Can I go feedlot-free?

Today my workplace threw an elaborate party to celebrate the fact that I've been working there for five years. Well, to be technically accurate, it was for all the employees who'd reached a milestone anniversary so far this year, but let's not quibble, shall we? In addition to the thoughtful visa gift card they selected specially for me, my corporate masters also provided a lunch. They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, and they're right. It took five years of 9 to 5 to get that meal, so I was determined to eat my money's-worth.

So I stepped up to the line, grabbed a styrofoam plate (grrr) and was faced with an array of meat-and-vegetable kababs, from which I had to choose chicken or beef. In the past, that might have been a tough decision based on which I felt more like eating that day, but today it was a no-brainer. Factory beef is something I just haven't had much appetite for lately. Because though that meat may have looked like this on the plate:

(slight exaggeration)

It originally came from a place like this:

(unfortunately no exaggeration)

That picture shows mile after mile of cattle crammed into tight confines, often knee-deep in their own waste, and fed corn, a grain for which they're not adapted to eat and which makes them understandably sick. To combat the illness, they're pumped with antibiotics, which then also become part of our food stream. Even aside from the issues of the animals' welfare being subject to these conditions, mass-produced beef just isn't very good for you. You can't control everything in life, but I've read articles showing a strong correlation between quantity of red meat in one's diet with health issues like colon cancer, which I'd love to avoid having. I haven't done the research to validate those claims, but it doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to think that eating meat from malnourished sickly cows doesn't do great things for the human body.

All that said, I am an incredibly lucky individual. I have a nearby producer of grass-fed beef, who makes routine trips into Des Moines to sell just about any cut of beef you can think of (plus poultry, lamb, pork and fish, but that's beside today's point). Nick Wallace, of Wallace Farms, raises cows the way they're evolved to live, eating grass and roaming about in pastureland. As a result, the meat off these cattle is significantly better for you, and has been proven to be much higher in the beneficial Omega-3 fats that our bodies need to stay healthy. I can't really discern a difference in flavor with grocery store meat, but the beef is delicious, juicy and comes from happy cows that are doing their part to keep me well and vibrant. At home, I cook exclusively with grass-fed beef from Nick Wallace. As an aside to any readers who live in Des Moines, look Nick up for his local buying clubs - you'll be glad you did.

So, probably 90% of the time, I do really well. As I just said, I only cook with grass-fed beef. And when I'm eating food out, I usually avoid beef unless it specifically says it's grass-fed. But I'm not perfect. Last week, S and I grabbed lunch at Sonic and I ordered a burger, knowing full well it was conventional/factory meat. It was tasty, but I've lately started wondering if I'm still willing to make that trade-off. Was it delicious enough to offset the welfare of the animals and the unhealthiness that it provides? It's a tough question. Right now my knowledge of the food system in the U.S. gives me pause when ordering, but sometimes the impulse buy wins out over my conscience. I'm considering going full-bore non-feedlot beef, though it is a struggle.

Granted, when you go out to eat and order something that isn't beef, it too comes from a confined feeding operation. There's no perfect solution without exclusively eating at home or at farm-to-table restaurants. But beef feedlots are some of the worst, particularly for the environment, and the poor health effects of their factory production are some of the highest correlated per today's research. So you might feel bad going out for chicken as well, but I feel better about that than I do for beef.

I think I'm going to give it a concerted try. Sacrificing going out for fast food burgers is probably a good idea in general, and there aren't that many other restaurant beef offerings that I find myself terribly tempted by. Of course, there will have to be exceptions - if I'm visiting relatives or friends for dinner, I won't refuse beef that isn't grass-fed; that's just rude. But when I do "control my own destiny," so to speak, I'm going to try not to eat any more feedlot beef. Sure, those burgers at Sonic are pretty tempting, but they're not half as good as the grass-fed beef tater tot casserole I'll be eating tonight. Or for a more apt comparison, the juicy grass-fed burgers we made a few weeks ago. (Sorry, it just happens we're having tater tot casserole tonight.) I don't know if I can succeed at this challenge, but I'm up for giving it a try. I think my body will thank me.