I dont have any preferences when it comes to brands, because I think in Norway the cows are raised in pretty much the same way all over. Ecological brands may be better though. Im not sure how much the cows are fed grain in Norway in winter time. I think they get a lot of grass also in the wintertime (the farmers store grass to feed the cows during the winter), but maybe this tradition is dying and that they are given more and more grain? Wold be cool to ask a norwegian farmer about this.

I try to eat a lot of lamb, elg, raindeer and moose instead. You can find cheap game meat at Rema 1000 too.

Thanks for this info. I am Norwegian, but have lived outside Norway for 10 years. I have found it pretty much a nightmare to find high quality foods when on holiday. Norway is miles and miles behind other European countries like France, where pure foods of good quality are easy to come by. But now I will check out the grass fed beef and game meat at Rema 1000.

My experience with Gilde and Nordfjord is that they produce industrial meat of poor quality.

The liver I found at the local butcher was pretty poor too.

Diary is another problem in Norway. Even the "organic" Tine range is pretty poor - the cows are fed soy, grains etc, it is just claimed that the feed is pesticide free (according to an email from Tine in response to my question what organic really means). I have found a farmer in Holmestrand who will sell me some raw milk. He was already fined once, $1500 or so, for selling raw milk, but he seems pretty undeterred.

Norwegian strawberries are the best though.

I will have to take a look at Rema though.. I am not in there often.. thanks for the tip!

In Stavanger we have a great butcher (Idsøe) who is very open about how the meat he sales lives/d. I know that the meat I am buying from him (specific cuts, not sure on the whole shop) are grass feed, generally pasture raised (unless snow) and grain finished. I am abit sad at the grain finished, but as of now it is the best I have been able to find. He also always wraps my meat in paper, so I have no plastic waste and not plastic chemicals seaping into my meat.

As edle said, mostly the cows are in fact feed corn and soy :( I have just found a source for grass feed beef in Stavanger - there is a farmer toward Randaberg that sells beef by the cow, 1/2 or 1/4 cow. You get filets, ground beef and some other cuts too. I plan to place a order with him soon.