Here’s your shortlist for ethically raised animal products, in your area or for online shopping
Use the links below to seek out local farms selling fully pastured meats, eggs and dairy, as well as mail order options for those who need them. Although I’m an advocate of supporting local farms, eating the freshest possible foods and reducing the carbon footprint, mail order pasture-raised meats (and some dairy products) are a great option if you don’t have access to these products locally.
It’s even a convenient way to get some of these products if you do, but simply don’t have time to make it to the right butcher or to the farmer’s market every week. Of course if you can get these foods locally, you should. But by all means, if this is the only way we’ll get pastured meats on your plate, then so be it. You’ll still be supporting a sustainable and ethical producer, while providing yourself and your loved ones with food that’s nutritionally and environmentally sound.
Find It Local
Eat Wild is your best bet for finding local pasture-based farmers that will sell directly to you. This is not online shopping, but an indispensable online tool. The farm database lists more than 1,300 farms and is the most comprehensive source for grass-fed meat and dairy products in the United States and Canada. Producers listed on Eatwild certify that they meet Eat Wild’s exacting criteria, assuring that their animals and the land are both well-treated, that their products have exceptionally high nutrition content and are free of antibiotics or added hormones. Products include: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Veal, Goat, Elk, Venison, Yak, Chickens, Ducks, Rabbits, Turkeys, Eggs, Milk, Cheeses, Produce, Nuts, Berries, Wild-Caught Salmon and more.
Real Milk is a resource organized by the Weston A. Price Foundation. In addition to meat and eggs, it’s your best bet for finding raw milk in your area. Again, not online shopping, but a tool that will allow you to find both pasture-based farmers and food buying clubs within their listings. This is how my needs for raw dairy and affordable pastured meats were met for many years in NYC. It will vary from location to location (as I’ve witnessed in CA), but in New York the prices of meat and dairy are nearly comparable to retail conventional foods. Most anyone can afford to eat this well! Do it. Search North America and beyond.
Get It Online
Grassland Beef a.k.a. Wellness Meats, provides fully pastured meats of all varieties (beef, lamb, pork, rabbit, bison, poultry), Kerry Gold Salted Butter (not raw, but fully-pastured!), some wild fish, lots of high quality snacks (including some incredible jerky!) and even odds and ends like tallow candles (much cheaper than soy candles) and Raw Cashew Ice Cream. Their food selection top notch, their website is easy to navigate and they’re good people.
Organic Pastures sells some of the most delicious pastured dairy I’ve tasted. Their (unsalted) butter is fresh and sweet and their Quephor, a kefir made from colostrum can’t be beat. Their dairy comes from fully pastured heifers and is completely raw. Unfortunately they can only ship their raw milk and butter products within the state of California, but they can ship cheese since it’s been aged over 60 days out of state.
