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I am on a budget and do not have access to grass fed beef. I in fact even have to eat a decent amount of pork/chicken because of this and I try to go for the leaner cuts of meat. I know that that most of the issues with conventional meats are in the fat, so how does this translate to ground beef? Aren't ruminants the best choice?

Main question is: How bad is it to eat 90% lean ground beef from conventional cows due to the fact that ground beef is fat/muscle mixed throughout and there is no way to "trim the fat" here? Would I be better off eating the chicken/pork cuts due to being able to cut off the n6-heavy fat?

Edit: The meats I get come from wegmans and this link shows how they treat their animals. http://www.wegmans.com/pdf/AnimalWelfareChart.pdf

It seems my best bet would be to get the "food you feel good about" beef. I will do some looking around next time I am in the store.

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I would stick with their organic style beef, if you absolutely HAVE to support this company. – Futureboy Aug 19 2011 at 16:04

7 Answers

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The kind of beef you're talking about buying, that everyone says, "Oh, it's ok, just do what you can..." is a slap in the face.

Grass-fed beef is a priority for me. I think it should be a priority for ALL Paleo people. We're a large enough group as a whole, that if we ALL decided we only wanted to eat grass-fed beef, I think the Agribusiness would sit up and take notice.

You realize that with every dollar you spend on conventional CAFO ground beef, you are voting to support and continue the old, sick CAFO system. Do you believe in the way Wegman's does things? Why give them your money then?

Where do you live? You can actually save money in the long run, with a small investment in a chest freezer (check craigslist), and a 1/4 or an 1/8 side of grass-fed beef from a local farmer. If it's far away, drive to the farm.

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good response, i agree but i dont have room for it – Mallory Aug 19 2011 at 16:30
Same here, I live in Manhattan with my GF, and we just don't have room right now. But we're planning on moving to BRooklyn, and once we have more room in the new kitchen, I will be getting my hands on a big 7cu ft freezer and a 1/4 side if I can swing the money. Right now I just buy locally sourced grass-fed beef from Commodities Market on 1st Ave. – Futureboy Aug 19 2011 at 16:35
my fiance is adamantly against buying a chest freezer. I will look into this option though. I agree with your comment about upvoting the conventional system by buying it. – JakeA Aug 19 2011 at 17:15
So far, all my attempts to obtain a half or quarter of grass fed beef have been frustrating. All the local ones that I've contacted are sold-out (pre-order) for next year. The one at my local farmer's market is way expensive, and they have very limited cuts - and very 'wet' - making it even more expensive. And, it's not fully grass fed, as it turns out. – Tikivana Aug 19 2011 at 20:24
@JakeA why is your fiancee so opposed to a chest freezer? – Futureboy Aug 20 2011 at 17:47
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i dunno.... i keep having bad experiences with store bought meat. i have access to angus beef and hormone free chicken/pork. EVERYTIME i buy beef(tried different stores) i have hideous reactions. i tried again last night, and woke up at 3am with hideous hay fever coughing and i could barely breathe. it was obnoxious and i still feel it this morning.

how else can i get carintine in me without beef?

this country, haha, pisses me off to no end. i cant wrap my head around it being 'okay' to sell the sh*t they do at the store and call it food. episodes like this hay fever reaction seriously make me livid

but to answer, i hate and try to stay away from store bought anything

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not sure if this qualifies as a purely paleo concern, but it's an 'ick factor' concern of mine: ground beef is often made of meat from multiple animals from different locations. it's not like the stuff you buy in a store is a ground up cut of beef from an animal, at least if your buying the conventional stuff. ick factor!

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I bought a meat grinder a few year back and won't go back to buying ground beef again. Buying less-expensive cuts and doing it yourself is much safer and more satisfying imo.

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Agree with barefeet on the issue of conventional store-bought ground-beef -- it's the additives, and more importantly, the safety issues. The risk of e-coli goes up significantly with factory-farmed pre-ground beef. Grinding beef yourself is not hard and you can even do it in a food processor. If you own a KitchenAid mixer, you can buy a grinding attachment for under $50 -- which is expensive but you will make up the savings by buying full cuts on sale and then grinding.

There is a locally owned grocery near us that grinds their own meat, so if you can find something like that, it is also an option.

Personally, if I were in your situation, I would eat steaks, roasts, etc. over typical store-bought ground until I could find a way to obtain safely-ground meats. Good luck!

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It's certainly better than eating a loaf of bread.

You have to do what you can do, and a big part of paleo is avoiding (as much as possible) the big 3 NADs, (Neolithic Agents of Disease) - wheat, sugar, and vegetable/seed oils.

Grass fed beef is a bonus, but standard beef is almost there. And still better than standard chicken/pork.

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thats debatable... – Mallory Aug 19 2011 at 15:19
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do the best with what you can. Supplement with fish oil to help balance out the o3/o6 profile. – WildBound Aug 19 2011 at 16:01
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I think grassfed should be a priority, and once the message is heard that this is what we, as a large constituency want, maybe the powers that be in the ag-business will take notice. – Futureboy Aug 19 2011 at 16:06
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I agree. I'm in school and my wife is the sole bread winner right now. Thus we can't always afford grass-fed meat, but we can avoid the 3 big NADs. – Chickenosaurus Rex Aug 19 2011 at 20:21
I treat myself to 1 grass fed steak a week, and eat a lot of cafo ground beef. I usually get the highest fat % i can (usualy 80% lean) I'd love to eat all grass fed, but if its cafo or starve, I'm eating. – Ebice Aug 19 2011 at 21:00
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For me, it's not the idea of conventionally fed cows that makes me shy away from eating "generic" ground beef. It's the idea of eating all the chemicals that may go into that stuff. Please google "pink slime" to learn more or read the information at this link: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/pinkslime-ammonia-ground-beef.html

I buy ground beef only from trusted sellers for this reason.

You could also buy large roasts from conventionally fed cows and grind them yourself, or ask your butcher (if you have one) to grind it in front of your eyes.

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This is part of my concern for sure. – JakeA Aug 19 2011 at 13:29

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