You enjoy your animal protein, but you want to eat responsibly. Is there such a thing as “sustainable meat” – and if so, where can you get it?
Here’s your Planet Detroit guide for being a carnivore with a conscience in Metro Detroit.
What is “sustainable” meat?”
Farmers and grocers that call their meat “sustainable” generally refer to various methods that prioritize environmental best practices, animal welfare standards, and human health.
These practices can include raising “free-range” animals, which refers to untethered animals moving freely, with access to sunlight and nature.
“Sustainable” can refer to animals who feed on grass rather than eat grain – a term known as “grass-fed” – or do not receive any growth hormones or antibiotics in their diets.
The term can also refer to farms with animals that graze on pastures free of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals; or to farms that grow a diverse variety of crops and plants in a given space rather than a “monocultures” of single crop species growing in an area at a time.
Jason Rowntree, C.S. Mott professor of sustainable agriculture at Michigan State University, and co-director of the MSU Center for Regenerative Agriculture, said the term “sustainable” has a nebulous definition.
“To me, sustainability is producing food in a way that not only sustains our environment but improves and regenerates it now and for generations to come,” he said. “Despite its blemishes, the meat industry provides low-cost protein for 300 million people. Unfortunately, a lot of unintended consequences have arisen from this production model.”
Animal agriculture significantly impacts climate change, contributing approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Key sources include enteric fermentation and manure management. In the United States, this sector accounts for a substantial portion of the 10% of national emissions attributed to agriculture, driven primarily by methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from feed production.
The problem with conventional meat
Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other agricultural chemicals are also associated with elevated cancer risk. They are coming under greater scrutiny for their links to endocrine disruption and reproductive dysfunction. The use of antibiotics in animal agriculture is thought to be one of the factors driving the increase in antibiotic resistance in humans. And agricultural chemicals degrade degrade ecosystems ecosystems, with monocultures eroding biodiversity among both plants and animals.
Animal welfare organizations, such as the Animal Welfare Institute, claim that animals raised in conventional farming’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, are treated inhumanely, due to living in confined, crowded, unsanitary spaces.
Sustainable meat practices, on the other hand, have been shown to result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, make the environment more resilient to the impacts of climate change, provide animals with more humane conditions and provide more nutrient-dense food for humans.
But where can you get “sustainable” meat in Metro Detroit?
As it turns out, quite a few places. The following is a sampling of the farms, butchers, and grocers in the region that offer sustainable meat options, including purchasing options and a snapshot of prices.
Where to find ‘sustainable’ meat in Metro Detroit
Marrow Detroit Provisions
Locations: Detroit (West Village), Detroit (Eastern Market), Coming soon: Birmingham, MI
Since launching Marrow Detroit in 2018 as a combination butcher shop and restaurant, owner Ping Ho has led her company – now with multiple new locations in the works – with the vision of building a sustainable food system in the Great Lakes region.
All Marrow products are sourced from farms in the Great Lakes Region “whose practices show a respect for the land, the environment, and the well-being of their animals,” according to Marrow’s website.
“We all acknowledge that commodity meat is really dangerous and bad for the planet,” said Sarah Welch, Marrow partner and executive chef. “We’re trying to do something different by using farms that are regenerative, small, and sustainable.”
Marrow farm partners include Moraine Park Farms and Modreske Swine Farms in Zeeland, Michigan; Albright Swine Farms in Coldwater, Michigan, and Otto’s Chicken in Middleville, Michigan. Marrow visits all of its farm partners to confirm soft handling practices, quality animal housing and diet, and animals’ access to exercise.
Marrow Detroit Provisions products are available at their butcher shop on Kercheval Ave. in Detroit, in Eastern Market’s Shed 2 every Saturday, and in about 20 Metro Detroit grocers, including Westborn Market, Randazzo Fresh Market, and Plum Market (for a full list, visit their website). Marrow also offers subscription packages for beef, pork and lamb processed in a variety of options between steaks, roasts, and sausages available for in-store pickup.
Price Range:
Bacon: $15/lb.
Chuck roast: $16/lb.
New York Strip $28/lb.
Delivery or Pickup: Pickup mostly; some local Detroit delivery available (check website)
Subscription Packages:
Huron Provisions Pack: $60 per pack, a total of 4-5 lbs. of meat.
Superior Provisions Pack: $105 per pack, a total of 9-10 lbs. of meat.
Website: www.marrowdetroitprovisions.com
Western Market
Location: Ferndale, MI
A staple for Ferndale grocery shoppers since 1983, Western Market offers a meat selection for a variety of budgets. Among the offerings are locally sourced, sustainable meat of every kind of animal, including pork products from Grand Rapids, turkey farmed in northern Michigan, and Amish chicken raised in Indiana.
“One of our biggest goals is creating a minimum amount of waste,” said Alex MacColl-Artrip, assistant manager of Western’s Meat Department. “Instead of everything arriving already trimmed and packaged, which generates a lot of extra packaging waste, we get these giant pieces of meat and trim them ourselves,” he said. “That trim will be used for absolutely something, whether it’s sausage, hamburger grinds or whatever else.”
Price range: Amish chicken: $3.49-3.99/lb.
Bacon from Grand Rapids: $7.99/lb.
Ground turkey from northern Michigan: $4.99/lb.
Delivery? Not currently.
Subscription packages? Not currently.
Website: http://westernmkt.com/
RC Organic Farms
Location: Lenox, MI
It doesn’t get more locally raised or family-operated than RC Organics, a fourth-generation family farm in Macomb County. Certified organic since 1996 and solar-powered since 2011, RC Organic Farms raises animals “the way nature intended, on green grass and sunshine,” according to owner Jackie Good.
