Pete’s Pastured Meats
At Pete’s Greens we raise animals the same way we grow vegetables... with a conscience. Our animals live out in the open fields, grazing and foraging just as nature intended. They are never given antibiotics or hormones. Animals raised on pasture have more than just freedom from confinement, they have the freedom to behave in natural ways and interact socially. This includes grazing particular plant foods, foraging for insects as well as organisms and minerals below the soil surface... all the while bathing in the open landscape, playing and taking care of one another. When you buy pastured meat you are not only taking steps to ensure your nutritional standards but you are also protecting the environment, improving the quality of life for animals, and supporting sustainable farming and the dynamic farmers that choose to practice it.
Are there nutritional benefits of eating pastured meats?
Pastured pork, chicken and turkeys raised in the outdoors have nutritionally dense meats that are lean. Having access to sunlight, grass, insects and soil in combination with feed allow for increased levels of Vitamin A, D, E and K as well as higher levels of omega-3 essential fatty acids or “the good fat”.
Do pastured meats taste different than conventionally grown meats?
Pastured meats are in high demand from chefs and foodies abound. Animals raised on pasture tend to have a strong, old fashioned flavor and a leaner texture throughout. This is due to diet as well as raising specific breeds that are intended to be raised on pasture and that are known to produce more flavorful meats.
How do the animals fit into the whole farm system?
As if it were not enough for our animals to be happy and produce high quality meats, they also help out in the fields! Our chickens and turkeys start their lives in our greenhouse. As soon as they are feathered-out, they are moved outside to movable fencing and shelters. They are moved onto harvested salad green fields and they clean up the vegetation eating the left over greens, their roots, weed seeds and insects. They also participate in our fertility program by spreading their own manure for us!
Our pigs roam twenty acres of our farm, grazing and foraging. They like to root and can renovate land very quickly reducing persistent weeds, especially those that spread by roots, eating insects and tilling the soil, all the while spreading their own manure for us over crop beds and in plots of cover crops. The pigs are also the lucky recipients of vast amounts of leftover organic vegetables.
Is there certification for pastured meats?
While this term is not certified by the USDA, it is the one phrase you can look for if you want meat that has been raised outdoors on actively managed pasture using the techniques of rotational grazing on nutrient dense forage crops. Since there is no certification process knowing your farmer is the best way to guarantee the integrity of the meat you are consuming.
