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Welcome to the latest issue of the American Grass Fed Beef Newsletter. In this issue, you will find the following:
* Next Grass Fed Beef Drawing
* Our Recent Crisis
* LA Times Grass Fed Beef Articles
* Grandmother's Pot Roast Recipe
* Jack's Burger Recipe
* Protecting Your Family From Mad Cow Disease
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NEXT GRASS FED BEEF DRAWING
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The next American Grass Fed Beef drawing will be 5/31/03. If you are
subscribed to this newsletter, you are automatically entered into our
next drawing.
If you received this e-mail from a friend, sign up for our newsletter
and enter our drawing at the following web page:
http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/drawing
Good luck to all ! ! !
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OUR RECENT CRISIS
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As usual, last month we were deluged with orders after offering our
newsletter special. A few hours after the newsletter was published,
our family was discussing the logistics of shipping the avalanche of
orders when we got an emergency call about our son, Pete.
Pete has been attending school in South Carolina. He was doing construction work and wanted to burn excess
material using gasoline. He knew better, but...
We
received a call from the emergency room at the local hospital in South
Carolina telling us that they had done all they could for him there and
were flying him to the burn center in Augusta, Georgia. We left
Missouri within 30 minutes and drove 14 hours to Augusta.
We arrived
only a short time before they took Pete to surgery. We found him in good
spirits, but in a lot of pain. He had sustained mostly 2nd and some 3rd
degree burns to his face, arms, hands, and legs.
His injuries were
not as bad as we had first thought when receiving the initial call.
Just hearing that they had to fly him by helicopter to a burn center gave
us a very worrisome drive. Once he was
out of surgery and intensive care we were thankful it had not been
worse.
By Sunday, we realized
our sons left in Missouri would be having an extremely difficult shipping
day on Monday due to such a huge number of orders to get out. Though
they assured us that they could handle it, Mark flew home to Missouri and
I stayed with Pete in Augusta. The Missouri family got all the
orders shipped and I took care of Pete. Now,
3 weeks later, all 8 of us are together in Missouri. Pete has
recovered remarkably well and we thank God.
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LA TIMES ARTICLES
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AmericanGrassFedBeef.com was recently reported to be "one of the
prime places to buy" grass fed beef in the LA Times. We
welcome the Californians who have joined us this month because of the LA
Times articles.
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GRANDMOTHER'S POT ROAST RECIPE
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Our family tradition of grass fed beef pot roast goes
back at least 3 generations and has served as the base of family Sunday
dinners for as long as I can remember. As a child I loved to spend
Saturday nights with my grandmother.
I remember her rising early in
the morning to get Sunday dinner cooking before church. After
church,
the extended family would all gather around the table for this meal we
shared together each week.
My family of 8 still makes
pot roast as a special shared meal. Every time I prepare pot roast, I think of
my mother and grandmother who taught me their family recipes.
Below
is my grandmother's way. I asked her once to write the recipe out
for me and her written rendition is a precious heirloom to me. Of
the old school, who never measured any ingredients, she wrote as she spoke
and added pinches and smidgens of things. I hope my modern
adaptation of what I learned watching her will warm your heart as it does
my family's.
3
T flour
1
t salt
1/2
t fresh ground pepper
3 lb grass fed beef roast
3
T lard, olive oil and butter, or coconut oil (your preference)
1
lg. onion
3
med. carrots, sliced
1
stalk celery
Herb
packet: parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme all tied up in
cheesecloth
2
C beef stock (homemade best)
1
T arrowroot or cornstarch Mix
together the flour, salt, and pepper, and dust the beef. Heat oil in
Dutch oven until fairly hot. Brown the meat on all sides. Add
onions, carrots, celery, herb packet, and beef stock. Cook
(covered with lid) in oven 275 for 2-4 hours or until tender. Turn meat over
after 2 hours. When
tender, remove the roast and herb packet. Mix the cornstarch or
arrowroot in a small amount of cold water then add it to the broth to
thicken (optional). Variation:
A wonderful variation known as Beef Bourguignon is to replace half the
beef stock with dry red wine. When doing this I add 1lb fresh mushrooms.
