I recently had the joy of visiting Fortune Red Label Beef at Yandina.
I am a big fan of grass fed beef as opposed to grain fed beef. I think it is a far superior meat in both texture and flavour and not to mention a far more ethically raised meat. I like to be reassured that my meat is happy meat, and in that I mean that they were happy cows, roaming freely, eating naturally and enjoying their short lives until they wind up on our dinner plates, so where my beef comes from is very important to me.
Fortune grazes beef cattle with an essential point of difference which makes their already superior meat even more so. While the cattle roam freely on the property, their diet of grass is supplemented with organic barley shoots which is delivered to the paddock in a purpose built feeder. This allows the cattle to put on additional bulk without compromising their freedom.
I loved it. Along with grazier Mieke Fortune and the dog, I caught a ride out to the paddock, where we were greeted by some pretty happy and healthy looking cattle that plucked away at their barley shoots until they were pretty much all gone.
So here we have the best of both worlds; grass fed and bulk normally only achieved through grain fed practices.
Now, I could go on and on about how I feel about grain feeding, but I think you get the message – for anyone having trouble grasping what grain fed means – it is the equivalent of what battery chickens are as opposed to free range chickens. There are some differences, but in a nutshell that is the comparison. Unless it is specified that the grain fed cattle is free range, it will have been ‘feed lotted’, meaning that they are fed copious amounts of grain in a specialised feed lot. Think of how you feel about eating meat from cattle crammed into small spaces so they can barely move with a diet of predominantly grain (if they are lucky), until they are fat, unhealthy and exhausted from standing in the sun in their own squalor – pretty miserable existence if you ask me. This is the reason why I am so passionate about promoting grass fed beef. I don’t want to eat beef reared under those conditions, and there are numerous reports coming to light on the actual nutritional value of this meat – which is not positive. Many people have the false impression that grain fed meat is better for you – but as far as I am concerned, this is just a marketing spin. I grew up on a beef cattle farm and personally believe that feed lotting/grain feeding is not only unnecessary, but inhumane – but that is just my opinion. I suggest you read up on the facts and then make up your own mind.
This is why I love what Fortune is doing; it equates to ethical, happy and good quality meat. Rant over…
Fortune retails its meat direct to the public, but this means that you are restricted to ordering meat in large quantities; ¼, ½ and whole beast (meat). In the name of market research I purchased a ¼ of a beast to take home… and experiment with. ‘Awesome’ pretty much encapsulates what this beef tastes like in every sense of the word.
A quarter beast is a lot of meat and will pretty much fill up the freezer (big one), but I love this method of purchasing and even more so, the method of utilising as you are forced to utilise all of the cuts of meat and this equals no wastage. I found myself making all sorts of things so as to use all of my cuts and all of it was fabulous.
Additionally I did a price comparison to supermarket meat and the savings were huge. While you cannot really compare the quality – Fortune’s meat is far superior to what would even be the best cuts of supermarket meat, which incidentally is predominantly, if not in fact all, feed lot (grain fed) meat.
What I have received even more joy in seeing, is local restaurants taking on the challenge of utilising the whole beast. One restaurant in particular, Wild Rocket @ Misty’s in Montville, has incorporated Fortune’s beef into their menu, and yes, they are utilising the whole beast which is fabulous.
So l am a happy camper. Getting the opportunity to visit Fortune Red Label Beef and meeting Mieke, who incidentally is one amazing woman, was fantastic. Mieke has an incredible insight into innovative farming practices and has the best interests of her livestock at heart 100% of the time – there is no compromising on her integrity when it comes to the quality meat and ethical farming practices. To me that means everything.
To order or find out more about Fortune Red Label Beef visit:
http://www.fortunebeef.com
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Local Harvest
To find out more about the Sunshine Coast’s regional growers and producers visit:
www.localharvest.com.au
Please Note: Repost from May 28, 2011 – Local Harvest – The Sunshine Coast and Surround’s Regional Food Directory
