Some consumers think naturally-raised beef should cost the same as corporate farm beef

Thursday, January 22, 2004 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: beef industry, bovine growth hormone, cattle ranchers

https://www.naturalnews.com/000825.html

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On a slightly different topic, this story includes a quote from a consumer who says he would only buy "natural" beef if it were the same price as beef raised on hormones. I think a lot of consumers share this thoughtless approach to purchasing beef products, which just goes to show you how little people really understand about the economics of food production and marketing.

Beef produced with hormones, antibiotics, crowded feedlots and other questionable strategies will always be cheaper by the pound than beef that comes from free-range, organically raised cows. Why? Because it costs money to treat cows with decency. It takes more time for cows to grow to a ready-for-market body weight when they're not pumped full of steroids. When you buy organic beef, you're not paying for the meat as much as you're paying for the ethical approach to producing that meat. You're paying for good karma, honest ranching practices, and for the respect of an animal that's providing you with food.

In contrast, when you buy meat produced the corporate way, with all the antibiotics and hormones, you're subsidizing what can only be called an industry of evil: a for-profit effort by individuals to exploit living creatures (cows) for their own financial gain, with absolutely no regard for the experience of the animal, the impact on the environment, nor the health of consumers.

In other words, cheap beef may be easy on your pocketbook, but it weighs heavily on your soul.