Organic Meats

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Permalink Reply by Rachel on January 28, 2010 at 8:45am

There are grass (range) fed beef people at the farmer's markets (I know they're at the downtown one and the town and country one, I imagine they're at several others as well). I think they specify that they are hormone-free etc as well. Chicken you can buy organic at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods etc but those are in all probability "factory organic". You can buy locally farm-raised chickens at the downtown farmer's market and store, but I don't think those are raised with organic feed. If you were to raise say a dozen cornish cross chickens yourself on organic feed, bird+feed costs alone would put you at about $15/bird. I'm not suggesting that you do this (you might want to!) but it's just to give you an idea of the true cost of raising an organic meat chicken.
Hopefully someone on the board will go into business processing birds someday. The step that gets them from the backyard to the kitchen seems to be the holdup for most folks to raise them themselves.

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Permalink Reply by Treasa Birchett on January 28, 2010 at 7:53pm

A Bar H farm is a local farm from the san simeon they deliver to central area's around town. They next delivery is on February 19. they have grass fed beef, lamb and free range chicken. no hormone etc. abarhfarm.com
although they are out of chicken until may. there are also meats and occasionally chicken at the famers market in roadrunner park. I would love to raise my own but no yard and I doubt I could process them myself. Although there is a high school in gilbert that does have a meats class and they do it for you if you make an appointment

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Permalink Reply by Erin Sayers on January 29, 2010 at 10:46am

Make sure you check the labels of anything you buy, whether it's at a store or at the farmers markets.
I bought 'organic' desert raised beef two years ago at the Roadrunner Park farmers market that ended up having MSG in it.

I've been racking my brain trying to remember the name of the company or where the cattle was from. I keep thinking it was from north of Wickenburg, but it's been so long.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Byers on January 29, 2010 at 10:53am

Checking labels is always good advice for anything we buy and it does not matter where you buy it. Even when a person buys unlabeled food from a Farmer's Market if you ask they will tell you about the food. If they are unwilling to tell you, then pass on it, just like in the grocery store.

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