More on Otway Pork

I have just realised that Otway Pork is RSPCA endorsed which Peter Singer and Jim Mason authors of The Ethics of What We Eat say is the most reliable endorsement to guarantee that strict animal welfare standards have been adhered to and due to regular audits are continually maintained.

From the Otway Pork website...

RSPCA Accreditation

The welfare of our pigs has always been paramount. We do not crate or cage Otway pigs, we don’t dock their tails, and we don’t use nose rings – these are all important in keeping pigs free from pain and discomfort. Otway Pork was also the first pig producer in Australia to adopt the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme. This scheme is based on a set principles established by the RSPCA known as the “five freedoms”: Freedom from hunger and thirst Freedom from discomfort Freedom from pain Freedom to express normal behavior Freedom from fear and distress.

Otway Pork is readily available at large chains such as Coles, Woolworths etc I have noticed that there is a large difference between supermarket outlets in different areas. For instance South Melbourne Coles seems to have less of a range than Prahran Coles in Melbourne.

My husband and I have been enjoying the scotch roast and were delighted to get the already reasonably priced ($13.99 per kilo) roast for a further 30% off as it was a day off expiry.

We decided to test it on our new bbq rotisserie. As it is more than ample for my husband and myself, it should actually feed four people, our little spoiled pooch did quite well out of the arrangement too.

In the New Year I plan to get on the road again and visit farms to verify their claims for myself. In the meantime I can only let you know what I am doing myself to support businesses that are acknowledging that animal welfare is important.

Free range and organic at the supermarket

I know it's been way too long since I have posted. Life, primarily work has just been getting in the way lately. I haven't stopped thinking about my quest and I still have lots of research to do.

I have been happily eating meat from my suppliers feeling like I have achieved my initial objective of sourcing affordable essentially organic and humanely raised meat. However I have only sourced beef and lamb. For my chicken and pork I have done the next best thing in my opinion which is buy free range and/or organic from the supermarket. Ultimately I hope that CICO meat will be readily available and affordable in convenient locations such as the supermarket. I have noticed lately a lot more choice and a generally cheaper price in free range and organic meat at Coles and Safeway. So hopefully the change is coming.

I am not convinced that these producers are all that they seem as they are obviously producing on a large scale. However I feel that it is better to support farmers that are producing meat that is free to roam at least some of the time and who don't use pesticides etc because it sends a message to the supermarket that this is important.

I have purchased pork from Otway Pork. Their website is very convincing and the meat is really lovely. I paid between $14-$24 per kilo, which for free range pork is very reasonable. It is more expensive than all the CICO beef but raising pigs is much more expensive than beef as they need shelter and I believe more bought food rather than pasture. I hope to visit them personally in the future to see for myself and give you an objective opinion.

Lilydale Chicken is the supplier whose chicken I have been buying and much like Otway Pork have a slick yet realistic looking website and I hope that they are genuine. When I have time to venture to these areas I will contact both Lilydale Chicken and Otway Pork for a site visit.

I haven't found any chicken or pork suppliers that can sell in bulk like my beef suppliers making the cost even lower. So unfortunately for now I have to pay considerably higher prices for chicken and pork but at least I feel that they have had some quality of life before arriving on my plate.

Incidentally, friends have been concerned that when they invite me to their house for dinner that I would be horrified if they don't serve me free range or organic. I want to make it clear that we all have to do what we can do and I don't judge people that buy any old meat. The whole point of my crusade is to make it easier for everyone to make ethical and healthy choices not berate people when they can't afford it or don't have time. People are not choosing to eat cruelty raised, unheathy meat because they prefer it, they do it because they don't have the information and choice needed to be able to choose better alternatives. I even, shock horror, buy bacon occasionally that is definitely not raised humanely but I don't beat myself up about it because I am actively doing what I can to help the situation and there is no point on dwelling on the times that I failed to meet my objectives.

