The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, has an excellent article discussing humane alternatives to the conventional slaughter of beef and to commodity, feed lot raising of commodity beef. (Janet Zimmerman and Sean Nealon, "Food Safety: More Consumers Seek new Options; Alternatives gain attention," The Press-Enterprise, Sunday, March 2, 2008, A1.) The article highlights two huge cattle operations, the Prather Ranch in Northern California (15,000 acres, herd of 4,000 beef steers) and the Brandt Ranch in Brawley, Imperial County, Southern California (4700 acres, herd of 100,000 beef steers).
The Prather Ranch is a member of the association of Humane Farm Animal Care. The Ranch slaughters, in its own slaughter house, only 25 beaves a weeks for regional farmers' markets and a few specialized food markets. "Every Tuesday in the slaughterhouse ... butchers on the kill floor stand silent a moment before making meat of two dozen steers that eventually will be served on dinner tables across the West." The moment of silence is inspired by a quotation, framed on the wall, by Temple Grandin, " 'I believe that the place where an animal dies is a sacred one.' "
Thirty percent of the herd at the Brandt Ranch (i.e., 30,000 head) is raised "natural". They are slaughtered in the Ranch's own slaughter house which utilizes humane methods of slaughter pioneered by Temple Grandin. Workers at the Brandt slaughter house have "to sign a statement reinterating that the Brandt company has a no-animal-abuse policy and that workers abusing animals will be terminated and reported to authorities." The Ranch raises its own alfalfa, using manure from the cattle to fertilize the crop and natural biocontrols, such as lady bugs, to control aphids.
The article accurately defines and distingishes the USDA regulated lables, "natural" and "organic", for beef and cow dairy. Illustrations. Photographs.
A video of the Brandt Ranch in Brawley accompanies the article. The video has excellent coverage of the composting, fertilizing, and biocontrol for the alfalfa crop.
Comments