-6 eggs, optional

• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1. In a small pot, add all brine ingredients from 4 cups of water through the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes, until salt and sugar are dissolved.

2. Transfer brine to large glass bowl. When cooled, add 8 cups of water and remaining brine ingredients. Refrigerate for 5-7 days, flipping the tongue once halfway through.

Tongue brining. She’s a beaut!

After brining is complete, preheat oven to 300 F. Strain the tongue, reserving the spices, and put the tongue and spices into a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the tongue and bring to a boil.

3. Turn off the burner, cover the Dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Cook until the tongue is very tender, 4 to 5 hours. Check tenderness by gently poking the tongue with a paring knife to feel its firmness.

4. Remove tongue from water and let cool. Then use a paring knife to remove the outer skin and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Poached tongue, ready to peel.

6. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and add 2-3 Tbsp cooking fat of choice. When it’s searing hot, add chopped potatoes and let them be (for a few minutes)! The key to crispy fried potatoes is to resist flipping them until they are adequately browned on one side. After 5-7 minutes, flip the potatoes and finish cooking. When the potatoes are cooked, remove from skillet and season with salt. I season with salt last because salt draws out moisture from the potatoes, and moisture is the enemy of crispy potatoes.

Potatoes frying in bacon grease.

7. Add another 2-3 Tbsp cooking fat to skillet on medium-high heat. When it’s very hot, add chopped tongue and sear on all sides, 1-2 minutes each side. Tongs are ideal for flipping each piece of tongue. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Tongue frying in bacon grease.

8. Add peppers to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes.

9. When peppers are cooked, transfer potatoes and seared tongue to skillet and season with salt and pepper. Warm up the hash on medium-low for 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Hash, ready to serve.

10. Optional: Fry an egg (or two) for each serving.

Tongue hash served up with eggs.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

• Sour cream

• Salsa or hot sauce

• Chopped green onions or chives

Enjoy this delicious preparation of grass-fed beef tongue! If you try this recipe, let us know by tagging us on Instagram or Facebook.

Farm News September 2021

Autumn is coming quickly. The air is cooler now and has a distinct crispness first thing in the morning. The trees are beginning to turn brilliant colors and we found frost in patches across the fields at least one morning last week.

Happily the smoke that hovered most of the summer has blown away, at least for now.  Especially in the afternoon the light is so bright and clear after all the weeks of smoke and haze. I keep pausing to look around and admire the bright rich colors, the hills clearly visible and how the valley seems to nearly sparkle.

Our beef harvest is moving apace, we have sent six beef nearly each week this month to our processor Northwest Premium in Nampa, and our big walk-in freezer is just about full. Orders keep rolling in, for which we are thankful, but we have plenty of beef available here to fill your freezer and feed your family this winter.

Late summer and early fall is the best time of year to harvest since the steers have had all summer on the best pasture available. They can gain 2 pounds per day! And it’s good for us as we plan and prepare for winter to have fewer mouths to feed through the cold months, especially large steers that can each eat quite a lot! By harvesting now while the grass is still growing, we capture the highest nutritional profile in the beef, and allow the pasture to grow and stockpile feed to graze through the winter.

We are finally raising our prices in October. It’s been years since we raised them, but the current state of the economy dictates that we must. If you order bulk beef (eighth, quarter, or half) and send in your deposit by October 1, you can take advantage of the current pricing for your whole order.

In other news, Aaron has decided to step away from the farm in mid-October to pursue a career in law enforcement. Claire is stepping in to fill more of the management of grazing and cattle and our friend Robert Kennedy is also coming on part time to help with the heavy lifting. However, given the wide range of responsibilities Aaron carried out here, we have a need for more help. There are a variety of options with field projects, managing social media, coordinating orders and making deliveries. Please feel free to contact us if you have interest in working with us.

Organic Farming and Wildlife: How Does Bambi Feel

Modern businesses, farms, and families are becoming increasingly concerned with the environmental consequences of farming and the destruction of habitats for our planet’s wildlife, and many strive to be environmentally friendly and conscious in their day-to-day decisions. “Environmentally friendly”, “Sustainable”, and “Eco-friendly” are all labels we see on products in an effort to persuade us to purchase.

While many are concerned about metrics like carbon footprints and other resources used in agriculture and food transport, an often overlooked environmental factor is the effect of farming on wildlife. For example, it’s become trendy in recent years to reduce meat consumption or altogether forgo eating meat due to concerns about resources used. The truth is that eating meat has an environmental impact, but it doesn’t have to be a negative impact. Local, grass fed beef has a net negative carbon footprint. Read more about that here. Let’s talk about the impact of conventional and organic farming on the environment directly, the consequences felt by wildlife and local ecologies.