So for now I definitely haven't forgotten and I absolutely have not given up. I am just giving the blog a rest whilst I work to earn money and prepare to have a baby in December.

In the meantime I am still doing the following:

• Reducing meat portion sizes
• Eating vegetarian meals from time to time
• Ordering beef and lamb through the farmers I have already vetted. You can see them here.
• Buying predominantly free range but also organic when I see it at a reasonable price or on special at the supermarket to send a clear message to the supermarkets that this is important
• Eating nose to tail. Read more here.
• Always buying free range eggs. I would rather eat less eggs than support cage eggs

These are really simple steps that you can take to ease your conscience and vote with your consumer choice for a better future.

"The farmer gets $5 a kilo. You pay $69"

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/the-farmer-gets-5-a-kilo-you-pay-69

This interesting article illustrates the point that I am trying to make. Good quality meat is produced at a reasonable price but the supply chain swallows up the value.

I assume that the butcher in Surry Hills knows where his meat comes from because he could not get away with charging this price if it was not good. I bet it is just as good as the meat that I now pay $15 a kilo to have delivered to my door. See my ever growing list of suppliers here.

Conversely I have paid $15-$20 a kilo in supermarkets for tough as old boots misery ridden meat.

I have of course paid similar amounts for lovely meat from the supermarket but the animals may or may not have had a reasonable quality of life and who knows what chemicals and hormones were used in the production. It is a lottery.

My long term plan is to lobby government to make changes to labeling so that the consumer knows all this information and can make purchasing choices. As the articles states all this information is available. All farmers must fill out detailed information about what they feed the animals, the age of the beast, the medications used. If we could also see this information then we would know what we are buying and the prices would become more standardised.

Two more beef farm visits

After nine hours of driving today I have two more farms to add to my list of recommended CICO suppliers. I must remember that country people wave at you when driving. I felt like such a city slicker when my initial reaction was that something was wrong and I felt rude that I missed my opportunity to wave back.

ALEX & CHRISTINE'S FARM

First stop Alex and Christine's farm in Alberton West. Christine cooked an amazing lunch but I assure you that this has not clouded my judgement. Alex and Christine have 5 children and at last count 16 grand children so it is in their best interests to produce healthy natural meat for the family.

See the happy and content cows in my pictures here.

Alex and Christine satisfy the all of the CICO criteria. They hand pull weeds from their property and are very proud of eliminating the thistle infestation that they inherited when they bought the farm. The cows are fat and healthy and like all the CICO cows are grass fed.

To purchase meat from Alex and Christine please call Alex on 0431 158 638. They will have a webpage shortly. They will only sell half and whole sides presently but they can do this for a good price and can customise your order to suit the number of people sharing the pack or make steaks to your required thickness.

FAMILY FARMED MEATS

The next farm is Family Farmed Meats in Fulham near Sale. Belinda's family have been on their land for 5 generations. They are particularly passionate about natural chemical free meat production because they sadly lost their father to cancer recently.

Belinda is obviously knowledgeable about cattle and feeds only grass, hay and controlled lucerne. She has a business savvy and has taken the family business to new heights with a great website, publicising the fact that the meat is free range, grass fed and chemical free and supplying meat directly to public through delivery and farmer's markets.

You can visit the website www.familyfarmedmeats.com for information on ordering and farmer's markets. Belinda is looking to expand to lamb and also does pre-cooked meals. I only have a couple of photos as it was getting late in the day and the light was fading but Belinda has lovely photos on her website for a better idea.

Nose to Tail Eating on Masterchef

I was delighted to see the episode on Masterchef featuring the amazing Fergus Henderson. Henderson is the chef who popularised the term 'nose to tail eating' which I have referred to before without realising this association.

You can watch the episode here.

The episode featured, fried pig's tails, stuffed pig's trotters and pig's head terrine which sound terrible but taste wonderful.

Fergus is not a trained chef he simply learnt the art of cooking from his parents. He opened the acclaimed and lauded restaurant, St John's in London and is famous for his use of the whole animal. I just love this quote from him...

