As we’re nearing the holiday which means family gathering and feasting, it got me thinking about meat. I finally have a chance to read the Davis Food C0-op’s newsletter, and they mentioned the the New York Times just had an article about ground beef production, how “a single portion of hamburger meat is often an amalgam of various grades of meat from different parts of cows and even from different slaughterhouses. These cuts of meat are particularly vulnerable to E. coli contamination“. As a consumer and a concerned parent like me, should your only choice of safe meat from the natural food stores, which sells “single origin-ed beef source from local processors and ranchers?”
There is no denying that these are the best meat around, grass-fed and all. But to budget-minded families, the price may become prohibitive. I want to direct you to our favorite place to get meat – the Asian Ethic Grocery Stores.
They’re not the cleanest, nor smell the greatest, and the meat don’t come in pre-packaged, easy to handle sizes. They’re all packaged in however amount you need, from the people behind the glass counter. But from the years we’ve consumed these meat, we never had a single problem of getting sick. And the most important is, most of these meat are grounded on-site (I’ve seen it with my own eyes), which means that there’s no mixing of various fats, trimmings and what not to achieve a perfect 80%, 90% lean (you’ll notice from the picture, that the fat content is obviously higher than those you get from the conventional grocery stores). This practice alone reduces the chance of cross contamination of meat, trimmings and all from various sources.
Another important aspect is the extremely high turnover of meat, and the cheaper price and variety of cuts that attracted buyers. If you’re in Sacramento, visit one of those huge Asian grocery stores along Stockton Blvd on a weekend and you’ll see it – people of various ethnicity shouting in front of the meat counter to get the attention of the meat handler (standing in line does not work).
You’ll than ask – but that’s bad meat, it’s not lean, and full of saturated fat! Well, is saturated fat worst for you than, say preservatives in processed food, that Americans are so accustomed to eating? Also, many vitamins are fat-soluble, and we need fat to absorb it. We have to remember that the human body is a complex system-if you eat everything in moderation, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle in general, you’ll be fine. And our growing children definitely need fat, especially for their growing brain! Vegetable fat has replaced animal fat for a large part of our diet, and research has shown that vegetable fat, which contains largely polyunsaturated fat, can depress our immune system.
Check out these excellent sources for more info:
- The Skinny on Fats – Weston A Price Foundation
- Why you should eat Fat
- Good news on Saturday Fat – New York Times
Books:
- Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill: The Complete Guide to Fats, Oils, Cholesterol and Human Health
- In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
- Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It
- What to Eat
What are your thoughts on where to get safe meat that won’t break the bank? And your thoughts on fats?
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I agree! I heading over to SF Market this morning. They have great prices and the selection of meats & seafood are much fresher than traditional grocery stores!
I agree with you, we have a Korean Market about 5 minutes from my house, and there prices on meat is way cheaper, and much fresher. They also have a variety of different fruits and veggies, at a very good price.
I have never bought meat from an asian market. It is annoying that getting meat considered safe is so expensive.
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