I had another out to eat experience this past weekend that left me wondering if it is even possible to eat sustainably raised meat outside of NYC. Colin and I met his parents for lunch in Poughkeepsie, NY and went to a nice restaurant on the waterfront. Looking at the menu, which had a good variety of plant, meat and fish options, we decided to ask the waiter if he knew where the meat was bought. The waiter acted as if this question had never been asked before! He left our table and returned with the manager. Upon asking the same question to the manager, he was dumbfounded and wondered why we wanted to know and what specifically we were looking for. When we explained that we wanted me that was either bought from a local farm or butcher, the manager said, "we get our meat from various sources, do you want to know if the meat is organic?" I know that produce grown organically cannot contain certain pesticides and is environmentally better, but I didn't know what the standards for organic meat are. In looking at the USDA definition (http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml), it appears "Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones." I don't see anything in the definition about how the animal was fed, though I assume it could not have been a heavy corn based diet or else it would have needed antibiotics. I also see anything related to how the animal was slaughtered. Upon hearing the meat was not "organic" Colin opted for a veggie sandwich of mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and cheese, while I had the salad and minestrone soup. The sandwich was amazing!
The conversation about eating in New Zealand and Australia came up during lunch and I have not researched what farming practices these two countries use. I know the issues related to industrial agriculture in the U.S. and have seen the photos and video footage of the cattle feedlots out west (you can see these two if you search "CAFO photos"), but I'm not sure if these exist in New Zealand. I will have to be on the lookout as we explore the south island. It will be more of a challenge in Australia as the country is so large. A brief web search on CAFOs in both countries did not turn up much, so on our journey there in just over a week, perhaps we can ask people where their meat comes from.
