Did you know: Many food even after they are cooked contain some pesticides residue?

According to the Cornell University, pesticide residue is commonly found in animal fat, fruit and cooked vegetable”Consumer Concerns About Pesticides in Food“. Cornell University. Fact Sheet #24, march 1999. Last Update 05.06.03 Web. 04.09.14.<http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/factsheet/pesticide/fs24.consumer.cfm>

Store bought meat could be high in pesticides therefore, it is advised to trim fat off of the meat when cooking. These meat generally come from animals raised in confined areas and fed on grains and antibiotics. Research has proven than these animals fed on grains are easily susceptible to E Coli bacteria than animal that are grass fed. The latter have better immune system to fight the bacteria resulting in meat less contaminated by E Coli. It is better to know where your meat comes from. Meat bought form farmers generally are raised to eat grass, wander outside; In brief they are range free animals or pastured animals. They would consume less pesticides, thus, making their fat recyclable into cooking and deep frying fat. For instance, I used to buy peanut oil for frying, olive oil for cooking, and extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing or eating until too recently I started buying meat(lamb, cow, and pork) from farmers. I used to trim fat off of my meat but when I found out that lard is actually better than most oils bought at the grocery store, I decided to make my own lard since the farmer that supplies me raise pastured pork. Peanut oil is good for frying but is processed therefore could contain some chemical residue as well as olive oil. I use my own lard to make soap, I use it for frying, and I use it for cooking as well. I only buy organic extra virgin olive oil for fresh eating or for salad dressing and butter of course. It is a saving on my wallet in the sense that, peanut oil is expensive and since I fry often and change my oil regularly, I go through 7 liters bottle within a month or so. Additionally, by requesting my pork fat, and bones, less animal parts are wasted and I receive more than 95% of the hanging weight. When I cook steak, or roast meat, I save the fat in a glass container in the fridge along with the meat juice for cooking later or for frying if I have a lot of it. I don’t even have to use my lard for deep frying only the fat from the cooking meat. Grass fed meat is expensive at the grocery store, but by buying whole meat from the farmer you can save more than buying regular meat in the store. For example my farmer sell me the whole pork for $2.50 /lb per hanging weight and the butcher charges about $ 1/lb of hanging weight for butchering, cutting, trimming, and wrapping. Extra cost for curing ham and bacon,or sausage spiced. I don’t request those. I received my bacon sliced, my ham cut into ham roast and steak. I save money no requesting processed food like smoked bacon, ham, & sausage link. They fall in the category of processed food because butchers are required by the FDA to use acid nitrate when processing them. Nitrate is not good to have much in you food either. If you want bacon with wood flavor, start the raw one on the stove to save some fat and finish it on your barbecue grill or smoker with the wood of your choice. At $3.50/lb, you get part of the pork that could have cost you more than that in the store (pork steak, rib eye steak, pork chop, pork rib, bacon, ham…) With the bones, you make your own broth for soup. You save money for not buying broth and you control what goes in your broth as well. When you pay for the whole pork if you don’t want the bones, it would be trashed. Another farmer supplied me lamb couple times at about $2.50/lb by live animal weight before hanging and $1/lb hanging weight for butcher fee. Lamb is more expensive than pork but leaner as well, and cheaper than store bought lamb meat. One of my coworker in the accounting department has a farm and supplied me whole pork at $2.00/lb per hanging weight and $1/lb hanging weigh for butcher fee. She sells eggs as well. I heard that range free chickens lays eggs that is less in cholesterol than confined chickens’ eggs bought at the store. Her parents raise beef and sell at $3.25/lb hanging weight. But I haven’t ordered beef from them yet. At this point I get beef from my aunt -in-law as she has a dairy farms at 3 hours drive away from where I am.

Not only I know where my meat comes from, I know where my oil comes from as well. I even got in touch with an olive oil farmer and bought organic extra virgin olive oil from him at one point but have done in a while but I would go back to that again. This allow you to know the month your olive oil was made. Olive oil is good to be used within a year. Most store bough olive oil doesn’t specify the harvest date on the bottle and most are in plastic bottle. The enemies of oil are air and light. Oil is supposed to be bottled in amber glass bottle. By buying from local farmers, we encourage natural agricultural practices among farmers that haves not switched to the industrial methods yet at the expense of our health.

In conclusion, reduce pesticides in your meat and chemicals in your oils. Buy your meat from farmers and save the fat for your deep frying and cooking. You would eat healthier meat and oil and save money at the same time.

California Olive Ranch Everyday Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 25.4 oz

Crooked Gap farm raise range free animals