Niman Ranch raises meat so naturally that even vegetarians may want a taste
When it comes to sustainable farming and humanely raising animals, Niman Ranch is at the top of its field.
GO NATURAL: Bill Niman, founder of Niman Ranch. (Photo: "More and more of the organic grains and soy currently available in the U.S. are imported from distant lands, mostly Brazil and other Latin American countries. We do not support importing feeds from distant foreign countries, believing instead that any feeds given our animals should, to the greatest extent possible, be grown by our farmers themselves or local farmers. Sometimes this means organic and sometimes it doesn't. But it always means healthy, sustainable farming.”
Comments
No true vegetarian or vegan would eat meat, no matter how "humanely" it was raased!
I am a rancher myself and after having read some of the comments, I have a few random responses to throw out there. Better treatment of animals does not mean nothing dies, but it is very important. Go to a feedlot then come to my family ranch and you will understand. Killing things seems to scare vegans and vegetarians alike, but plants have life cycles too. When harvest time comes, we are cutting short the lives of billions of beautiful, proud plants, just in the midst of the full.... More
The title of this article is insulting and inaccurate. Compassionate vegans know that nothing can justify raising and slaughtering animals simply because people like the way they taste. This type of selfish argument is akin to arguements made by slaveholders who wanted slaves to be treated better, but didn't want to abolish slavery. If people raised their children or animal companions with love and care, are they justified in killing them in the end? Farmed animals feel pain and have emotions.... More
THIS GUY IS RAISING MEAT, THE ANIMALS AREN'T CONFINED, THEY ARE TREATED HUMANELY, THEY ARE HAPPY AND FREE TO ROAM, NOT LIKE YOU VEGANS PORTRAY IN YOUR SICK MADE-UP VIDEOS
I am sick to death of the flesh pushers desperatly struggling to sell people on the idea that it's ok to purposely create other living beings only to take their lives from them in the end. What outright arrogance and transparent greed. The continued exploitation and abuse of animals for profit. And shame on a publication calling itself "Mother Nature Network" for promoting this stupid fad.
Some are desperate - They cling to their old habits and thinking and a few may even succumb to the fairytale image, that animals go willingly to their death. But anyone who uses their "vegan" noodle can see the truth for what it is. We don't "need" to "nicely raise" or "gently kill" these "happy" animals. Without that "need" there is no justification. Without justification there is only cruelty. Negotiating "cruelty" into one's ethical life is not possible. The majority of people can.... More
When land is used to raise animals instead of crops, precious water and soil are lost, trees are cut down to make land for grazing or factory-farm sheds, and untreated animal waste pollutes rivers and streams. In fact, it has such a devastating effect on all aspects of our environment that the Union of Concerned Scientists lists meat-eating as the second-biggest environmental hazard facing the Earth. (Number one is fossil-fuel vehicles). No wonder, when you consider facts like.... More
We all LOVE Michael Pollan research on our food systems and in his book Omnivores Dilemma he covers vegetarianism comprehensively, even becoming one for a period of time before coming to his conclusion that it's not a sustainable alternative to eating meat if everyone on the planet opted for a vegetarian diet.
Jeffrey Davis seems to be confused or he was lied to. How can eating meat that was fed grains be more environmentally sound than the grain itself? Even if the grains come from Latin America, the energy cost associated with growing, shipping, packaging any grain is far superior than the production of animals, ESPECIALLY grain fed animals.
By using such a provocative title, he got more people to read his article but his misinformed statements makes him look biased, uneducated, etc..... More
Niman Ranch used to raise grass-fed beef but now it's production is grain fed. This is not sustainable for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is the energy it takes to produce the grains.
Environmentally, it is better to eat a plant based diet, a fact known to be based in science.
Regarding health, a topic this article totally avoids, Niman Ranch products still have excess amounts of saturated fats, which are known to cause heart disease. A plant based diet.... More
the flippant comments that open this article are truly stupid. As a vegetarian I do not think that an animal should die just to fill my stomach. Meat is nothing more than a luxury for us, it is not a neccessity for our health, and in fact vegetarians who follow a balanced diet have consistently been shown to have a much healthier diet. To kill sentient animals for food can therefore not be justified, and to claim that vegetarians might want some of the flesh product of this farm is ludicrous. .... More
Being vegan isn't about farm animals or their treatment as domesticated animals are always intentionally produced and doomed to live at the hands of humans. Wild animals lost their homes, and we've lost a significant amount of diversity because of all the land farm animals occupy. Sorry, no matter how nice the farm looks, at has come as the expense of wildlife.
All this pointless talk of "humane" meat is a distraction from a simple truth: humans do not need to eat meat to be healthy. Raising animals for slaughter, not matter how it's done, is ecologically destructive and morally wrong.
This is very disturbing. These are living, breathing, feeling animals that have lives that matter to them. I would say, the only humane meat would be if you find an animal that has died of old age or other natural causes, then by all means, eat it.
As soon as a human eats meat, he isn't a vegetarian anymore.
I have never found a good reason to eat meat. And I don't think that I will find it at all. Meat is murder.
And, I guess these animals magically turn into "meat" when their time is up?! There is nothing humane about killing an animal. Killing an animal is harming an animal. It is stealing the life away from someone. I realized this at 15, and never ate another animal. Go vegan!
The modern "animal protection" movement and people like Jonathan S Foer think it's acceptable for humans to use animals as long as they are treated "humanely." The "animal protection" movement have been promoting this for some time and this is an example of the promotion of "happy" meat.
Veganism can solve many problems today. It's the recognition of the moral personhood of nonhuman animals. We must face the fact that where there is one kind of discrimination - speciesism - there will be.... More
I'm a vegan because I do not want to have animals killed!
I do not believe they are here to serve humans gluttonous addiction for eating slaughtered animals. Meat creates a multitude of health problems that a plant based diet does not. A plant based diet provides everything humans needs minus the diseases and killing.
So, the answer to your question is definite "NO!"
The article states that the ranch is known for their "humanely raised meats." Meat is a euphemism, it's animal flesh that the ranch is known for. The Niman Ranch website outlines their Cattle Protocols which describes their "processing" procedures. This use of the word process is also euphemistic. The cows are not processed, they are slaughtered. In describing what the ranch does, we should use the words that best describe what actually happens there: the animals are exploited and then.... More
Niman is a farmer second and business man first. He saw an opportunity for profit and sold stock in his company. His interest in profit out did his desire to produce food a certain way.
He ran a vertically integrated company that was very similar to those denigrated by foodies and regressive agriculture activits. The difference was that he wouldn't share in production costs of the livestock, thus protecting himself from the financial risk.
it seems to me that planting crops for animals to eat/grow, which human animals then eat, is less efficient than growing plants that provide the same nutrition. maybe i'm crazy.
Please see what Alex said... Bill left the company. I think this article is by a lazy reporter who parroted the PR firm that they hired to promote this "happy meat" nonsense. Animals DO NOT want to die to make your taste buds happy, regardless of how "humanely" they're raised. GoVeg.com to learn a lot more why this stance on "happy meat" does not lead to better treatment for any animals. Please drop meat altogether--it's better for your health, the planet, and certainly for animals. Also check.... More
Bill Niman, the founder of Niman Ranch, now does not eat the meat from Niman Ranch. He resigned as the CEO and later from the board because he did not agree with the direction the company was taking. They cut corners to produce cheaper beef. They feedlot finish cows so that the meat tastes a certain way, which in itself increases the methane emissions from the cows.
Read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer -- both Bill and Nicolette are given the platform to speak about their ethics of.... More