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JACK'S BURGER RECIPE
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My oldest son Jack loves to cook and is a balsamic vinegar connoisseur.
Everything he cooks is likely to have a balsamic vinegar flavor.
Luckily our family likes balsamic vinegar so his passion is enjoyed by
all.
These are his favorite burgers.
4 lbs lean grass fed ground beef
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms (chopped fine)
1 lg. onion (chopped fine)
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T fresh minced garlic
1 t Celtic sea salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients. Form into hamburger patties. Grill until done.
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PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY FROM MAD COW DISEASE
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Our grass fed beef sales have soared
since the discovery of mad cow disease in Canada this month.
When events like mad cow or E.coli hit the news, families seek
trusted sources for their beef.
Historically, mad cow has never been reported
in cattle which are totally grass fed. The outbreak in Britain and
Europe which occurred 15 years ago has been linked to the practice of
using animal by-products in feeding. As a veterinarian, I know
that providing cattle with their God designed diet of grass and forage
using natural farming practices results in the safest beef for families.
We
have received many questions in the last couple of weeks concerning the
Canadian report and about Mad Cow Disease in general. We have
put a summary of these questions and facts together to help our readers have a better
understanding.
What
Is Mad Cow?
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), known in vernacular as Mad
Cow Disease, is one of a group of transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSE). These
transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative, fatal diseases affect the
central nervous system of many animals including man and cause
neurological symptoms. These
diseases include BSE in cattle, Scrapie in sheep, Chronic Wasting Disease
(CWD) in elk and deer, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans among
others.
What Causes Mad Cow?
The causative agent for these diseases have not been proven
exactly, however, numerous theories exist.
The leading and most accepted theory is that the diseases are
caused by a prion (a protein particle).
Other theories involve a virus, Spiroplasma bacteria,
organophosphates, magnesium, aluminum, and the autoimmune system.
The greatest attention has been given to BSE when evidence in the
1990’s linked it to nvCJD (new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease).
CJD has been recognized with worldwide distribution for at least 80
years and usually has an onset in 60-70 year olds. New variant CJD
(nvCJD) was only recognized in the last decade and has been the
form linked to BSE. It has been seen in young people and even
children.
Though
not proven how, BSE may be spread to humans. Evidence indicates that nvCJD
has occurred after consuming BSE-contaminated cattle products.
Evidence has also indicated that the transmission of BSE to humans is only
possible with the consumption of brain, eyes, lymph nodes or spinal
tissue.
The outbreak of BSE
in cattle, which occurred in Britain, is believed to have started from the
feeding of Scrapie-contaminated sheep meat and bone meal to cattle.
This outbreak was then made worse by the practice of feeding
rendered bovine meat and bone meal to young calves.
What is being done to prevent
the disease from occurring in the United States?
In light of the BSE case reported in Canada this last week, US
agencies moved quickly to prevent any chances of BSE or nvCJD in this
country. To date there have been no reported cases of Mad Cow or nvCJD
in the United States.
All
imports of cattle or beef from Canada have been blocked pending further
investigation. This action is
in addition to the regulations, which were put in place in the mid 90’s.
These included blocking cattle and beef imports from all of Europe,
requiring that all cattle showing any neurological signs upon USDA
inspection be tested for BSE, prohibiting the use of most mammalian
protein in feed, recommending that animal tissues used in drug products
not come from a country with BSE, exclusion of blood from donors spending
more that 6 months in England and funding research.
What can I do to protect myself and my family from
Mad Cow?
The biology of TSE
disease is just starting to be understood.
In the absence of facts, it is easy for paranoia and fear to
overcome. What is the bottom
line on the safety of consuming beef in the United States today?
The following guidelines are aimed at what you can do to protect
yourself and your family from possible exposure to BSE prions in beef.
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