Produce Is Seasonal. Why Not Meat?

Photo by law_keven/FlickrCC

As warm weather creeps in, our thoughts naturally turn to what follows: the re-emergence and growth of things green. Many of us will return to toiling in our gardens and begin eagerly anticipating the pending arrival of bounteous harvests at our local farmers' markets. We know that strawberries and asparagus will be among the earliest treasures, that blueberries and green beans will start showing up mid-summer, and that the growing season will wind down with bushels of apples and squashes. The seasonality of fruits and vegetables--while obscured by the unchanging, year-round offerings of supermarkets--is at least still vaguely understood by most Americans.

But turn to the topic of meat and suddenly many people will give you a blank stare. Meat (along with dairy, fish, and eggs) has become widely regarded as something that should be available and unvarying 365 days of the year. The one exception to this is wild game, which is generally understood to be more abundant and in peak condition at certain moments on the calendar. The expectation that foods from farmed animals will be uniform throughout the year is logical because, to the extent that farm animals are raised in metal buildings with artificial lighting and fed mass-produced feeds in automated systems, the foods they produce will be quite uniform. And bland. Such foods will no more reflect changing seasons or regional terroirs than do the flavorless, hard strawberries available in supermarkets in January.

If we are seeking something better from our food and our food system, however, we must begin regarding meat and other foods derived from animals as among foods that have a season. That's because the most environmentally sustainable, humane animal farming is based on grass. Like other vegetation, grass has a season of plenty, a time of growth, reproduction, and then retreat. The best animal farming is based on, and in harmony with, those cycles. All animals--cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys--benefit from being on pasture. Time spent on pasture gives an animal exercise and fresh air, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. It also tremendously enhances to flavor and healthfulness of the foods they produce.

Here on our ranch, we raise cattle, goats, and heritage breed turkeys. Cattle and goats are ruminants who can get all the nutrition they need from naturally occurring vegetation, and our cattle and goats spend all of their time on pasture. Turkeys, like chickens and pigs, are omnivores and cannot live on grass alone. But they graze extensively when given access to pasture, and it keeps them healthy. Our turkeys begin spending time on pasture when they're about 13 weeks. It's fun to watch them rip into the grass, peck the ground for seeds, and hunt for bugs. We believe that the time our turkeys spend on pasture helps tremendously to keep our flock healthy. We also believe that the food we produce is healthier and tastier because our animals live on grass.

Raising animals this way means that there is a season for their meat.