What do you know about meat?

I took a class yesterday called Steak 101 at a local market. The market is called Local Yocal Farm to Market. They are a butcher shop and local goods market. The shop is farmer owned by Matt Hamilton who taught the course. He talked about the different cuts of meat and the real meanings of terms like "All Natural", "Grass Fed", "Certified Angus", "Organic", etc. He explained USDA meat grading standards. It was awesome and so enlightening.

Basically, I left there wanting to buy all my beef, poultry and pork from his shop, which I guess was the point. I learned so much about what to look for when buying meat at the grocery store. Here are some key points that stood out to me:

1) The price we pay for organic meat has little to do with the actual product. EVERY step of the process from birth of a cow to the time it is packaged must be clean. In other words, a truck transporting an organic cow must be completely cleaned prior to loading if it has been used for a non-organic transport.
2) "Certified Angus" is a label placed on any cow that is at least 60% black in color. So a cow that resembles a Chick-Fil-A cow could be "Certified Angus" and it's all up to the USDA-trained inspector at the slaughterhouse to make that determination.
3) Pink slime has been almost eliminated from the market as a result of the NBC reports. Only one plant that produces it is still in business and it is suing NBC.
4) Chicken nuggets are the poultry version of pink slime minus the ammonia. The chicken parts are wrapped in edible plastic so that the breading will stick to it.
5) "Grass Fed" and "Grass Finished" are different concepts. A grass fed cow may be grass fed up, but then spend 6 months on grain, corn, etc. before it goes to market. Grass finished means that it is only ever fed grass. Grass Fed is still better than any other classification, but you should ask that question.
6) "Natural Flavorings Added" just means that what you are buying has been injected with broth and water - as much as 16%, so you are paying for water.

On a side note: This shop is so great. It serves as an incubator to vendors who have outgrown the farmer's markets, but aren't big enough for Whole Foods level sales. They sell dairy, eggs, mixes, pickles and just about anything you would find at a farmer's market. I can't wait to go back!