Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Would you all agree that this homepage strongly imiplies that ALL their beef is grass-fed? It sure does to me.

www.applegatefarms.com

So imagine my surprise when I opened one of the packages I bought at Trader Joe's last week, and discovered the words "Vegetarian grain-fed" in small wording on the label.

It's not the end of the world, of course. But I don't appreciate the deceptive advertising. (I also don't understand why a company that goes through so much trouble to tout the superiority of grass-fed cows would have ANY grain-fed beef in its product line!?)

UPDATE: I emailed the company two days to ask them about this, and sent a follow-up this morning. So far, no reply. (How can anyone think that's a good business practice?!)

UPDATE #2: The company never responded to the original email I sent last week, or the follow-up I sent two days later. So today I called and was told that sometimes they will release grain-fed roast beef when grass is "not available." This, despite serveral claims on their website about how all their beef is grass-fed. And you have to read all the wording on the package very closely to make sure you know what you are getting. I'm pretty disappointed in this company, I must say.

edited May 10 2010 at 19:47

asked May 5 2010 at 18:54

Glenn
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	What product did you purchase? – gilliebean♦ May 5 2010 at 20:33
	I would not be shocked if I was you. My family has raised and butchered cattle for longer than I've been alive. Grain finishing is so common it's not even funny. Sometimes you got to really press the butcher about the meat. Usually they will break and tell you that it was grain finished. Even if they don't, don't be shocked if the cattle was grain finished without the butcher's knowledge. Most ranchers and butchers and vets have no idea or care about grass fed vs. grain fed unless it nets them more dollars. Your health and the cattles health is not their first concern. – jm054 May 5 2010 at 20:41
	Gilliebean, I didn't realize I never mentioned the product: it was roast beef. jm054, thanks for that info. Another lesson in "let the buyer beware." – Glenn May 10 2010 at 19:41

Mark · Answer 1 · 2010-05-05 20:14:11Z UTC

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Hmmm, looked at the website briefly, and it does seem to imply that the beef is grass-fed. Maybe it's finished on a feed lot and fed grain there? Worth asking the company about the discrepancy between label and website.

answered May 5 2010 at 20:14

Mark
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You could be right Mark, but it would be a little strange to only mention grain (and not grass) on the label! I sent them an email a few hours. Will report back their reply. – Glenn May 5 2010 at 20:36

Earl Cannonbear · Answer 2 · 2010-05-05 22:59:35Z UTC

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What on earth is "Vegetarian grain-fed" supposed to imply? That the farmer refrained from feeding the cow regular servings of pork-chops?

answered May 5 2010 at 22:59

Earl Cannonbear
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	It means that they don't feed the cow the leftover bits from other cows. – justin_m May 6 2010 at 0:36
	Cannibal cow meat should be illegal. – Earl Cannonbear May 6 2010 at 1:24
	I believe it IS currently illegal threreby making this claim is merely a marketing plow. – penty Aug 3 2010 at 14:53

Nicole · Answer 3 · 2010-05-14 16:32:03Z UTC

All cattle eat grass at some point - even the CAFO animals get weaned onto grass for a little while before going to the feed lot.

Saying that your cattle are "grass-fed" is pretty meaningless unless it's 100% and grass-fed meat is really a specialty item.

Most of the local meat I can get here is fed grass until the last 30 days before slaughter - at that point, they also get grain. They are never confined or treated with drugs or hormones, but they aren't 100% grass-fed either. They still call that a grass-fed animal.

Unless it says it's 100%, it isn't.

Nate · Answer 4 · 2010-09-30 19:37:11Z UTC

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Hi Glenn, I didn't realize Trader Joe's sells Applegate Farms products, or was the package just relabeled with the Trader Joe's logo?

answered Sep 30 2010 at 19:37

Nate
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No, it had the Applegate Farm label on the package. Maybe not all Trader Joe's carry this line. – Glenn Oct 1 2010 at 13:51

Carl_Stawicki · Answer 5 · 2010-09-30 19:51:36Z UTC

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The website doesn't imply grass-fed, it explicitly says it:

"Cattle are grass-fed, just as nature intended."

(From the "Our Promises" section.)

answered Sep 30 2010 at 19:51

Carl_Stawicki
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sarge · Answer 6 · 2011-04-13 20:02:35Z UTC

They lost my trust last summer. I noticed when they changed their packaging that the dogs tasted like conventional ones and lost the flavor that I liked about them. I wrote a review stating this and noticed that most reviews of 3 or less stars are responded to by applegate with a 5 star review, thus inflating the ratings. Also, at the time they claimed that only the packaging changed, not the recipe. A week or two later, they posted that the new "formula" received higher taste ratings than the old. When I wrote a post calling them out on the discrepancy they deleted the offending comments as well as all mine. This killed my faith in them and I haven't purchased their product since. Why pay a premium for their label if they can't show they can he trusted.

Applegate Farms Roast Beef

6 Answers