Beef, humanely

I went vegetarian for a while, mostly for ethical reasons related to how our meat is raised. I've gone back to meat, and will admit that though I try to eat only ethical meat, on my budget I "cheat" way too frequently. My own hypocrisy aside, here is a post from the Daily Coyote about cows and grass-fed (and finished) beef, which is the only kind any of us should ever eat. Grass-fed, which is as opposed to grain-fed, means the cows have been out to pasture eating grass their whole lives (it must also be grass-finished, a cow can be grass-fed and then sent to a feedlot for "finishing," which defeats the whole purpose). Grain fed cattle are those from the infamous CAFOs, which are concentrated animal feeding operations. If you've ever driven through the Davis area in California, you've been by a CAFO. Cows are packed tightly and wallow in their own waste, being stuffed grain (which is not nearly as good for them as grass). The result is a cow inhumanely treated, and on the consumer end it is not only unethical but has 500 times the saturated fat of a grass-fed steer. Writing this is a good reminder to me how important it is to eat ethical meat. I am lucky because in Boulder, I have access to great beef at relatively affordable prices, and it's local to boot. I can also get it in several restaurants, which is a place where people tend to cheat the most when trying to eat ethically. You might not be as lucky, but not only are CAFOs inhumane, they contribute a remarkable amount to climate change--the methane emitted by cattle is toxic for the environment, and more potent that carbon dioxide in it's global warming ability. Grass-fed cattle don't release any less methane, but if we try to eat ethically, we tend to eat less meat, which is better, anyway.
Thanks to the Daily Coyote for posting about this (again), it's an issue I think about a lot.