Conventional vs. Organic Farming

Stunning view of our cows next to the garden.

In the United States, “organic” is a term and label regulated by the USDA and includes several key qualifiers a food producer must meet in order to proudly display the label. For example, a product must be free of:

• Additives

• Synthetic pesticides

• Herbicides

• Fertilizers

• Be non-GMO

Additionally, for meat to be classified as organic, the USDA requires “animals must be raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviors (like the ability to graze on pasture), fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not administered antibiotics or hormones.”

Our farm practices go beyond organic by practicing rotational grazing and feeding our cows a 100% grass-fed and grass-finished diet. This means that we have a significantly reduced environmental impact compared to conventional feedlot beef operations that utilize imported grain and pesticides and other toxicants. All of these choices and practices have an effect on the local ecology and wildlife, for better or worse.

Effects on Wildlife

Pair of Canadian Geese taking a gander atop our silo.

Habitat loss and pesticide use are the two biggest drivers of wildlife decline, so we can’t ignore the harm caused to wildlife by conventional agriculture, even if these farms claim to be “environmentally friendly” because they are producing corn and soy instead of meat and dairy.

A common argument against meat consumption and production is that growing livestock feed (corn and soy) is a significant cause of habitat loss, an argument that seeks to equate meat eating with the destruction of natural habitat for much of wildlife across the globe. The truth is complicated because not all meat production is the same. Our organic, 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef farm is a haven for wildlife, and this is often true of organic farms because they seek to work in harmony with the natural world.

“Images of recently cleared grassland areas from North Dakota where rates of grassland conversion to corn and soy are the highest in the country. Stripping grassland landscapes bare removes natural buffers, increases soil erosion, and exacerbates the risk of fertiliser pollution from crops planted in these areas.” – Mighty Earth Mystery Meat 2 Report 2017.

One of the leading causes of grassland conversion (and therefore habitat loss) is the demand for corn and soy. Rainforests, grasslands, and other large, fertile swaths of land across the world are mowed down daily to plant lucrative corn and soy cash crops. A large portion of this corn and soy goes to livestock feed, for poultry, beef, and pork farms. This is very unfortunate because these forests and wild lands that serve the wildlife may never return to their full beauty. In this way, our farm doesn’t contribute to habitat loss because we are organic and 100% grass-fed. By stewarding the land well and feeding our cows a species appropriate diet, we also make room for the native species to continue living and thriving.

Environmentally-oriented organizations have acknowledged the dramatic benefit of organic farming on wildlife surrounding farms:

“Organic farming boosts biodiversity at every level of the food chain. For instance, the chemicals that kill insects, weeds or fungal diseases, which then accumulate in the food chain as birds and other animals eat the affected insects, are not used. Instead, balanced wildlife populations encourage birds and beneficial insects to control pests, diseases are reduced using crop rotations, and mechanical weeding or natural suppressants eliminate weeds....Organic practices and adopting wildlife-friendly management of habitats could be a solution to the current biodiversity crisis.”  - formerly tend revolution dot com

In conclusion, all agriculture will have an effect on the wildlife and ecology in which it is practiced. We have great opportunities to support and take care of our local environment through the choices we make and the farms we support.

Frankenfood: The Problem with Soy Meat and the Impossible Burger

Photo courtesy responsibletechnology.org

“Heart healthy!”

“Environmentally friendly!”

“Protein packed!”

“Plant-based meat alternative!”

All of the above are ubiquitous phrases heard from soy companies and anti-meat campaigns. These epithets are unfortunate misnomers used to persuade health conscious consumers to purchase soy-based “meat” alternatives. The truth is that soy and other plant-based “meats” are highly processed, often high in glyphosate (a known carcinogen), and harmful to the environment. This becomes more evident when compared to organic, grass-fed beef.

Plant-based propaganda in Emmett, ID Albertsons, offered alongside beef.

I was surprised to see fake soy “meats” offered side-by-side real animal meat in the Emmett, ID Albertsons. The Impossible Burger is not beef, nor is it a proper beef substitute. I wonder how much was spent in lobbying to position this toxic imitation of animal-based nutrition next to other meats for unsuspecting shoppers.

The Impossible Burger: Harmful to the Environment

In a press release, Impossible Foods CEO and Founder Pat Brown makes known his intentions to end meat consumption in favor of genetically modified soy as a primary protein source:

““We sought the safest and most environmentally responsible option that would allow us to scale our production and provide the Impossible Burger to consumers at a reasonable cost. And the unambiguous winner was American-grown, milled and processed GM soy that meets the highest global standards for health, safety and sustainability.