"if you're going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the whole thing"

I think that we should all keep this in mind when making food choices. I know we all have our favourite cuts of meat but with a little imagination and effort other cuts of meat can also be equally delicious.

For help with how to use more of the beast have a look at Fergus' famous book Whole Beast - Nose to Tail Eating available at Borders and other book stores. I also found it at my local library.

Review of first meat order

Not enough time to read my full ramblings? Read my summary here.
I received my first order from the Farmer's Market. Two other couples and my husband and I shared a 20kg beef pack and an 18kg lamb pack. The ordering process was easy. The confirmation stated that the order would arrive in 2-5 business days and it arrived on the 5th day but they indicated to me that this would be the case.

Wow we are really impressed with the meat and the ease of the transaction. I received the meat and our friends came that night to do the quick divvy up. We deliberately chose items that would divide easily and one friend did a great spreadsheet that helped us allocate the meat via email. I might work on it for this blog for future reference to make it more universal so you can use it too.

So what exactly is the meat like? Well let me first explain as Farmer Dan did to me the difference between free range grass fed and feedlot grain fed. Free range grass fed cattle get exercise and eat less fattening more nutritious feed so they have a leaner more muscular physique this is why Farmer Dan makes this distinction clear by calling his business Gippsland Lean Beef. It doesn't mean that he takes all the fat off his produce which trust me is a good thing, more about that in a future post about fat. Grain fed feed lot animals have a floppier muscle tone, unnatural amounts of fat and a lighter flavour due to the more bland feed.

I was a little concerned about these facts because our tastes have come to expect a very tender and light on flavour meat and I worried that my friends might find that their nearly 15kgs of meat may not be to their liking.

However they were not disappointed and neither was I. The meat is not tough but rather firmer and more dense and still melt in the mouth. The additional flavour is great and needs less seasoning. In order to do the meat justice it is important not to overcook. I unfortunately did over cook the first porterhouse to medium, we like medium rare but testimony to the lovely quality it was still tender and easy to cut with a table knife and chew easily with no toughness at all. It was simply a bit dry in texture for our taste and in my opinion disrespectful to the meat.

I cooked the rump steak perfectly and it was the best rump steak that I have ever tasted.

Here is how I did it. I like the method below because it gives you time to get the vegetables on to the plate and then at the last minute reheat the steak so it is served hot.

Tips for cooking the perfect steak.

Prewarm oven to 110 C and leave a dinner plate inside to heat

Cook steak on high heat for a few seconds back off very high but leave flame on high for 2-4 minutes depending on thickness, basically until the blood rises to the top

Turn and repeat, cook on high heat for a few seconds back off very high but leave flame on high for 2-4 minutes

Place steak on dinner plate and cover with foil. Turn oven off and put steak plate in the oven but leave the door open. Leave for 3mins (or up to 10 mins if you need it to get your vegetables served)

Reheat pan to high heat and flash cook steak on each side for a few seconds only and serve immediately. I learnt this method from a chef at Crown Casino.

The challenge of purchasing this meat is what to do with all the various cuts of meat that I have to admit I previously did not buy because I, like most people did not think about the fact that it is unsustainable to only eat the choicest cuts of meat. For further information look at relevant post here. With the approach of winter it is not hard to find appropriate recipes for the season.

This is what else I have done or intend to do.

We received 10 kgs of Beef:

Osso Bucco - made Osso Bucco

Stewing Steak - made Beef and Vegetable Soup and Thai Beef Coconut Curry

Gravy beef - Guiness Irish Stew

Diced Beef - Italian Beef and Red Wine Ragu

Stir fry - Thai Beef lime and chilli noodles

Schnitzel - schnitzel

Scotch fillet - steak with bearnaise sauce and herb mash

Oyster blade - Madras curry

Porterhouse - steak with red wine jus and vegetables

Eye fillet - steak - haven't tried this yet, the steak is buried somewhere in the packed freezer but I am looking forward to it as I imagine that it will be much tastier than eye fillet I have experienced before.

