Answering Your Important Questions

As a new customer, it takes some trust to switch to buying your food from another farm. Usually by the time you have come to us, you have been disappointed and frustrated with your previous health food store, or on-line buying program’s lack of transparency, or you are growing more aware of what your priorities are and what real food is.

The integrity in our American food and farming system has become underwhelming.

We noticed from your questions that you are a highly intelligent shopper looking for the best quality food for your family. It’s sad that we have to do so much questioning to find a quality farm that raises real food like pastured meats and raw A2/A2 cheeses.

Shopping Can Be Very Confusing

75 years ago, there would have been no need for questioning because all farms were organic, pasture raised, chemical-free, hormone-free, vaccine-free. Milk cows were mostly A2/A2, hardy heritage breeds and only raw milk was sold.

Today, many farms and grocers hide their practices or change their protocols as they grow to extend profits. For example, some farms begin as local or grown in the USA and as they cannot keep up with the customer demand they begin cooping other farms, even farms from New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania.

Farms and stores might use misleading language like “Natural” which means it came from the earth. Well everything came from the earth. Even petro-chemicals would be “natural” by this definition. Words like “raw”, “grass-fed”, and “free-range” have been debased to the point that it takes an email to the farm to find out exactly what they mean and most of the time, these emails and phone-calls do not get returned which gives you your answer.

We are happy to walk you through our protocols and procedures to build your confidence and understanding of the way we roll.

Our commitment is to be completely transparent and continue to improve our sustainable farming practices and environmentally friendly packaging whatever the cost. We know that the health benefits far out way the financial costs, especially when you are looking at high medical bills from eating fake foods.

Picture of Chemical Spraying

Here are a few of the questions you have been asking and our answers:

Q: What is Grass Fed Beef?

A: Before WWII, there was no such term as organic, because most farming was organic. Cows were raised on pasture, like wild buffalo and fed hay in the winter months. There were little herbicides, pesticides, and no GMO grains. No antibiotics. No vaccines. During WWII the government and industry began experimenting with nitrogen, which was a fuel for bombs and an herbicide (Agent Orange) for killing forests. They also experimented with genetics to produce more aggressive soldiers and larger farm animals. The Allied governments began subsidizing farmers to grow food in this way and even shamed you for not being patriotic if you weren't willing to produce poisoned food. In England, farmers were even heavily fined or their land was confiscated if they didn't farm using chemicals. We now know that this was all propaganda and traditional pasture farming practices are coming back into popularity and humans are getting healthy again like our ancestors. At Simply Grassfed, we implement traditional, pre-WWII grazing practices.  

Picture of Holstein Udder of mass production

Q: What is A2/A2?

A: In the past, there were only A2/A2 cows. These were the original genetics that produced healthy, hardy cattle that lived well off of grass and produced milk that was similar to all other mammal milk, even human milk. A2/A2 milk digested well and had the most health benefits as you can see in the health of our ancestors. Then, farmers began to breed cows for traits that produced the largest quantities of milk and were best suited to eat grains, without consideration to quality or the cows or our human’s health. This was to maximize yields and profits and sacrificed quality. Most of the healthy A2/A2 cows were bred out of the industry leaving many mixed A2/A1 breeds. Fortunately, a few remaining conscious farmers have been selectively breeding back in the A2/A2 trait and these cows are beginning to grow in population again. All our cows have been genetically tested and are A2/A2.

Here is our A2/A2 Jersey herd

Q: Why don’t you sell Ribeye Steaks?

A: We do. Only we have labeled it Delmonico in the past having surveyed our New England clients, this is what you call it. Now that we have the farm in Virginia, you southerners call it a Ribeye. We responded to your feedback and renamed this item the Boneless Ribeye (aka Delmonico). So, now when you search for either Delmonico or Ribeye you are directed to this item. Click here to purchase.

Our Question to You:

Q: We are committed to using recyclable packaging material to keep foam and plastic out of the landfills.

In the Summer months, your order (especially if it is a small one) will arrive thawed or partially thawed and fresh under 42 degrees just like if you brought it home after shopping at the farmers market. We had one customer suggest just use styrofoam in the Summer and the recyclable the rest of the year.

A: Please give us your feedback. What would you prefer? Offer both options? Either way, you can refreeze your order when it arrives in the Summer. Click here to submit your feedback to this question or any other feedback that you might have to help us better serve you.

Click here to read the Q&A’s on our Simply Grassfed FAQ page. And, keep asking!

Please don’t hesitate to ask us questions. It is your questions that continue to challenge us to learn and grow towards becoming as sustainable and healthy as possible on our family’s farms. 

Connecting Food & Health,
The Simply Grassfed families