People who live in Florida, enjoy some of the most beautiful and rich ecological diversity on the planet. You cannot help but be inspired anytime you visit one of our beautiful coastal beaches, wildlife preserves, The Keys or the inspiring expanse of the Florida Everglades.
In fact, Florida residents are likely to be found outside and enjoying the natural spaces and outdoor sports, and increasingly our communities are becoming more aware of the small choices we make every day that can help (or hinder) the natural environment that we care about so much.
We want to share some information that can help you make a healthy and sustainable choice when sourcing fresh meat for your family. Learn more about ‘food miles’ and why buying locally ranched, raised and processed beef is a positive choice for you, and for the environment.
How Many Miles Has Your Beef Traveled?
The food manufacturing and processing industry does a good job at hiding some of the less flattering (and sometimes alarming) truths about how food travels from farm to table. Unless you are buying directly from a farm or community butcher (who sources locally) it can be almost impossible to know whether you are buying American raised and processed beef, or if your meat traveled thousands of miles on a boat, before arriving at your grocery store.
Some of the biggest importers of beef to the American market are Brazil and Mexico. Did you know that in 2016, the United States imported 7.9 billion dollars worth of meat that was not raised in America? While we have herds of cattle that are in the millions, grocery stores and food chains are still actively importing sometimes less expensive (and lower quality) beef products from other countries.
If the beef is processed in the United States, and distributed to grocery stores, it may carry a label that misleads consumers to believe it is “All American” beef. And unless consumers are very diligent in doing their product and brand research, during a quick trip to the grocery store, it’s really hard to identify what is pure American beef, and what may have traveled thousands of miles, frozen and possibly refrozen after packaging, before it arrived in your grocery cart.
While safety issues with meat are rare, the nutritional value of meat diminishes over time, when it has been sitting for longer periods or shipped great distances before arriving at an American port, distributed, processed and then sold to consumers. Every package of meat should contain information that identifies:
· Where it was farmed or raised
· When it was butchered and processed
· Where it was processed (State or country)
· When it expires
The best before date that is a legal requirement, helps indicate the freshness and safe consumption period for consumers. But it’s hard (if not impossible sometimes) to trace where the meat has actually come from, or the food miles it traveled. If we knew the food miles, we would also have an idea of why some of the most budget friendly beef products in the grocery or big box store, have some of the lowest nutritional values.
But that is not the only factor to consider. The longer that your food travels before arriving at the retail location, and the more times that food exchanges hands, from farm to butcher, to processing, to retail packaging, the greater the carbon footprint per product you choose.
It’s a little ‘food for thought’ next time you are evaluating the price difference for different meat products available at your local grocery store. And a reminder that when it comes to sustainability and nutrition, you do get what you pay for as a consumer.
Know the Beef You Are Buying: Our Commitment to Sustainable Products at Florida Raised
As a business member with more than 100 years of wholesale partnership with the food service industry, we have an insider’s expertise when it comes to understanding where many meat products come from, and how they are raised and processed.
For the consumer, making an informed decision about the meat products you purchase for yourself and your family, has become increasingly difficult. Recent changes to food labeling laws now make it harder than ever to determine the origin of food in your local grocery store. Was it produced in the United States? How can you tell if the ‘fresh meat’ you are buying (and possibly already paying a premium price for) really came from an American ranch?
If you thought food safety standards were difficult to monitor in our own country, think about the big and often impossible job facing the USDA and other food safety inspection agencies, who are required to check all imports of meat to the United States. While every effort is made to track the source and origin of the meats that head to consumer grocery stores and restaurants, it’s an impossible task to track every piece, through every stage of the process.
And every once in awhile American consumers are made sick or exposed to a food borne bacterial outbreak that is traced back to meat that somehow, managed to escape the safety nets of State and Federal food inspectors. And that’s a scary thought, isn’t it?
When our team sat down to think about our own personal convictions regarding food safety and nutritional quality, we realized that the mass import and distribution methods used in the meat industry, were not meeting the growing demands for a healthier and more sustainable alternative.
Creating the Florida Raised brand meant we would be able to effect real change in our home state, while promoting the highest quality beef products available for Florida residents. Here is what is different about Florida Raised beef.
· We are sourced exclusively from Florida ranchers, who breed and raise natural grass-fed cattle using sustainable agricultural practices.
· Our beef is only sourced from Ranches that do not use growth hormones or antibiotics in their method of raising cattle.
· Our products employ local Florida workers, including truck distribution using only in-state businesses to support our economy.
· Florida Raised beef is processed through our USDA approved facility in Miami Florida.
· We do not ship our fresh grass-fed beef products out of the State of Florida. Our products are exclusively from local ranches, to the table of local residents in Florida. Home grown. Home delivered, for down home healthy flavor and nutrition.
Next time you visit your local Publix grocery store, head over to the meat section and look for our label. Florida Raised provides antibiotic and hormone free meat, with no artificial preservatives. We know you are going to love the fresh natural flavor of our ground beef and look forward to introducing other beef products to our brand in the coming year.
When you shop local, you are taking positive steps to support our local Florida Ranchers, source the highest quality and flavorful beef products, while supporting sustainable and natural agricultural practices that help protect and conserve our grasslands.
We look forward to your comments about our products. Write to us at: info@floridaraised.com to share your feedback. And if your local grocery store isn’t carrying the Florida Raised brand, start asking them to stock it for your family. It’s a healthier choice.