Meal Assessment

Meal Assessment Paper

For dinner, I had hamburger steak with potatoes, a side of broccoli and carrots, and some cotton candy grapes for dessert. The organic grass-fed ground beef was purchased from Costco and it comes from their distribution center in Tracy, California. The beef is sourced from United States, Canada and Australia suppliers. Half of the United States and Canadian cattle are grass-fed and all of the cattle raised in Australia are one hundred percent grass-fed (Inside Costco 92-93). Costco has a beef plant in San Joaquin Valley where they test the meat and then it is delivered to Tracy. Costco then transports the beef on trucks and deliver it to the nearby Costcos. The meat is constantly tested for different bacteria and pathogens to ensure the safety and quality. Costco has strict protocols and food safety is very important to them. Organic ground beef does not have any added hormones or antibiotics. Although it it is organic, that does not mean that it is grass-fed and vice versa, grass-fed is not always organic.

The potatoes were purchased from Safeway and it comes from a distribution center in Stockton, California. Potatoes are the prominent vegetable crop in the United States (USDA) and about 7.5 billion pounds of potatoes are produced annually within the United States. Idaho produces the most potatoes because of the warmer weather conditions. California is the ninth largest state producing potatoes.

The broccoli was purchased from Safeway. California produces about ninety percent of broccoli for the United States. Specifically, the Monterey County grows year-round and produces

the most compared to any other county (AgMRC). Monterey County produces about forty percent of broccoli. Greenfield, California used to be known as the broccoli capital before they stopped having their Broccoli Festival. Broccoli consumption has increased twenty percent over the past thirty years. Some of the benefits of broccoli are that it has a lot of vitamin c, vitamin a, high in fiber, calcium, and folic acid. Surprisingly, there is more vitamin c in broccoli than an orange (California Farming).

The carrots were also purchased at Safeway. Eighty-five percent of the country’s carrots are grown in California. Within California, there are four production areas for carrots consisting of San Joaquin Valley, Imperial County, Los Angeles County and Monterey County. Carrots are good sources of vitamin c, dietary fiber, and more. In addition, according to the US Department of Agriculture, carrots are valued at $5oo million.

A company called, Grapery located in California produces cotton candy grapes using organic based fertilizers without any additives, GMO, or infusions. Grapery applies compost under the vines and use fertilizer with humic and amino acids. To enhance the nutrition of the vines, they also use seaweed in the spray to fend off diseases and pests. Grapery ships their grapes to the grocery store where I then purchased it at Safeway.

When looking at grass-fed beef, it is more expensive than industrial raised beef. According to a study by researchers from Chico State University, grass-fed beef contains more vitamins A and E, healthier omega-3 fats, lower in calories and up to seven times the amount of beta-carotene (CNN). According to the USDA, the total amount of beef consumption within the United States is continuing to decrease because consumers are being more health conscious

about the amount of meat they are eating and environmental benefits. A professor at Tufts University says that there is not much of an advantage of the omega-3 fats in grass-fed beef. If people continue to associate that grass-fed beef is better for their health, this may lead to overconsumption (Washington Post). Grass-fed beef is sustainable because there is less fossil fuel use, not producing grains, and less pollution.