I am a Grade-A omnivore---that's right veggies and beef. Sometimes I actually feel guilty that I eat animals, and somehow the veggie to meat ratio never seems to fully negate that tinge of guilt. I understand that the amount of grain that goes towards feeding cattle could be put to much better use. For instance, according to David Pimentel, professor of ecology from Cornell University,"If all the grain currently fed to livestock in the United States were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million." He also estimates that "if those grains were exported, it would boost the U.S. trade balance by $80 billion a year." And with the way grain prices are skyrocketing these days, adopting a vegetarian diet would certainly seem to make sense.
Still, I eat meat...and I love it. Sooo...how can one reconcile any misgivings about their current carnivorous diet? In the March 2008 edition of Outside Magazine, I found out about two ranchers whose practices I can certainly live with!
First of all, the Full Circle Bison Ranch is a family-owned and operated ranch that raises free-range, organic-grass-fed bison. You can purchase steaks, roasts, ribs, sausages and other choice parts of the bison (nothing goes to waste here) for very reasonable prices.
Then there's also the InterTribal Bison Cooperative, which is a nonprofit organization from South Dakota's Black Hills whose mission is to restore bison herds for participating Native-American tribes such as the Comanche, Cheyenne, River Sioux, Modoc, Gros Ventre and Assiniboine. Meat prices are based on availability, and may not be readily available depending on where you live. However, you can purchase Native-American artwork from the site as one way to fund their cause. You also have the option of donating money directly towards their efforts.
Any way you cut it, buying meat from these two organizations will leave a very good taste in your mouth!
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