Walmart Organic Grass Fed Beef

Re Walmart Marketplace Butcher Organic Grass Fed/Finished Ground Beef

Just saw this. Imported from Australia. Been feeding it to my sick dog. Looks and smells great. Would like to try it but leery of Walmart. Do you think it is legit?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/85-Lean-15-Fat-Organic-Grass-Fed-Ground-Beef-1lb/49769696

This isn't much of an answer for you, but here goes...

The USDA has very specific rules for for both labels: Organic and Grass Fed. I'd like to think that Walmart, as a publicly traded company, therefore subject to the audit of almost everything they do, wouldn't be stupid enough to use false labeling.

That said, we're talking about one of the last companies to get rid of pink slime in its regular ground beef. Also a company that routinely has class action suits relating to gender bias filed against it. IOW, the company is obviously run by people who figure, "It's legal 'til we get caught."

So, here's my thinking. Grass fed beef has become much less expensive, and much more accessible in the last few years. Just for me, I'm going to give Walmart's gf beef a pass. Paranoia? Maybe. Voting with my wallet? Certainly.

We buy most of our meat from a local abattoir. And, IMO, you can taste the difference between crap meat and good-quality meat if your palate is accustomed to only eating one or the other. I imagine that if you tried it you will be able to tell the difference. I would give it a try just for curiosity's sake. If I didn't like it I could feed it to my dog.

With regards to Walmart's business model and legalities - I don't think they're different from most businesses whose only goal is meeting the bottom line. It's give and take, IMO. They might fall short on ethics in some areas but then, on the other hand, they employ, or have a hand in the employment of, many people. In my city if we were to abolish every large corporate store the city would collapse from unemployment alone. And that does not take into account the residual effect of outside jobs that support Walmart and other big box stores. So, do I love Walmart? Not necessarily but they serve a purpose.

I've been eating Walmart's grass-fed beef for a few years. It's good meat, and the price is excellent. I don't eat it exclusively, but if I find myself in a Walmart I make sure to grab a few pounds.

RedComet wrote:I've been eating Walmart's grass-fed beef for a few years. It's good meat, and the price is excellent. I don't eat it exclusively, but if I find myself in a Walmart I make sure to grab a few pounds.

Ah, good to know. Thanks for your input. I'm in Canada and I'm not entirely sure we even have grass-fed meat at Walmart - I've never seen it if we do. But now I would at least try it.

I will say this for those who are on the fence: It may not be the absolute highest quality grass-fed beef on the market. If you want to be certain that the cow never so much as looks at an ounce of grain in its lifetime, then you might consider shopping for beef elsewhere. It's entirely possible that corners have been cut within the borders of labeling laws. In my experience, Walmart's meat is very good and worth the money, but it's possible that locally-sourced meat will be more, shall we say, "pure", depending on the rubrics one uses to assess their food. Walmart's is as good as the grass-fed beef I've tried from other major chains, including Kroger's, Meijer's, Fresh Market, some imported stuff, etc. Then again, if money is tight, I'm perfectly content to eat CAFO meat, so your mileage may vary!

I really like the organic grass fed/finished ground beef from Wegman’s (Verde Farms) sourced from Uruguay. Think I will stick with it vs Walmart. I used to buy from a local rancher but I always got the hershey squirts with it. I’m thinking their butcher/processor had a hygiene issue.

Sure, Wal-Mart is the poster boy for corporate greed and bad citizenship, but that doesn't automatically translate into inferior or mislabeled products. After all, they buy products from sources just like the other grocers do.

My concern is flying that frozen meat half way around the world when we have a million grass feeding cows right here. Why does the giant HEB grocery chain, proudly Texan, but grass fed beef from Australia? What, no cows, no quality ranchers and processors in Texas?

Labeling can be deceptive. Most beef is "grass fed" until slaughter time is near. Then, what was "grass fed" becomes grain fed. "100% grass fed" or "grass finished" are better descriptions. Be especially careful of "pasture raised".

John Caton wrote:Labeling can be deceptive. Most beef is "grass fed" until slaughter time is near. Then, what was "grass fed" becomes grain fed. "100% grass fed" or "grass finished" are better descriptions.  Be especially careful of "pasture raised".

Good points, John. What's a knowledgeable consumer to do? Even the Argentines are now falling under the spell of the feed lot, I've read. Yes, all beef, lamb, and goat is grass fed through most of their lives. It's those last couple of months that matter.

OnTheBayou wrote:Sure, Wal-Mart is the poster boy for corporate greed and bad citizenship, but that doesn't automatically translate into inferior or mislabeled products.  After all, they buy products from sources just like the other grocers do.  

My concern is flying that frozen meat half way around the world when we have a million grass feeding cows right here.  Why does the giant HEB grocery chain, proudly Texan, but grass fed beef from Australia?  What, no cows, no quality ranchers and processors in Texas?

Agreed. I love grass fed meat but sometimes I feel local non organic/grass fed/whatever is better than organic/etc. from half way around the world.

My beef with Wal-Mart (excuse my lame-ass pun) is the handling I've seen at our local store. I visit or view the return counter, and see carts piled high of returns, clothes and electronics piled high in piles that include meat, milk, etc., things that ought to be refrigerated. I doubt the meat itself is really that terrible but I think the stores quality varies when it comes to the workers (do they give a crap?) and management (do THEY give a crap?) and how closely they follow rules for safe food handling.
Also, people can be hogs. I've seen fresh (not so fresh anymore) meat tucked indiscriminately into non-refrigerated sections of cereals or crackers because someone is too much of a lazy ass to return it to it's original location. Disgusting.
I worked for a very high end grocer that would panic and adjust the temps of the food cases when inspectors arrived. It was insane and made me a picky shopper.