Rump - made steak with garlic butter and vegetables

Sausages - made Bean Cassoulet, Pasta with chilli, sausage and roquette

Mince - made Spaghetti Bolognese, Mince and rice stuffed vegetables

Many of these dishes can be frozen or stored in the fridge for lunch the next day. So even though some of them are a bit time consuming when you divide the time over several meals it is far more time efficient.

6kgs Lamb

Unfortuntately these packs were not labelled so apart from recognising, cutlets, lamb legs, bbq chops, loin chops there are a few unidentified cuts that will become apparent once I defrost. So I 'll get back to you on the lamb options.

In summary I am delighted and relieved that I can wholeheartedly rave about the quality of the meat available at the Farmer's Market. Best of all I can guarantee that the animals had a great quality of life and were treated with the respect they deserve. See. All this for A$13-$15 kilo delivered to your door. Compare this to the equivalent certified organic meat A$28-$50+ per kilo.

Nose to tail eating

I have another couple of farmers lined up and hope to get out to see them in the next few weeks in the meantime I want to discuss other ways that can help make meat consumption more sustainable and affordable.

Apart from sourcing CICO meat what else can we do to help the environment and our impact on it?

I assert that the pinnacle of healthy eating includes meat in the diet. Being an animal lover I am tempted to be vegetarian but I also have a preference for a natural state of being and naturally humans are designed to eat meat.

However the modern western diet has gone too far and due to factory farming technology and practice the ready supply of meat has increased our consumption to unhealthy proportions. I would wager that a vegetarian diet despite having certain deficiencies is often healthier than the average Australian diet.

However I digress, the objective is to eat meat that is healthy for me and ease my conscience that the animal I am eating has not suffered unduly in it's lifetime.

If we eat smaller portions of meat then we keep the cost down or offset the increased cost of CICO meat, reduce our intake to a healthier level and slaughter less animals.

We can also use more of the whole animal, it's called nose to tail eating.

All the farmers I have spoken to so far have mentioned their desire for consumers to realise that farming is not sustainable if everyone wants to only eat the most choice cut of meat.

If you only want to eat the eye fillet or the porterhouse what happens to the rest of the animal? Currently a lot of animals are slaughtered for the popular cuts of meat and the rest if pulped for dog food or livestock feed. This is why farmers like Dan and the others whom I will soon feature prefer to sell packs of meat that include a bit of everything from eye fillet to sausages. This way less animals need to be killed to feed us and the overall price can come down.

As I have now ordered from Gippsland Lean Beef and will receive several packs of sausages I have been researching recipes. With winter rapidly bearing down upon us I am delighted in my findings.

• French Cassoulet - bean and sausage stew
• Bangers and Mash with Guinness sauce
• Rustic Italian style pasta with sausage, chilli and rocket
• Lasagne with added sausage
• Rice and sausage stuffed vegetables

Offal was never something that I readily accepted from a taste and texture point of view. However recent time in France and with my mother in law in England who is an amazing European style cook I discovered just how delicious it can be. I still haven't taken to brains but liver, hearts and kidney when cooked skillfully I find divine, high in iron and also very cheap.

Pate` is very easy to make and is one of the best ways to disguise liver. Recipe here. There are lots of wonderful seasonings that you can add to pate`, Google for more adventurous recipes. For instance this wonderful Julia Child recipe.

Chicken hearts barbecued on a skewer Brazilian style is surprisingly lovely, see pic above. Recipe here.

I love to cook any offal in this way:

Saute` onion in clarified butter, add fresh chopped rosemary and chopped bacon rashers and cook til' opaque, add chicken hearts or chopped liver and cook until just pink inside. Do not overcook or it will become rubbery. serve with crisp salad with some radicchio leaves is particularly nice.

