Cows Are Basically a Plant-Based Food (A Farmer's Hot Take)

Every now and then we get fan mail from a vegetarian about our beef. Which sounds like a contradiction, but here we are. Hot take incoming: cows are basically a plant-based food (they only eat plants), and the whole conversation about vegetarians eating grass fed beef is a lot more interesting than the internet wants it to be.

The Vegetarian Fan Mail

This was a chaotic week on the farm.

First we were going to make hay. Then we weren't. Then we were again. Then we tried it and the rain came early.

Then we were bringing cattle to the butcher. Then we weren't. Then we were again.

This meant a lot of running around, changing plans, and making calls from the truck.

That's not the end of the world, you just get the job done.

That's showbiz baby.....

But I did get out of my sit-down-and-spew-email-fire-from-my-fingertips routine, and I was getting worried that a couple days on the bench might have dulled my skills.

So this afternoon when Jesse and I got back from taking a look at 50 yearling steers we're hoping to buy this fall, I sat down at my desk and told myself that NO MATTER WHAT it was email time.

"Listen up Josh, you're gonna put on Bat out of Hell and write something good no matter what else happens. Turn off your phone, ignore your wife and child for however long you have to, conjure inspiration out of the ether and turn words into full freezers like a ****ing professional."

My inner coach is what you might call "stern but fair".

But then I took a spin through my inbox and realized that I didn't have to do any of that hard stuff where I "come up with an idea".

Instead, I can just take the easy way out....

Because we got a new review.

When a vegetarian eats a burger from your meat and doesn't need anything on it to be delicious, you know it's good meat. I quit eating meat in 2015 when the World Trade Organization decided we should remove the Country of Origin labels from grocery store pork and beef. I said no more. Until one of my daughters found you. You're close by and your meat is wonderful! Thank you! - Robin

Booyah!

Fan mail from a Vegetarian!

The holy grail of beef testimonials!

Vegetarians Eating Grass Fed Beef: The Pattern

Over the years we've had a hit or miss relationship with our vegetarian and vegan friends.

Some of them despise us and leave fake 1 star reviews about how we started a nationwide mad cow disease epidemic, but use the same username that they use for their very aggressive vegan Instagram account that they've been using to spam our posts, thereby allowing us to get their verifiably false reviews easily removed.

While others really appreciate how we do things.

My own lovely wife, Amelia, is a former vegetarian.

Our customer service manager, Nicole, was a VEGAN!

Now, am I playing a little fast and loose with their life timelines here? Sure.

Did they try our beef, see the skies part, gaze into the glory of an eternity eating grassfed beef, and immediately convert to full blown Dirty Dog Farm proselytizers? Not exactly….

But is it still cool that we're building a little quorum of former vegan/vegetarian fans? Absolutely.

Why a Cow Is Basically a Plant-Based Food

It's kind of an honor. We jive with a lot of the underlying concerns that drive people to a plant based diet: animal welfare, environmental impact, etc.

I just think quality animal products are very close to completely essential for human health. And that we can positively impact the land we manage (in a way 100% plant based diets cannot). And that animals can be loved, respected, and also consumed for food. And that that relationship causes very little cognitive dissonance to both the animals and to human cultures that modernity hasn't fully sundered from production.

Also, technically, our cows eat 40+ different plants on our pastures. They are 100% grass-finished, no grain, no silage, no industrial feed. The whole animal is, in a very literal sense, plants converted into protein and fat. So if a vegetarian wants to take comfort in the joke that grass-fed beef is basically a plant-based food, we will not argue with them.

Worth contrasting that with what most beef in this country actually is. Grocery store beef is the output of feedlots, grain finishing, and industrial processing. The animal welfare and environmental concerns that push people toward plant-based diets are mostly downstream of that system, not of beef itself.

What Former Vegetarians Tell Us

Anyway….

It's a fun little pat on the back when someone who has at least some of those concerns signs off on your beef. Especially when they also mention that IT'S DELICIOUS.

After all what's the point of all this if it doesn't taste great?

If you want to see how we actually run the farm:

• How we raise our cattle
• It's as if you've never actually tasted meat before

Reserve a Beef Share

If you'd like to order 100% Grass Fed so good even vegetarians can't resist it…..

Reserve a Half Share (free chest freezer included)

Your Farmer,
Josh

P.S. Even though I had great source material, I still put on Bat out of Hell to write this and goodness that album is good for productivity. Next time you need to get something done, Meatloaf is your guy. And when "For Crying Out Loud" comes on and you want to cry and drink a beer and stop working, just give it a chance because the payoff in the second half is huge, trust me…...