Have you jumped on the natural meat bandwagon?

In an ever health conscious world, it's little wonder that natural meat products are a hot topic in the food industry these days. You've probably seen it at your supermarket, labeled in a number of ways. It may state “all natural”, “organic” “minimally processed” or “no artificial ingredients”. Although the different labeling makes for a confused consumer, nonetheless the natural meat market has grown from just over $100 million in 1996 to about $3 billion today and retailers report that the market for organic and natural meat is growing faster all the time.

High-end restaurants, big chains and small neighborhood cafes are all jumping on the natural meat bandwagon. Consumer demand, safety and health concerns are driving this market and for good reasons.

As natural meat is raised better, there's no question that truly natural meat is superior in flavor, tenderness and has a definite clean taste and texture. The difference is outstanding, and is worth the higher price. Additionally, it's is salty enough that you really don't need to add anything extra which is another plus point for going natural with your meats.

Animals grown for the natural meat market are known as “free-range” which simply means they are given lots of room to roam around. They are not kept in crowded pens or forced indoor living quarters. Free-range animals are not given antibiotics or growth hormones which means that they're free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, and animal by-products. If the free-range label does not state “no growth hormones or antibiotics”, ask your butcher to be sure. Raising animals in open spaces and feeding them quality foods, such as whole grains and organic (pesticide-free) grass, costs the producer more, so the price at the market will be higher too.

So to summarise why natural meat is better for your health and safety is to say that it stands to reason that if no growth hormones or antibiotics are injected into the animals, this means they're not going to enter your body when you consume the meat either. This is very good news because there have been cases of cancer diagnosed in humans which were determined to be “hormone driven” which means the cancer may have resulted from hormones consumed in meat and dairy products. This makes a very strong case for a switch to natural meat products wouldn't you say.

There are also concerns with the antibiotics fed to animals that may lead to reduced effectiveness of antibiotics prescribed by your doctor.

Other research has shown that animals fed with animal by-products pose the risk of Mad Cow Disease, which is a wasting disease of the brain. This single fact has given the natural meat market a big boost in consumer demand since the mad cow scare some years back.

The confusion caused by variations in labeling needs to be addressed. Definitions do not accompany the label, so it's hard to know what “organic” means as opposed to “all natural”. How about “minimally processed”? That evidently means “not enhanced”! The meat industry is working to straighten out the confusion with some straightforward meaningful labeling, and as many of us know, sometimes the compulsory labeling on food products is like trying to read in a language that's alien to us.

Until this labeling improves for the benefit of the consumer, when looking for natural meat, ask your butcher. He knows his suppliers and can tell you whether it contains growth hormones or antibiotics, and if the animal was fed animal by-products.