If you do not eat red meat at all you can ignore this tirade…or maybe not.
I was perusing the latest issue of Gourmet magazine because it’s the annual cookie issue and I’m always looking for kewl new treats to make.
Another article caught my eye, however. It was entitled “Raising The Steaks” by Barry Estabrook. IN this article he talks about the wonder of $175 entrees of Kobe steaks, specifically Kobe steaks from cattle raised in Japan as opposed to Kobe steaks raised in the US. The lore behind Kobe beef raised in Japan is that the animals are kept in Zen-like conditions, getting daily massages, all the grain they can eat washed down with a cold Kirin beer.
The truth, which is hard to come by as Japanese farmers are loathe to allow any outsiders on their farms, is somewhat different. The animals are actually kept in a crate from the time they are a week old for up to three years old, rolling around in their own manure. Cattle are social animals so this confinement makes them bored and they go off their feed. This causes their stomachs to stop working and the way the farmers get their guts working again is feeding them beer. Without exercise, the cattle get huge and their joints swell up and turn arthritic. They are kept this way until they are ready to be harvested. Nice, huh?
American farmers are much more humane. The cattle are allowed to roam. The calves are kept with families until they can be weened off.
Now I have never eaten Kobe beef from anywhere – sorry, it’s not in my food budget. But if I did I would make damn sure it’s not imported from Japan.
Another great Asian import story to add to the list….
Oh man…that’s an eye opener. I’ll take my beef from the good ole US of A thank you very much. Suddenly I am not very hungry at the moment…
But a cookie would be nice
Oh man…you’re killing me! You made more cookies? I’m hopeless…LMAO
crimony, it’s worse than veal!
presonally i am all about the venison….don’t get much more free range than that!
I’ve watched shows concerning Kobe meat but never something like you described. I guess they gussied it up a bit for the Food Network or Discovery. That made me ill~ Perhaps in their next life the farmers will come back as a cow, not in India, but in sweet beer drinking Japan…
An interesting tid bit I did not know~ Alton Brown said that a rib roast was the same as prime rib only it didn’t get the “stamp”. I tried it last week and to me was just as delicious and at a HUGE price savings. I loved Alton…
Alton Rocks!!!! Wish I got Food Network so I could watch him more…
Veal, Foie Gras, Kobe, chicken sandwich, calamari, it’s all something I can no longer bear to eat!!
I am not a strict vegetarian, or a righteous asshole, but I’m finding it harder and harder to justify eating meat at all for most people. I know some people need a little, but the amounts we eat in this country?? Crazy!!! And selfish as Hell.
it’s also environmentally unfriendly, when you consider the resources needed to raise a cow, compared to an acre of wheat or soy.
Vast tracts of land in Brazil have been cleared of trees to grow beef, too. That’s one of my main peeves about it, but don’t get me started!!