Grass Fed Beef @ Walmart?

[Jim]

I still love my bison meat, but I live 75 miles from where I can get it, and every time I go over to the place that has it, they are out. So, the last time I was up in Alamosa, CO in September I bought quite a bit of bison. However, supplies are running low.

That was why I was happy to see the Walmart, yes, Walmart and I basically do most of my local shopping there, has Grass Fed Beef. It's Jones Creek, a company out of western Utah. Is this pervasive at most Walmarts now? Is this becoming slightly main stream, or is the Alamogordo Walmart, as the only real local option, catering to those who seek Grass Fed Beef? I'm curious if this is over in Arizona stores, even those that aren't associated with people on electric scooters.

[big_load]

I picture cattle roaming the aisles. I bet they're hard to scan.

[Al_HikesAZ]

USDA "grass fed"? but not "grass finished". How does WalMart define "grass fed"?

USDA “Grass Fed” Label Claim Leaves Loophole for Confinement

http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/20 ... nfinement/

[SuperstitionGuy]

I picture cattle roaming the aisles. I bet they're hard to scan.

Scanning isn't the problem, its removing the RFID Chip from their ear when the fun starts...

[outdoor_lover]

I have some very good friends that are Ranchers that do nothing but "Grass Fed" Beef...No confinement there...I don't believe that they have any in stores yet, but they do Farmer's Markets and some Delivery....

[big_load]

Moooo! (I never pass up a chance to say "moo").

[azbackpackr]

Will a hamburger made from grass-fed beef give me any less of a stomach ache? I had a beef patty yesterday for lunch, immediate stomach ache. I need to stick to chicken, which is also nasty, how they raise it, etc. And I have heard that "free range" chickens just run around in bigger cages. And, let's see, fish from the Pacific may be radioactive and full of mercury. Bison would be a nice one, I'd love to spice one, but I can't afford it. On the other hand, if I cook the hamburger very well, making taco filling, I don't get a stomach ache. I don't get a tummy ache from pork chops or lamb chops, but only pork chops are affordable.

Maybe I'll raise rabbits--rabbit meat is high in protein and low in fat. But then, when "harvesting" them, you have to bust the cute little bunnies in the head with a bat--not a very pleasant pastime. I could hunt, but I've tried that. It's a lot of work and expense, and your chances of going home empty-handed are pretty high. I have raised chickens in the past, and I'll be living in California at my son's house. He and his wife keep chickens. I like the eggs.

[Jim]

@Al_HikesAZ
http://www.jonescreekbeef.com/faqs.html#q2

That is from the company website. To be clearer, this is not Walmart brand. It seems to be mostly sold in Utah at various grocery stores.

[Jim]

Oh, and there was a local New Mexico ranch or two, and there probably still is, that slaughter their cows and sell the meat at the Co-Op in Las Cruces, but every time I have been over there for the last 6 months or better, they were sold out. I was more or less able to deal with it, as I had supplies of Bison from my travels, but with my travel season down for a while, I don't want to keep going to Las Cruces to find none of the bison or beef I want. It is Walmart, but it is still better than nothing, and the brand seems solid.

However, with regard to the town and shopping for basic things like food, a "C" is only slightly better than a "D", and no one wants to live in an "F" town.

[hikerdw]

Buy direct from a local rancher. I can highly recommend JH Grassfeed.

[Jim]

Sound like the stuff I speak of, may not be in Safeway's, Basha's, Fry's, or the local Walmarts of Arizona?

Oh well, enjoy it while I can, and then hopefully move to where a Wholefoods or equivalent is, so I can buy Bison. Well, I could buy lots up in Colorado, but I find that area too cold for year round living. Perhaps, I should embrace the cow? :bdh: ooops, that is a horse.

[Al_HikesAZ]

and then hopefully move to where a Wholefoods or equivalent is, so I can buy Bison.

You do know that the full name of Whole Foods is really "WholePaycheckFoods"
.

[azbackpackr]

Flagstaff has two new healthy markets. One is a Sprouts and the other one is where the furniture store with the big cow on it used to be--I think it is mostly produce, but I am not sure, haven't been to either one. The cow is still there. My daughter and her friends say that New Frontiers is struggling because the Sprouts and the other place are so much cheaper than the New Frontiers.

[te_wa]

apple fed venison > grass fed beef.

Liz, a fella we met at reavis got a deer and i say the tradeoff/expense is well under a few bucks (pun) per pound. factoring the expense of hunting tag, gas, food, and one bullet for 45 lbs of venison seems fair to me.

that being said, either must be better for you than Pink Slime.

[azbackpackr]

apple fed venison > grass fed beef.

Liz, a fella we met at reavis got a deer and i say the tradeoff/expense is well under a few bucks (pun) per pound. factoring the expense of hunting tag, gas, food, and one bullet for 45 lbs of venison seems fair to me.

that being said, either must be better for you than Pink Slime.

Oh, yes, if you actually kill a deer, but in AZ the success rate for hunters is not very good. A lot of people spend quite a bit of money. We lived in Tucson when we first started hunting. Just to go camping for four of us, that's an expense, plus the four tags, four firearms, etc., etc. etc. Ammo for practicing, lots of that. And we never got a deer. Later on, during a cow elk hunt, we got three cow elk, but then we could not butcher them fast enough (it was a warm day) and had to pay to store the meat in a freezer place. I thought it was a ridiculous waste of elk, time and money, and they taste terrible. I don't like any of the meat, unless it is made into either highly spiced chili or spicy sausage, so you can't taste it. I have tried other people's elk, too, and the steaks are just awful.

My neighbors around here might disagree, since some have big freezers, put in for every hunt, (deer, elk and antelope, etc.) and have time to scout all summer and fall to figure out where the herds are. But I don't want any part of it, ever again. Waste of time and money, IMO, if all you want is meat. Cheaper to buy a side of beef from a rancher, I'm sure. And a lot of these families who hunt also raise a few steers every year.

[Jim]

Oink!

[kingsnake]

I picture cattle roaming the aisles. I bet they're hard to scan.

That's not cattle: Those are shoppers: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com

[Alston_Neal]

@Jim_H
That new place in Roswell should be opening soon. What's it called? Oh yeah, Man O War no More
I've had horse sashimi in Japan it's good.

[Jim]

bit far to go, Roswell. Plus, I have yet to hear a single person say anything positive about Roswell, even those from there.

I was able to get bison in las Cruces. And I found out the stuff at Walmart is cheaper than what is frozen at the Toucan Natural Foods across from the college. That stuff is from Silver City, looked really nice, but it is frozen and pricier. I hope Walmart keeps the meat, as it is a nice convenience.

[Jim]

[ Hikebot removed previous "I love grass fed beef" poster from system as credentials indicated spammer ]

I do too, and I found that there are several local ranches that sell their grass fed stock in the Tucson/ SE AZ area. I won't have the convenience of grass fed Jones Creek in Walmart, but there are options for well priced meat that is what i enjoy. Bison is still very pricy in Tucson, and hard to find. Guess I will have to buy a few steaks when in Santa Fe, NM next week.