From birth to…beef. The part no one wants to talk about.
Second day on the farm: complete!
Today, Kayla and I visited with Seth at Dutch Valley Meats in Arthur. Dutch Valley is a local meat processor. I already learned about raising cows and helped to package meat for retail sale, but I hadn’t learned about what happens in-between yet. Back on the farm, the cows are treated very well. I wanted to make sure Dutch Valley had the same standards for care that Dylan and Kayla have. On the farm, the cows have access to pasture and a covered barn with straw bedding. The cattle in the feedlot don’t have access to pasture but are fed forage crops like hay. They also have access to a covered barn and straw bedding. They are happy and comfortable, especially when they are being fed. They aren’t comfortable when they are sick, or, for example, have foot rot. That’s when Kayla and Dylan have to treat them, even if they don’t like it. I think it is okay to do this because you are helping the animal to get better and not feel any more pain. It’s like sitting a young toddler down to get a shot at the doctor. You don’t want to hear them scream and cry, but it is for their own benefit.
When treating a sick cow, you usually use antibiotics, and there is some stigma around this for many consumers. When shopping for meat, most people look for the “antibiotic-free” label, when in reality, this is just a marketing strategy. All meat in a grocery store is antibiotic-free. Every medicine, even fly spray, has a withdrawal period that farmers must follow to ensure there are no antibiotics in your meat. This is a federal law, so there should never, ever be any trace of antibiotics in any of the meat you consume, even if the packaging does not bear the infamous “antibiotic-free” label.
On our drive to Dutch Valley, Kayla and I talked about the nutritional importance of protein in the human diet and I decided to do some research on my own. Vegans, and even vegetarians, have to eat more food with more calories to get the protein they need. For example, 3 cups of quinoa are about 670 calories with 25 grams of protein, which is about 50% of your Daily Value (DV). while 3 ounces of beef is about 170 calories with the same amount of protein. That’s a 500 calorie difference! Beef gives you the nutrients your body needs while tasting amazing. A 3 ounce serving of cooked beef on average provides 170 calories and:
Iron, which helps your body use oxygen (14% DV)
Choline that supports the nervous system’s development (13% DV)
Protein, to help preserve and build muscle (51% DV)
Selenium helps protect cells from damage (38% DV)
Vitamins B6 and B12. These help maintain brain function and give you energy (24% and 41% DV)
Phosphorus helps to build bones and teeth (20% DV)
Zinc maintains a healthy immune system (39% DV)
Niacin supports energy production and metabolism (25% DV)
Riboflavin converts food into fuel (14% DV)
Caring for the animals is important, but caring for yourself is more important <3
Before our visit, I worried about the cleanliness and hygiene of meat processing facilities. I imagined that there would be blood splatters on the walls of the kill room or just straight-up filth everywhere. However, as you will see in the pictures I took, Seth is a germaphobe and wanted his building to be spotless. There was not a speck of blood anywhere, the floors were clean and not blood-covered, the raw meats and the cooked meats were separated into two different freezers, and every surface in the butchering room was clean (unless it was being used of course). To add, Dutch Valley looked clean and also smelled clean! It didn’t smell of dead, rotting animals, which I was fully expecting. Even in the raw meat freezer, it smelled clean. However, I wasn’t really focusing on the smell that much, as it was freezing cold in there! Of course, it should be cold in there because the low temperatures help to preserve the meat and keep any bacteria away.
My only concern was that the butchers were not wearing gloves. I asked Seth about this and he responded with a very good point of, “Gloves can be just as dirty as your own hands.” He explained that there are no regulations around glove use when handling raw meat and that frequent hand washing is the most effective way to prevent foodborne illness. However, you cannot guarantee that the butchers are washing their hands after, for example, going to the bathroom. Or, when they are switching from handling raw meat to cooked meat. We asked Seth for clarification on this and he assured us that their policy is to wear gloves when handling ready-to-eat foods (just like in fast food) like their beef sticks.
I also wanted to make sure that the kills were ethical and painless to the animals. Kayla told me that “back in the day” to kill a pig on their farm, they would “bleed” the hog, which means to sever the carotid artery in their throat with a knife. It was standard practice to do this without even shooting the animal first. Obviously, killing animals is a tough topic to talk about, but these animals are being raised for the benefit of the human race. Humans need high quality protein, and meat is a great way to achieve that. I believe animals do have feelings and we should kill them in the least painful way possible. Dutch Valley does do ethical kills. Seth explained the process to me, and I saw the tools with my own eyes. The captive bolt stunning gun kills the animal and reduces it instantly unconscious without causing them pain. It has a steel bolt that is powered by compressed air and a blank cartridge. The bolt is driven into the animal’s brain and it returns back into the gun (which is why it is called a captive bolt).
I also wanted to know how the animals were treated before they were slaughtered. Seth showed me the room where they are kept (I forgot to take a picture!). They are fairly small pens with just enough room for one cow to lay down, but the animals are being held here for less than 24 hours. If they are held here for more than 24 hours, they have to be fed from sensible food sources. For example, you can’t feed pigs some hay. All of the animals have access to clean drinking water for this duration.
Dutch Valley has made me very comfortable with where my food comes from, and I hope you feel the same way! When I agreed to take a tour of Dutch Valley, I was expecting to be grossed out and never want to eat a cheeseburger again. Dutch Valley is way cleaner than I assumed, the animals are treated and killed ethically, and everything seems safe and well taken care of here. This place has the Grace Approval Stamp!
Resources: “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.”
