Currently I buy meat at the grocery store (Sprouts), but I’m considering spending more money via something like Crowd Cow on meat that was raised responsibly and stuff. The main reason is because I suspect the health benefits are worth it. I’ve been thinking that I should invest more money in my health in general.
I don’t actually know that the health benefits are worth it though.
Googling around hasn’t been very fruitful.
I recall a blog post emphasizing that it is important to spend the money on it. From this blog post: “Do not eat cheap industrially-farmed animal products.” and “Eat organic when possible, especially when discussing animal products. Generally spend more money on food — the cheaper the food, the more “hacks” the producer used to be able to deliver that price. Many of these hacks are harmful — they inject saline solution to increase weight, feed dead animals to live animals, use antibiotics a lot etc.”
Reading through how they treat farm animals on [ACC] Is Eating Meat A Net Harm?, and then watching how things are done by the farmers Crowd Cow selects, it seems like a big difference.
In general I feel like it makes sense to assume that the food industry is cutting tons of corners and doing a bunch of subtle little things that are going to eventually harm you. Because there is a huge precedent for this.
On top of that, in reading Decoding Your Meat: A Guide to USDA Beef Labels and
Know Your Chicken: What USDA Poultry Labels Actually Mean
from Serious Eats and watching that Adam Ragusea video on Crowd Cow linked above, I get the sense that USDA labels aren’t very helpful and ultimately it boils down to trusting the farmer. Here’s a quote from the first article: “There is no substitute for talking with the producer. Failing that, buy from retailers who have done the investigative work for you.”
The difference I’d spend might be something like $100-200/month, which isn’t really that much money (people spend more on things like coffee, alcohol, and eating out). Although it feels like it is to me! It also isn’t that big a bar to overcome in terms of the health benefits outweighing the costs, I’d think.
Are there third alternatives I should consider? Local butchers? Whole Foods?
[Question] What health-related tips do you have for buying meat?
Currently I buy meat at the grocery store (Sprouts), but I’m considering spending more money via something like Crowd Cow on meat that was raised responsibly and stuff. The main reason is because I suspect the health benefits are worth it. I’ve been thinking that I should invest more money in my health in general.
I don’t actually know that the health benefits are worth it though.
Googling around hasn’t been very fruitful.
I recall a blog post emphasizing that it is important to spend the money on it.From this blog post: “Do not eat cheap industrially-farmed animal products.” and “Eat organic when possible, especially when discussing animal products. Generally spend more money on food — the cheaper the food, the more “hacks” the producer used to be able to deliver that price. Many of these hacks are harmful — they inject saline solution to increase weight, feed dead animals to live animals, use antibiotics a lot etc.”Reading through how they treat farm animals on [ACC] Is Eating Meat A Net Harm?, and then watching how things are done by the farmers Crowd Cow selects, it seems like a big difference.
In general I feel like it makes sense to assume that the food industry is cutting tons of corners and doing a bunch of subtle little things that are going to eventually harm you. Because there is a huge precedent for this.
On top of that, in reading Decoding Your Meat: A Guide to USDA Beef Labels and Know Your Chicken: What USDA Poultry Labels Actually Mean from Serious Eats and watching that Adam Ragusea video on Crowd Cow linked above, I get the sense that USDA labels aren’t very helpful and ultimately it boils down to trusting the farmer. Here’s a quote from the first article: “There is no substitute for talking with the producer. Failing that, buy from retailers who have done the investigative work for you.”
The difference I’d spend might be something like $100-200/month, which isn’t really that much money (people spend more on things like coffee, alcohol, and eating out). Although it feels like it is to me! It also isn’t that big a bar to overcome in terms of the health benefits outweighing the costs, I’d think.
Are there third alternatives I should consider? Local butchers? Whole Foods?
Edit: I found a lit review Effects of organic food consumption on human health; the jury is still out!.