The New York Sun has made a resolution to eat more steak. Not just any steak, mind you, but steak from "progressive beef," raised in a way that's healthier for you and for the environment. As we learned from reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, cows are not supposed to eat corn; they are ruminants, and as such, should be eating grass. Due to a glut of corn and government subsidies, we have taught our cows to eat corn, which is not particularly good for them, health-wise. Grass-fed beef is the purest of the "progressive beef" out there, but it's not always so easy to find.
Try your local greenmarket, to start. For example, the folks at New York Beef sell their wares at the Union Square Greenmarket on Mondays and Wednesdays, but you can order online as well. Read your menu -- many restaurants (especially the "haute barnyard" types) often tell you a great deal about their beef, and will definitely let you know if it's grass fed. If you can't find 100% grass fed beef, you may be able to find beef that is primarily grass fed, then finished with grain. Brgr, one of the recent additions to the burger joint trend, uses Montana Legend beef, which is raised on grass, then finished with granola rather than the more traditional corn. Niman Ranch, which supplies a great deal of hormone and antibiotic free meat to New York stores and restaurants, starts their cows on grass, then finishes with a barley, corn, wheat, soy, molasses and hay mixture.
So for those who want to include eating more beef as one of their New Year's resolutions, we say, go for it, but consider eating "progressive beef" if at all possible.
