Hi :)

[MoonStalkeR]

I was browsing this forum and came upon a lot of good info. I live in NYC (Brooklyn) and was born in Ukraine. I have serious health conditions with too many symptoms to list which are a result of medicine, attempts at diagnosing them were pointless and only worsened the problem. About a year ago I began consuming raw animal foods, but this was usually limited to raw eggs, they alone made a big difference along with unheated honey. I rarely ate raw meat products so far but plan to increase intake when I find a good source (always craved them).

If possible, can anyone recommend good sources of acceptable raw meat providers in or around NYC (beef, poultry, fish, shellfish) from which I can buy or order?

[TylerDurden]

Here's a link:-

http://www.eatwild.com/products/newyork.html

A large number of people buy from States quite far away from them  such as Slanker's farm in Texas, or NorthStar Bison somewhere in the northwest(?). It seems that farmers markets are usually pretty bad in the US, as far as raw grassfed meat is concerned. It means paying delivery costs but I wouldn't be surprised if most of them are cheaper (and far better) than Wholefoods.

[MoonStalkeR]

Thx for the link, I checked it out. Out of those farms, my only choices so far are the ones who can deliver, wouldn't this result in the meat being frozen?

[KD]

Most farmers markets i've seen do suck, especially the ones where I live now. In NYC however the Union Square market has some pretty good options for this lifestyle. There is at least 1 unfrozen grass-fed meat supplier, but when I was living there he often did not show. There is also a 100% pastured pork guy there who I really like, but you might want to avoid messing around with that for now. Ocassionally there is good seafood there but it is expensive. There are a few other suppliers there, some of them have only frozen, but you can sample some organs and other things that way before deciding to make an order. Theres a market in the east village (Commodities Natural) that used to have a great selection of grass-fed red meats and chicken.

it seems like the brits don't understand that most don't have butcher shops in our towns where one could get grass-fed trimings and such. I don't even think NYC has a full sale butcher that I know of that has grass-fed meats. I'm sure there must be, but I never found out where.

[djr_81]

http://www.grazinangusacres.com/
Dan Gibson runs the farms much the same as Joel Saladin does at Polyface. Very back to basics, 100% grassfed, beautiful meat. He has a stand in Union Square on Saturdays and a stand in Brooklyn on Sundays. Click on the "Where to buy" tab of his site to find the exact locations.
The meat is frozen but is great quality. It's your call if you will eat frozen or it needs to be fresh.
Either way welcome to the forum.

[MoonStalkeR]

Thx for the welcome. KD you're right, I was avoiding raw pork for now. Fresh seafood (fish) is a problem too, right now I eat bad quality, frozen, unfresh "sashimi grade" tuna, most of it is unchewable tendons making it a big piece of tuna-flavored gum. The Grazin' Angus Acres sounds good, I'll look into it if I have a chance.

[TylerDurden]

Thx for the link, I checked it out. Out of those farms, my only choices so far are the ones who can deliver, wouldn't this result in the meat being frozen?

  Don't worry re the frozen issue, it's not that bad. Freezing does reduce the taste of the meats, and results in loss of nutrients(therefore eat the meat immediately after it thaws as that's the point where a lot of the nutrient-loss occurs).

[TylerDurden]

it seems like the brits don't understand that most don't have butcher shops in our towns where one could get grass-fed trimings and such. I don't even think NYC has a full sale butcher that I know of that has grass-fed meats. I'm sure there must be, but I never found out where.

  Umm, actually while we do have butcher's shops, very few if any UK RPDers buy from them. Most butchers sell only the very lowest quality grainfed meats that are available, and organic or wild game butchers are hideously expensive. It's a lot cheaper for us to visit the UK farmers' markets which are generally of a much higher quality and FAR more RPD-friendly than the ones in the US. 

The key is to buy direct from the farmer as it's always cheaper nearer the source as the farmer doesn't have to take extra retail-costs into account when determining the prices of his raw grassfed meats.

[KD]

Maybe it was wrong to use a generalizing term, especially when you were the only one who replied on this thread, but I've seen many posts and 2 PMs to myself from people in britain about obtaining fat from their butcher and why not I do the same. But really my point as you say is that in the US (and I suppose in most of Britain) it is impossible to get almost all things other than muscle meat, unless one has a direct connection to a farmer or is ordering from afar, with some rare locales stocking some things in stores.

[TylerDurden]

One can get liver and kidney from one of the many very low-grade butchers but that's about it, really. You would have to make a special order for other organs, which few butchers want to bother with, etc.. If a few UKers are indeed buying from butchers ,they either want to buy low-grade meats on the cheap and don't care if it's all grainfed, or they are being ripped off when buying even more expensive grassfed meats from a high-grade butcher. It's simply foolish to buy from local butchers.  Only buying direct from farms or via farmers' markets makes any sense at all. Sure it may involve a tiny bit more effort re phoning in orders or turning up at a market every so often, but it saves money in the long run and it's a healthier way.