Local Butcher Chooses Factory Farmed Meat

Last week I learned that there was a butcher shop that wasn't too far from my home - and for a minute, I was really excited! I remember going to the the butcher shop with my mom and grandmother as a little girl. I have been looking for someplace to purchase grass fed and pastured meats between purchasing larger orders directly from a local farmer and/or buying online to save on the high cost of shipping. So, I quickly sent an email inquiring where they procurred their meat - local or not - if the meats were grass fed/pastured without hormones/antibiotics, fed a diet with no GMO Corn/GMO soy and was the meat minimally processed? All perfectly reasonable questions, right? Here was the response:

"Thanks for your questions. Of course many of our products come from different farms and from various vendors, so it would be misleading to answer your questions with a short response where a lengthy and detailed one is much more appropriate.

We do not personally uphold the idea that technology in food always has negative outcomes, and we bring in products that are in line with that belief. I am 100% up front and honest with customers when they come into my shop about the products we carry, so that they can make a decision as to what to buy. We are not an organic shop. Many people cannot afford the price tag that comes with the organic certification, and some do not believe in the practice at all. Fortunately we all have the right to do our own research and buy the foods we are comfortable feeding our families.

As in the case of any hot topic issue, there are extremists on both fronts. Our goal is to be a middle ground between two very extreme worlds, so that consumers have an option to buy better quality food, that is still affordable. Each and every consumer is certainly entitled to their own beliefs and if our shop does not fall into a certain belief system, we are not an appropriate fit for that consumer.

As store owners, we are also entitled to sell the food we have researched and believe in. I do not sell anything that I do not feed my own family. I believe in the products I sell based on the research I have done that comes from numerous scientifically based sources, and will not sell a product to anyone who is looking for something different. To do so would be a complete corruption of my morals.

Please let me know if you have any questions about a certain product that I carry."

Thank you,
Christina Noble
Noble Meat Market

I was certainly not surprised at her response, but I was a bit taken aback...not only did I get the feeling that she was being defensive, she actually called me (and you) EXTREMIST because we choose to purchase meat from animals grown a certain way. Since when does wanting something your way make us extremist? I was sad that a person whose livelihood centers around selling meat was so short-sighted and obviously had fallen for the hype that Big Ag and the FDA are selling. I sent her this response:

"Thank you very much for your response and your honesty. It is refreshing. I appreciate that you also provided a detailed explanation of your personal beliefs and that your products are aligned with those beliefs.

I do not consider myself an extremist, more of a member of a growing population in search of the truth and the types of "real" food that our ancestors ate. The foods not altered with antibiotics, hormones, GMO corn, GMO soy, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and not contributing to the epidemic of obesity in the U.S. I appreciate your stance in taking the middle ground. It certainly is the safe place to take a stand and allows you to run your business without challenging your belief system.

As for the cost of organic, grass-fed, pastured, etc. meats, they are more costly due to the fact that they are not subsidizied by the U.S. government unlike the meats produced at Factory Farms and whose lobbyists are running and controlling the FDA. The same FDA who is firmly in bed with Big Ag and Big Pharma and much more concerned with money than the health of human beings.

I encourage you to do some more research. There is a reason that organic foods are the largest growing segment of the food industry and that farmers markets are opening all over the country.

Thank you again for your response."

What do you think?