Organic Beef
What beef do you eat?
Do you want your beef to be free from artificial hormones?
Do you want to eat beef that has never received any antibiotics?
Do you want beef that was raised in a free range environment?
Do you want your beef to be fed only certified organic feed with no chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used on the land that cattle live on?
Do you want beef that has never been fed any animal by-products?
If you said yes to those questions, you need to choose to eat Hoven Farms Certified Organic Beef.
Hoven Farms grows and sells certified organic Alberta beef.
I recently called Alberta and Canadian Food Services departments and asked them about organic foods and no chemical pesticides or herbicides or antibiotics etc…..Both said that there was NO direct connection between Fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics or anything related to the foods that we eat in Canada and our health. None of those affecfs our health and apparently just go through our body with no effect whatsoever….I am concerned that if the authorities involved in the inspection see no merit to what you are doing then why do we need to be concerned as a consumer. Truly looking forward to your response.
Best Regards,
Terry Fletcher, M.Ed.,CMBA
Calgary,Alberta,Canada
Terry,
Thanks for the comments. I am busy doing field work so I don’t have time to write a reply but I will get something up asap.
Tim
Dear Terry,
Eating organic is a choice that has benefits not only for your health, but for the well being of the animals and the environment as well. As with all food, the process in which larger companies produce their products is not directly harmful, or else they would not be allowed to sell them. And, like a lot of foods, buying organic is a choice that can be made to eat as naturally as possible. The Canadian Animal Health Institute does say that hormones are safe to use, but it does not negate the fact that the animals are being given artificial hormones to grow faster than nature intended, and that there are elevated hormone levels in the beef we eat. There may not be evidence right now that says these low levels of hormones affect human health, but some would rather eliminate the risk altogether. Again, it is a personal choice whether or not this concerns you. There is also concern about the environmental effects of elevated hormones, which after being secreted into manure, pollutes surface and groundwater surrounding the factory farms.1
Similar arguments can be made for antibiotics. Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Beef information Center2 says that residues of antibiotics are extremely rare, but some would rather make the choice to spend a little more money to make sure this is not an issue at all.
Besides the ones you had concerns with, there are other great reasons to chose organic beef! Our cattle is allowed to live a more natural lifestyle of roaming the pastures and eating organic grass, rather than being confined to a caged area and fed grains. This not only makes for happier cows, it means leaner beef, and lower LDL cholesterol for you!3
Finally, my favorite reason to buy Organic Beef, it tastes better! I can’t prove that to you unless you try it yourself, so come down to the market and introduce yourself and we will give you a free pack of ground beef to try for yourself.
We appreciate your concerns and hope that we have laid some of them to rest. We are not here to say we are the only choice, but to those who value keeping their food and planet natural; we are the better one.
Andrea
- Hoven farms
1. http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/
2. http://www.cbef.com/pdfs/Antibiotics.pdf
3. http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-natural-beef.asp
My shorter and blunter response is here. http://organicbeefguy.com/2011/08/a-concerned-consumer-wrote/
Is the slaughter process for the cows as humane as possible? Do they live out natural cycles such as mating, birthing, and nurturing their young? One of the biggest reasons for me to buy organic is the treatment of animals – I found a great local seller and want to make sure it is 100% ethical before i buy. Thanks!!!
Yes. We do everything we can to make the slaughter process as humane as possible. We had one of the chefs who use our product watch the process. Here is his description of what he saw. http://attheroot.ca/?p=359
is all your beef grass finished. At the market the guy said only the meat that says grass on it is grass finished and there never seems to be any of that. Is it special order??
We have a limited supply of grass finished beef and yes, it does sell out rather quickly every weekend. To reserve some, please order through our Order Page on the website. Please choose GRASS FINISHED and we’ll make sure we get some to you.
Hi:
I am taking a holistic nutrition course and the talk often turns to veganism. I am a meat eater and buy my meat from a local farm on the East coast. We watched a movie that raised some interesting points about organic farming today and I am wondering if you can answer my questions for me.
Where do you buy your animals from? What do you do if an animal gets sick and needs antiobiotics. Are you chicks left to roam outside? Do they have sufficient room in the hen house? Do you de-beak or cage them at all? What happens to the male chicks? What food do you feed your chickens and cows. You said you only have a limited supply of grass fed cows so what else do you feed them? What does “grass finished” mean? How do you dispose of your animals waste? Do you grow vegetables as well? How do you slaughter your chickens when it is time? The article on the cow slaughter was very informative. Certainly more humane than some farmers. Do you know if Canada farms have higher or lower standards for farming than American farms? Do you know where I might be able to find the information about farm standards? How long is the transfer process for your animals when they go to slaughter?
I hope you can answer all these questions for me or at least point me in the right direction to get the answers.
Thank you for your time.
Debbie
Debbie,
I am answering your questions at my blog http://www.organicbeefguy.com.
Please go there and check out my answers.
Tim