This choice allows us to continue making a product that rivals beef for flavor, texture, nutrition and versatility. And it keeps Impossible Foods on target to achieve our mission: to end the use of animals in food production by 2035, halting and reversing its catastrophic impact on climate, land, water and the ongoing meltdown in biodiversity.” (emphasis in original)”

— Pat Brown, Impossible Foods CEO and Founder

American genetically modified soybean fields.

Pat Brown says he is concerned about climate, land, water, and biodiversity, and growing GM soy is a superior solution to organic, grass-fed and grass-finished beef production. Let’s see how his claims stack up.

Miles of American soybean monocrops are a net negative for human and environmental health. Monocropping, the agricultural practice of growing a single crop on the same land year after year, is destructive to soil quality and contributes to desertification. With a monocropping operation, as is done with GM soy, copious amounts of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides are typically used. These chemicals pollute the soil (especially the soil’s microbiome) and local water supply, thereby harming humans, animals, and plants living in the area. How could this be good for preserving the health of our land and water?

Saint John’s cows grazing on organic pasture.

In response Brown’s claims to preserving biodiversity, monocropping soy is the complete opposite of diverse agriculture. Thousands of animals die every year through the destruction of their habitat to make room for soybean fields… all to produce “vegan” foods. Contrast the image of soybean fields with a well-tended pasture growing a diverse variety of grasses. It’s obvious the organic, grass-fed beef system is more diverse and in tune with nature.

The plain truth is that GM soy looks good on paper because soy production has lower carbon emission than commercial beef operations. However, when considering the fact that rotational grazing systems (akin to our farm practices) have a net negative carbon emission, grass-fed beef is the clear winner. Rotational grazing actually puts carbon back into the soil, something GM soy producers could never dream of accomplishing.

When one considers the toxic monocropping practices and pollution of soil and waterways required for GM soy, it’s apparent that Brown’s claims that the Impossible Burger is an environmentally healthy and sustainable solution simply don’t hold water.

The Impossible Burger: Toxic

Because the Impossible Burger and other soy-based meats are most commonly produced with genetically modified soy, the burger contains a substantial amount of glyphosate. Glyphosate is an essential ingredient to the commonly used herbicide, RoundUp. Almost all soybeans in the US are sprayed heavily with RoundUp and therefore contaminated with glyphosate.

Glyphosate, a known carcinogen, has also been shown to be neurotoxic, endocrine-disrupting, harmful to DNA, and damaging to the liver, even at very low levels of exposure. This information alone is enough to avoid glyphosate to preserve human and animal health.

A Monsanto trial jury awarded the plaintiffs over $2 billion dollars, as a settlement for the connection between the glyphosate containing herbicide, Roundup, and their cancer. An independent test compared the levels of glyphosate between two of the popular soy-based beef replacements, the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger. The test found that the Impossible Burger contained eleven times the amount of glyphosate as the Beyond Burger. The raw values for glyphosate were 11.3 ppb for the Impossible Burger and 1 ppb for the Beyond Burger.

The amount of glyphosate in the Impossible Burger (and other soy-based meats) is concerning because only 0.1 ppb of glyphosate has been shown to alter the gene function of over 4000 genes in the livers, kidneys, and cause severe organ damage in rats. The Impossible Burger contains over 100 times that amount of glyphosate!

In addition to the toxic load from glyphosate, the soy-based meats are problematic for human health because they are made from soy. Soy is a plant food loaded with anti-nutrients and phytoestrogens. This means that soy impacts our health by contributing to inflammation and hormonal imbalances. Perhaps most importantly to those seeking to use soy as a protein source, the anti-nutrients in soy inhibit proper protein absorption, so most of the protein is not bioavailable to the consumer. 

In short, soy-based meats and the Impossible Burger are not a proper alternative to beef or other animal-based meats. The risks to consuming these products must be made known to the consumer so we can make informed choices about our health and future.

The Impossible Burger (and other soy and plant-based meats) is not healthy, environmentally friendly, or a real replacement for pure and nutritious grass-finished beef. It is loaded with toxic glyphosate and hormone-altering phytoestrogens. Grass-fed beef is real nutrition, a net positive on the environment, and truly “protein packed” with protein that is easily digestible. If you want a burger, the best option is support your local organic, grass-fed and grass-finished beef farm. You won’t regret that choice!