So a new butcher opened up in our neighborhood a few months ago. My husband and I hadn't gone their yet (with me not eating meat right now and all...) but decided to go the other day to find out some more information about them. It is called The Butcher and Larder. They use all local farms to buy their meat from, all located in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The animals come whole so that they are able to butcher the animal at shop (and to make less waste). This is the type of meat that I would eat. I decided that I want to talk a little bit about the farms that the meats come from because people can go purchase there if they wanted.
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| Happy grazing cows at Dietzler Farm. |
Dietzler Farm
- Provides meat for several restaurants around Chicago.
- Raises all natural beef free of anti-biotics or agh's (artificial growth hormones).
- The cows consume only grass and naturally raised non-genetically modified grain.
- Located in Elkhorn, WI and at http://www.dietzlerfarms.com/
Slagel Family Farm
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| Slagel Family Farm |
- Beef, pork, and lamb raised all naturally outdoors.
- Fed grain and hay that is grown on the family farm.
- Animals are not given hormones or implants.
- No preservatives or artificial additives.
- They also use bio-diesel that they pick up from restaurants they deliver to and use the cooking oil to run the meat trucks and farm equipment.
- Located in Fairbury, IL and at http://www.slagelfamilyfarm.com/
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| Happy grazing cows at Kilgus Farmstead. |
Kilgus Farmstead
- Pasture raised Jersey milking cows (brown cows... have more protein and calcium).
- Mostly known for their milk products.
- Also have milk raised pork and goats.
- Located in Fairbury, IL and at http://www.kilgusfarmstead.com/
These places have the types of meat and dairy that you don't have to be worried about eating. They are raised locally, which lowers our carbon footprint, and they are raised in a sustainable and natural way (Cows and the bacteria that live in their tummy love grass, not corn). Compare those farm pictures to this taken outside of a factory cow farm in California (on our honeymoon...):
You can't even see grass, so you know that the cows aren't eating it.
Do you support a local farm that I haven't included? If so, what/where is it? How do you make sure that the meat you eat is safe?
For those of you interested in getting some meat at The Butcher and Larder, they are located at 1026 N Milwaukee Ave in Chicago and at http://thebutcherandlarder.com/. (They are still a new business, so the website isn't so great yet).
Very interesting and informative. Makes me give more thought to where I buy my meat.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! This is amazing. I've been having a hard time with being vegetarian this time around. I crave meat in a way I never used to before. ( I think I passed by one of those seven year mile-markers where your metabolism and tastes change....) Anyway, It's resulted in me allowing myself fish, but eating fish is sometimes just as bad as eating meat. I'm so glad to know this business exists! I'll definitely have to make the trip out there for some good, sustainable meats!
ReplyDeleteI hear your sorrows! It's hard not to eat meat. That's why if you choose to eat it, it's important to know where your meat is coming from so that you know exactly what you are eating! Roger was mad at me because about a week into my vegetarianism is when The Butcher and Larder opened.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first I have heard of this local farmer. As a matter of fact, I do not get out to other local farms as I should seeming they are so close to Aurora. I eat meat, not much, but I tried to be meat free a few years ago but found my digestive system could not handle it. Given a choice, I will usually order a vegetarian meal if offered the option. If I eat meat, I try to remember where it came from and thank the animal for providing sustenance.
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ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that this kind of business has opened up in a metropolitan setting. Especially since so many in the world suffer from bipartisan personality disorder. Where people are only "allowed" to be carnivores or herbivores (and accept any stigmas surrounding both). Anything compromised is considered "hypocritical," which is tragically narrow-minded, if you ask me. Don't you have to know the other person's reasons before you're allowed to play that card?
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that it's not easy to care about whether your food is ethical and even harder to be certain that it is. It is, however, easy to eat double cheeseburgers from the dollar menu.
And hey this is healthier right? Like, cows that aren't force-fed genetically modified corn that makes them crap out new lifeforms that then end up in our rivers and oceans is a good thing, right? Ok, just checking.
I'm actually going to be buying the occasional steak from these guys. I don't eat meat, but it's because I object to factory farms and their mistreatment of animals. Thanks for showing me where to go. You're awesome.