When it comes to Americans, there are two things that we are very serious about; our money and our food. In the meat and potatoes society that we live in, we expect top quality meat for our hard-earned dollar. Unfortunately, with the changing times the old school method of purchasing quality meats at your local butcher are long gone. Today most Americans purchase meats at the local conglomerate grocery store that purchases its meats from large corporate meat distributors. The majority of the time, we don’t want to take the time to make a second shopping trip to a neighborhood meat market, if there even is one in the vicinity. Thankfully, there are now online micro meat purveyors that will provide you with meat so fresh that you would swear it was cut at a neighborhood meat market and it’s available from the comfort of your home with just the click of a mouse.

The Comparison of Meat Packers and Micro Meat Suppliers

Of course, it is easy to assume that the meats purchased from a mega meat distributor are top quality for your dollar. However, let us not assume before making some comparisons. First let’s take a look at the source of the meat:

• In meat packing companies, animals are often raised in a factory setting.

• The animals are often injected with hormones and antibiotics at the distribution centers to ensure larger cows for heartier beef portions.

• The cows do not receive the care and medical testing from veterinarians that is required to ensure their good health for processing.

• Cows are slaughtered violently.

• The meat is cut in an assembly line.

• If an aging process is used, cuts of meat are all packed into an aging box for three weeks and then removed at the same time with no individual concern.

Meats are also often stored in large meat lockers for an undetermined amount of time which makes the meat lose flavor and nutritional value. Most of the time meats have been stored in these lockers for close to a month before they are shipped to customers like grocery stores where they again sit in a refrigerated cooler before a consumer finally purchases it.

Back in 2004, mayhem ensued when a major corporate meat distributor in Oregon processed beef from a dairy cow infected with mad cow disease. Mistakes like this can happen more often in major meat packing plants than in a small business that specializes in the personal touch.

Smaller meat and steak companies have the luxury of better tending to their products than larger companies. For instance:

• Cows are often raised on a farm or some other synonymous natural setting.

• The animals are not given any hormone shots or antibiotics so the meat is in a natural state.

• The animals are under the care of certified veterinarians to ensure that they are raised in good health for consumer consumption.

Micro meat provisioners also have a fresher take on meat processing. The meats are generally hand-cut like a classic butcher and are stored using temperature, humidity, and air flow to dry age the steak to perfection, which results in flavorful tenderness. With micro meat and steak companies, time and great care are taken to deliver a quality of meat that one cannot expect to purchase from a meat packing facility assembly line.

So, whether your dollar is better spent with a corporate meat packer or a specialty supplier boils down to quality versus quantity. All of the meat will certainly meet FDA requirements. So, if you don’t mind ingesting factory-cut meats that have been injected with hormones and stored in a meat locker for months, then you can definitely purchase more for your buck in a grocery store. However, if you want the meat you place on the family dinner table to have a higher nutritional value, be more natural, succulent, and savory, an online micro meat purveyor can offer great quality and pricing for the value of your dollar.