I also once had an amazing dish of rabbit hearts in a delightful sherry cream sauce at Bar Lourinha in the city in Melbourne. I notice that they are currently serving pork neck, calf liver and oxtail and I guarantee you they all taste delicious.

Let's not forget the steak and kidney pie

We live in such a wasteful society and I find it incredibly sad that we 'waste' an animal's life often before and after death. It's not so hard to limit our wastefulness. Is it?

Farmer Dan at Gippsland Lean Beef

The visit to Gippsland Lean Beef was a great success and huge learning curve for me.

Farmer Dan wholly fulfills my stated Cows in Clover objectives and I can thoroughly recommend his products. He genuinely cares about the life of his animals and I witnessed their idyllic lifestyle first hand.

Farmer Dan is a Horticulturist by trade and he incorporates this knowledge into his approach.

Gippsland is a beautiful area and here are some of my pictures of the visit.

PESTICIDES

Pesticides are not used on the farm at all. Rotating sheep and cattle fertilises the paddock and controls weeds. Dan explained that thistles are deep rooted and bring nutrients to the surface and cows eat them when they start to die off which keeps control of the situation.

ANIMAL WELFARE

A number of methods are used to ensure the best possible quality of life for the animals. A nearby abattoir is used to slaughter the animals which minimises the stress of long journeys. Only transporters that don't use cattle prods and who are gentle with the animals are engaged.

Dan uses a nifty system for stress free weaning of calves and lambs. In commercial farming, calves and lambs need to be weaned from their mothers earlier than in nature otherwise the mother will lose condition. In many farms babies are simply separated from their young which is very distressing for both the mother and baby. Mum's will moan and bellow sometimes for days at a time and kick fences trying to get to the baby she is pining for. It is a very sad scene that factory farmed animals continually relive throughout their lives.

Dan leaves weaning as late as possible and then applies a harmless ring to the young one's nose. The ring is plastic with spikes that dig and tickle the mother when the offspring try to suckle. She nudges the young away just as she does when she is ready to wean . This way the bond is subtly broken and the mother can continue to be healthy.

The cows roam in roomy pastures with dotted trees and plenty of drinking reserves and not that the cows care but picturesque scenery also. When we arrived at the paddock the cattle eagerly ran up to meet us and surround us. They are not tame, when you move towards them they shy away but they have a healthy curiosity and a hopefulness that food is on offer despite the abundance of lush green grass at the moment. They are social and frolic amongst themselves whilst keeping an eye out in case we decide to offer food. The sheep were off in the distance but looked similarly content.

FEED

All stock is free range and grass fed but in times of drought and winter they must have supplemental feeding. This is where I learnt the most. Have you ever seen the fancy labels that boast grain fed beef? Cows are ruminant animals this refers to their digestive system, four stomachs and a process that involves regurgitation for reprocessing, 'chewing cud"and fermentation. This process creates healthy bacteria that keeps the animal healthy by enabling it to absorb nutrients. Wheat cannot be processed in this way and gives the animal acidosis and enterotoxemia. Farmers who grain feed then have to medicate to combat this unhealthy reaction. Often when you deviate from a natural process it creates unhealthy consequences which then need to combated. This can be said about many things in life where we choose unnatural processes over natural.

Dan harvests his own organically grown hay. He also grows feed like sorghum which is like a lentil and is suitable for ruminant animals. Dan showed me the remnants of the sorghum paddock. After harvesting the sorghum Dan let the cows loose in the paddock where the stalks were over two metres high. The image he painted was like happy pigs in mud. The cows ate their way from the outside into a wall of delicious nutritious stalks. What a happy scene.

In addition Dan feeds lupins. Lupins are a high protein superior quality feed. It is more expensive than wheat but it is far more healthy for the animal and does not cause digestion problems.

