Let’s talk labels!

Grassfed, organic, humane, etc., etc., etc. How do we even stay on top of it?

Like me, you want to purchase meat for your family that is fresh, not pumped full of chemicals and weird unnatural stuff, isn’t causing suffering for animals, and doesn’t destroy the environment.

So what do you do? You go to the grocery store and rely on labels. What other option do you have?

Like you, I’ve been trying to understand this world of meat marketing and labels for years. I’ll share a few things I’ve learned…

“Grassfed” is a popular one nowadays. It’s specifically tailored to ruminant animals (cows, sheep). You and I want this because we want red meat that comes from animals in the pasture. Here’s the secret though, all beef and lamb is grassfed. All of it. All lambs and calves are born grassfed on pastures (or barns for most sheep producers). Even after they are weaned and go to the feedlot where they are pumped full of grain while standing in dirt/manure, they are still “grassfed” because without a certain amount of hay in their rumens, they will get sick.

“Product of the USA” is one we obviously want to support. American ranchers right? Unfortunately, there’s been a longstanding lobby by American ranchers for years to pass the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) because as it stands, meat raised and/or processed in Uraguay can be shipped to the US and distributed under an American brand and be labeled “Product of the USA.”

“Organic” is the only label that holds much teeth enforcement-wise. But as I’ve worked in the organic industry in my day job for the last several years, even this label has lost its veil. Did you know there are organic feedlots and factory farms? Because of the way the organic law is written, what it’s become has been a checklist of inputs that companies can exploit rather than a healthy system. For instance, in order for an animal to be certified organic, it must be processed at a certified organic facility. Well, those are few and far between, so animals are getting shipped all over rather than being processed locally.

So what do we do?

Well, you’re already here, so I reckon you already value having a relationship with your farmer. And from what I’ve learned over the last several years, having a firm idea of how our food is raised can only come from knowing the farmer who raised it, and observing. I hope to be crystal clear with you about how I raise lamb and what that entails, so you know exactly what you’re getting. So if you have any questions about practices or doubts, always feel free to shoot me an email at willamettecommunitylamb@gmail.com and I am more than happy to answer them.

Happy meat shopping!