10oz Tenderloin

Manning speaks about the continued trend toward the worldwide adoption of American food production. Specifically he is concerned about the amount of grain that used to maintain livestock. It’s ironic as cattle are not naturally designed to eat grains. The result is cattle that get big fast but require antibiotics in order to prevent disease.

Manning goes on to state that the “per capita protein production in the United States is about double what an average adult needs per day” (Manning, 2004, npg). In other words people are eating more food and opting for cheaper, factory-produced and ultimately unhealthy beef (among other products). The beef I purchased from Sumas Mountain Farms is from grass-fed cattle. The cows are raised outside, are able to graze and take up to two years to grow to maturity. The alternative is a cow that spends its “adult [life] packed shoulder to shoulder in a space not much bigger than their bodies, up to their knees in shit, being stuffed with grain and a constant stream of antibiotics” (ibid, npg).

THIS (note the complete lack of grass, a cows natural food)…

OR THAT…