CERTIFIED ORGANIC

Dan doesn't use antibiotics, he doesn't need to because he keeps his animals healthy naturally so their immune systems are strong. He refuses to use hormones. Female hormones are regularly used in factory beef production on steers (male cows) to fatten them for slaughter and calm them down so they can be kept in close confines. Dan uses no pesticides and employs sustainable and humane farming practices so why does he choose not to be Certified Organic? Dan explained that he doesn't agree with some loopholes in the certification process that allows for instance grain feeding but at the end of the day it is too expensive. There are numerous application fees, auditing fees then compliance costs, extra workload and then the certifiers want an ongoing percentage of his profit.

I feel very confident to recommend Dan's meat. He really cares about the animals and spends extra time, effort and money to give them a great quality of life and to ensure a natural healthy product. His meat is extremely good value particularly when you buy in bulk. I haven't tried his meat yet but I do have a couple of friends who have and they raved about the quality. Anyway I will be ordering some meat this week so I can tell you all about it then.

Please check out his website for more information http://www.gippslandleanbeef.com.au/

To purchase go to the online store to get his meat home delivered to the Melbourne Metro area only http://thefarmersmarket.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page

Get a group of friends together one of whom is home during the day to receive the delivery and buy in bulk to save.

Farm Visit Update

I spoke to the lovely Farmer Danny at Gippsland Lean Beef and he is more than happy to accomodate my visit. I really expected to have to sell myself but he was very positive about my project from the outset.

I plan to ask him the following questions;

• Why do you choose to raise and sell free range, grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free stock?
• Why are you not certified organic?
• Describe the life one of your animals? Do they have the opportunity to experience natural behaviours?
• Do you use pesticides? If yes, what types? If no, how do you control pests?
• I understand that you limit the live transport of your animals, how long do they travel and what is the process after they leave your farm?

I will also ask some questions about 'lean' meat but I will publish this information with a blog post dedicated to 'nose to tail' eating and the benefits of including fat in your diet. For now I won't confuse the issue. Currently I am seeking meat that satisfies my Cows in Clover objectives.

Organic food and my concerns

My main concerns with 'organic' produce are;

A. The term organic is ripe for abuse as it's general meaning applies to all food

B. Reputably certified organic food is very expensive often 50% more expensive

C. There is a lot of produce out there that would satisfy the criteria of certified organic but it is not certified due to work load and cost to producers

Dictionary definition of organic;

"Characteristic of, pertaining to or derived from living organisms"

So that applies to all food and in Australia the term 'organic' can legally be applied to any food because well, technically it is organic.

For the purpose of discussion I will make the following distinctions.

I will use the word organic by it's dictionary meaning. CO will refer to certified organic and CICO Cows In Clover Organic will refer to my listed objectives;

Humanely raised and treated

Free range

Grass fed

Pesticide free or limited

Hormone and antibiotic free

Affordable

The only way to ensure that you are buying CO or even CICO is to buy products with approval from a reputable certifier. Read here about which labels you should trust. By all means if you can afford it and want the convenience, study these labels and please buy up.

If animal welfare is your main priority source products with the RSPCA label. They are the only organisation that offers a certification and standard for animal welfare who actually visits the farms to ensure that they comply.

For more reading on this topic or if you wish to become vegetarian read this book. The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason, a horrifying, practical, factual yet inspiring book which looks at how to make animal welfare and environmentally conscious decisions when buying meat.

I aim to find meat that is first and foremost raised humanely but also adheres to the basic principles of certified organic; pesticide free, hormone and antibiotic free, free range and grass fed.

Off to Gippsland for my first site visit

After much Googling I was very impressed with these Farmers in Gippsland.

http://www.gippslandleanbeef.com.au/#

They claim to satisfy the criteria.

"So if you want meat that is free of hormones and antibiotics in addition to being raised with care and kindness - buy it direct from the farm."

They are not certified 'organic' and their prices are very reasonable. Good quality lamb packs for A$13.88 per kilo and beef packs for A$15 per kilo.

I have emailed them to let them know that I wish to visit and blog about it. I will follow up with a call to arrange a visit and see how they feel about the blogging.