Where the Wise Foods Are

Bay Area Sources for Wise and Nourishing Traditional Foods

For more information about Wise Traditions Foods and the Weston A Price Foundation, go to www.westonaprice.org.

Free-Range and Grass-Fed Beef and other Meat

Chileno Valley Ranch is a very small operation that has offered a 'cow share' program where customers buy a percentage of a cow when it is still alive (usually either 1/2 or 1/4) and then pay to have it humanely slaughtered, dry aged, and frozen. This is a very economical way to buy a lot of grassfed, local beef and to comply with laws that govern the slaughtering of cattle. Because the cow (or steer) is owned by you, you can have the cow shot on the ranch - minimal stress, very humane -- rather than force the animal to go to a slaughterhouse. Visit their website: www.chilenobeef.com or contact Mike Gale at Chileno Valley Ranch at (877) 280-6664 or (707) 765-6664.

Morris Grassfed Beef: Rancher Joe Morris is from a cattle-ranching family and runs a business managing rangeland and raising grassfed beef. His work focusses on supporting native biodiverse grasses and protecting watersheds, and the fabulous beef is almost secondary to this important environmental work. His beef is available as frozen sides and split sides (ie. half a cow or a quarter of a cow) by contacting Joe directly. Check out their website at www.morrisgrassfed.com.

Contact info is:
T.O. Cattle Company
500 Mission Vineyard Road
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
Tel / Fax (831) 623-2933
e-mail info@morrisgrassfed.com

Highland Hills Farm has 100% grassfed beef from a specialty breed of cattle. The ranch is located near Vacaville, and the cattle are raised on grass alone and finished on grass, all on the ranch run by Ted Fuller. Availability is seasonal and changing. To find out more, check out their website at www.highlandhillsfarm.com

Marin Sun Farms is one of our best and most local sources for grassfed beef. Run by David Evans, the ranches are in Inverness and are modeled on Joel Salatin's approach. All parts of the animal are available, and if you have a freezer you can buy a large amount and keep it frozen - a very economical option. Marin Sun Farms beef is currently available through farmers markets, mail order, and they have a small butcher shop in Point Reyes where you can buy it.

Marin Sun Farms beef and eggs are available at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, Saturdays (8am-2pm) and Thursdays (beginning March 24, 2005) from 10am-2pm. They also sell steak sandwiches and sausage sandwiches to eat. Delicious!

For more information contact:
David Evans
Marin Sun Farms
P.O. Box 1136
11101B State Route One
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
(415) 663-8997
(415) 663-8987 fax
david@marinsunfarms.com
www.marinsunfarms.com

There are lots of other sources for grassfed beef. For more sources and good information about the nutritional benefits of pastured animals, check out: www.csuchico.edu/agr/grsfdbef/

Prather Ranch Meat Company is one of the best local sources for humanely-raised meat. It is a retail business run by Steven McCarthy and Doug Stonebreaker, who source their products from small-scale ranches in California and Oregon that practice old-fashioned, free-range animal husbandry. Their shop in the Ferry Building carries lots of great quality meat, including organic, dry-aged beef from Prather Ranch. Their beef cattle are pastured for a while but are finished on organic barley, hay, and rice. (Steve and Doug claim that early testing of their beef indicates that the CLA and Omega-3 content is right up there with 100% grass fed and finished beef -- but official test results are still forthcoming.) They do carry 100% grass fed and finished buffalo and 100% grass fed and finished 'vitelloni' (free-range veal). Their pasture-raised pork is from hogs kept in Capay Valley where they are fed an eclectic organic diet that varies with what's in season -- watermelons, apples, winter squash -- all from organic local farms. They also have 100% grass-fed lamb from Willamette Valley in Oregon. The Prather Ranch Meat Company has a shop inside the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco and is also available at some farmers markets. Check their website to verify times and locations: www.prmeatco.com.

Western Grasslands beef is available at Berkeley Bowl and Armond's Natural Meats (El Cerrito -- supply varies so you might want to check with them before making a trip to make sure they have what you want).

Organic Pastures Dairy (see below) is also developing a line of grassfed beef that may soon be available at Berkeley Bowl.

For high quality meats and hard-to-find things like rabbit and duck confit, check out the meat market at Cafe Rouge, right next to the Pasta Shop on Fourth Street in Berkeley. 510-525-2707

Poultry

Eggs

Marin Sun Farms sells truly free-range pastured eggs. Many of them come from other small local Marin County farms, and are distributed by Marin Sun Farms. They can be found at the MSF stand at farmers markets, and sometimes at Rainbow Grocery. Check out www.marinsunfarms.com for details about availability.

Three Wise Hens is another fabulous source for eggs. Kyle Pusateri pastures his laying hens on the organic fields of Eatwell Farm, near Davis, supplementing with organic grain. They are truly free range. The eggs are available to Eatwell's CSA members, and sometimes at the Eatwell Farm stand at farmers markets. Check out more here: eatwell.com/community/eggs.htm

I have also been happy with the eggs from:

• Kaki Farm (Berkeley Farmers Market)
• Triple T Ranch (Marin Civic Center Markets)
• Arthur Davis/Ludwig Avenue Farm (Berkeley Farmers Market)
• B'n'B eggs (used to see them locally but not lately)
• Nash's eggs (Ferry Plaza Farmers Market)

Chicken

My favorite stewing and stock chickens are from Marin Sun Farms (see above). The chickens are very free-range and are great for braising or stewing but not for roasting...

My favorite roasting chicken is from Hoffman's Game Birds. Their chickens are available at their stand on Saturday mornings at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Get there early because they often sell out by noon. They also have guinea hens and pheasant. Hoffman's chickens are also for sale at Magnani's, on Monterey in Berkeley (near Monterey Market). Chickens are delivered there Wed and Fri, and they usually have some for sale each day they are open. (Closed Sundays). For more info on Hoffman Game Birds, go to www.cuesa.org/farmsigns/hoffman.htm

Arthur Davis (see above) can sometimes provide you with chicken if you make special arrangements. Ask him when you see him at the Berkeley Farmers Market.

Turkey

The local, humanely-raised Turkey for Thanksgiving is Willie Bird. I'm not sure about availability because my father-in-law always roasts the turkey for our thanksgivings.

Slow Food also has a 'heritage turkey' program for thanksgiving. It is quite pricey but a great way to support old-fashioned, heritage, breeds (biodiversity), small ranchers, and Slow Food. Contact them at www.slowfood.com

Duck

Liberty Duck is a well-known local source for duck.

Do you know of great Bay Area sources for Wise Traditions Foods? Email me and let me know!

For more food & cooking resources, see: Links.