> Subject: Re: Lyme disease

> On 08/05/2011 10:33 AM, Kristina Carlton wrote:

> I usually buy a half beef and a whole pig from a farmer who has
> grass-fed cows and pastured pigs.

> On 08/05/2011 8:22 PM, william wrote:

> There is no fat on the grass-finished cow meat that I get, and the
> farmer says there isn't even any on the back in front of the tail.

> I've seen photos of grass-fed swine. There's no fat on them either.

Pigs fed exclusively grass are on starvation diets.  Last year I slaughtered 
3 swine that were exclusively grass-fed on "pasture", and the federal 
inspector who evaluated the carcasses said if he ever saw pigs like that 
again he would charge the owner with animal cruelty.  I happened to have 
visited the farm in question, and the pasture was dry, barren, and very low 
quality, and the pigs had inadequate shade and water as well as being 
malnourished. In general pastured pigs are supplemented with other feed 
and/or have access to other forage:  roots, berries, forest mast, etc. and 
put on a reasonable amount of fat--more than the modern commercial breeds 
bred to be super-lean.  Grass-fed cattle, on the other hand, can put on a 
nice finish (fat cover) depending on the quality of the grass, time of year, 
and genetics of the cow.  It takes longer to grass-finish than to 
grain-finish, but the quality is much better.

So, the fat may or may not be suspect.  The devil is in the details.

Carrie