The other day, I was talking to a friend about her eating choices. She calls herself "mostly vegetarian" because she only eats meat from animals who she knows were not mistreated. Now, personally, I have a "to each his own" attitude when it comes to other people's choices, so this post is not meant to say that she is wrong for choosing her food the way she does. I am an animal lover, too. I don't think there is any excuse for mistreating animals, so I can totally understand where she is coming from here.
Where my understanding for her choice stopped, is when the topic of grass-fed beef came up. She said, "I would be interested in buying grass-fed beef!" Without knowing or seeing where these cattle were raised or how they were treated throughout their life, she is totally on-board with grass-fed beef. There seems to be a disconnect for some people between how a farmer chooses to feed his/her cattle and his/her treatment of those animals.
"Grass-fed" or "organic" are not synonymous with "well-treated." Can they be? Sure. Can conventionally raised cattle be well-treated, too? Absolutely. I grew up on a cattle farm where our cows were fed grain. Today, I live on a farm that raises grass-fed cows. And do you know what? I have never mistreated any of my cows, on EITHER of those farms. (Really, if you ask me, cows LOVE corn! Those grass-fed animals are really missing out on some yummy food! But, the people want grass-fed, so we give them grass-fed.)
I don't think my friend is the only one who assumes things like this. I think it is a large part of the reason some people choose to buy food based on these labels. If you really want to buy meat from animals that you know were treated well, get to know a farmer and buy your meat directly from them. Better yet, trust that farmers love their animals and ANY meat you choose to buy will fit your criteria. I think it is a noble thing to want to know where your food came from, but choosing labels like "organic" or "natural" or "grass-fed" will NOT guarantee you "happy cow" meat. It simply isn't the same thing.
