The All-American Meal

While trying to eat more healthfully and more sustainably, meals like burgers and fries seem to go by the wayside. Not purchasing factory-farmed meat and avoiding deep-fried genetically modified golden Freedom Fries can be an impediment in enjoying an occasional indulgence like this. However, with a few minor adjustments (and education), this meal is well within reach.

It is unbelievably easy to be apathetic about a concept such as how meat is produced. When I have tried to talk about those close to me about why I am striving to become a locavore and the topic of meat comes up, I have heard, "Oh, don't tell me! It's really gonna gross me out!!" on several occasions. Now, I'm not trying to be preachy and I feel that I am generally pretty unassuming in the presentation of my points. But I will take my opportunity now to step up on my soapbox and hopefully (when I actually have readers), I can educate some people about making appropriate food choices.

CAFO's, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, is likely where your meat comes from when you go to the supermarket and pick up a pound of ground chuck to grill some delicious burgers. These operations place tremendous stress on the animals, not only by forcing them into an intolerable living space, but by injecting them with growth hormones, dosing their feed with antibiotics, and forcing them to trudge around in an exorbitant amount of fecal matter. The videos that floated around the internet a few years back of people doing absurdly inhumane things in order to get animals to stand for long enough to slaughter them were not an isolated incident. This happens all over the country, and these animals are the origin of the meat you buy. Yum!

Purchasing local, free-range meat accomplishes several things. First, you are supporting local farmers who desperately need help in this era of enormous commercial farms. Second, you have more of a direct connect with the ecosystem than with commercial meat. Third, you can generally ensure that the animals were treated humanely during their life and are free of residues from antibiotics and pesticides when you actually eat them. The origin of the ground bison for my burger, pictured below, is a small farm just outside of Stevens Point. Amanda and I have passed by on our bikes before, and it is quite reassuring to know exactly where this meat came from.

In lieu of deep-fried french fries, I baked some thin slices of sweet potato until they were crispy and delicious.

If you want to read more about why you should avoid factory-farmed meat, I recommend Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, What to Eat by Marion Nestle, and Grub by Anna Lappe and Bryant Terry.