Good sells whole, halved, or quarters of animals, although items such as chicken wings, drumsticks, and ground beef bundles are also available. Customers place pre-orders through the website preorders and pick up at the farm. Freshly processed, pastured poultry will be available from June through October, and to be replaced by pork and lamb in the fall.
Price range:
Whole Roasting Chicken- $5.99/lb.
Cut-up whole Chicken ( *8 pieces) $6.99/lb.
Chicken wings $7.75/lb.
Half pork: $475 (approx.)
Delivery or Pickup: Pickup only
Subscription packages: No ongoing subscriptions. Accepts pre-orders until supplies
run out.
Website: https://rcorganicfarms.com
McElroy Farms
Location: Detroit People’s Food Co-op, Detroit
McElroy Farms is a cattle ranch in Hillsdale, Michigan that produces grass-fed and finished beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork. Established in 1989, the McElroys raise their animals on 600 acres of pastures with a grazing rotation model that they say mimics that of ancient buffalo on the Great Plains. The McElroy’s say this method has restored the soil after its early years as a conventional crop operation that used pesticides and fertilizers.
The McElroys started their online retail store in 2015 and saw their customer base grow during the Covid pandemic, when “people began to give more thought to where their food comes from,” said Melanie McElroy, daughter of founder Stephen McElroy and Retail Manager for the farm. They currently serve around 300 regular customers through home delivery and at the Hillsdale Farmers Market.
The opening of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op in May marked the first time their products have been available in a grocery store setting. They will also soon open Mel’s Farm Stand in Eastern Market, as well as their Melway Burger pop-up with made-to-order burgers a la the famous Metro Detroit burger joint Telway.
McElroy said she hopes to continue to build a farm-to-city pipeline that bypasses middlemen and enables more people access to quality food. “When you look at Michigan from the sky, the majority of it is green and blue,” she said. “It’s an agrarian state. Why should anyone here go hungry? Why should any farmers go broke?”
Price range:
Rump roast: $8/lb
Ground beef patties $11/lb
NY Strip: $24/lb
Ground breakfast sausage (pork): $11/lb
Grass-fed beef sampler (1 lb ground beef, 2 NY strip, 2 boneless ribeye, and 1 chuck roast): $100
Delivery or Pickup: Delivery available to most of Michigan’s lower peninsula, including
Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties; Flint, the Downriver area and Ann Arbor.
Subscription packages: No formal subscriptions but online orders are open year
round.
Website: https://mcelroyfarms.grazecart.com/
Pure Pastures
Location: Plymouth, Mich.
Pure Pastures owner Garry Kuneman. Photo credit: Pure Pastures
Pure Pastures is a grocery store offering grass-fed, pasture-raised beef, pork, buffalo and lamb; free range, soy-free, chlorine-free chicken and turkey; fish from the Great Lakes and more. Inside the store, shoppers will find blown-up photos of some of the source farms on the wall, so that “people can see where their food came from and the environment the animals are living in,” said owner Garry Kuneman.
Kuneman said he buys from 20-30 farms, the majority of which are located in Michigan. These include Garno Farms in Adrian, Mich., Polish Heritage Farm in Cedar, Mich, Jake’s Country Meats in Cassopolis, Mich.
Price Range:
Ground beef: $8-$11 per lb.
Bacon: 8.99-10.99 per lb.
Poultry: Bone-in dark meat starts at $2.69/lb.
Skinless breasts start at $7.49/lb.
Delivery or Pickup:
Delivery available to a 10-15 mile radius of the store, will go further for large orders.
Subscription Packages: Not currently.
Website: https://www.purepasturesmi.com/
Farm Field Table
Location: Ferndale, MI
Brothers Matt and Mike Romine founded their butcher shop Farm Field Table in 2016 in response to a problem they faced as chefs and restaurant owners: Finding locally raised, non-GMO, grass-fed meat was nearly impossible. The Romines have established relationships with local farmers whose practices align with their high standards for local, healthy, quality products through their Ferndale shop.
“We purchase things in a flavor-first perspective, and it’s the happiest coincidence ever that animal welfare, human health, and environmental sustainability all contribute to a better tasting product,” Matt Romine said. “When animals are getting enough exercise and living a healthy and enjoyable life, they’re developing muscles and, therefore, developing flavor.”
Farm Field Table offers two monthly subscription packages. They also have a butcher store selling virtually every part of the animals they butcher, spanning a wide price range depending on the cut.
Price Range: Chicken breast $9.99/lb., Bacon $10.99/lb., Hanger steak $22.99, Wagyu Ribeye for $64.99. lb.
Delivery or pick up: Delivers to all 50 states.
Subscription Packages: Both monthly subscription options include 8-11lbs of hand cut steaks, bacon or breakfast sausage, poultry and pork cuts. The Curated Butcher Box is $149/month and includes pro chef tips and unique recipes. The Custom Butcher Box, which customers build themselves, is $159/month. Delivery frequency and family size are adjustable.
Website: https://farmfieldtable.com/
Beaverland Farms
Location: Northwest Detroit
Since opening Beaverland Farm in 2015, owners Brittney Rooney and Kieran Neal have used their 2-acre property in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood to raise crops using various sustainable urban agroforestry techniques. Although Beaverland is mostly a produce operation, Rooney and Neal offer summer poultry as a stand-alone purchase and as an add-on to the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) produce club. Where do they source the poultry and why is it green or sustainable?
Beaverland chickens are pasture-raised, roaming freely within protected enclosures called chicken tractors, which keep the birds safe from harsh weather and predators. Each day, the bottomless enclosure is moved so that chickens have fresh grass to forage for bugs and grubs in the soil. The chickens are raised without antibiotics, steroids, or added growth hormones.
This summer marked the debut of Beaverland’s farm store, where Neal and Rooney sell their wares, including chickens, Wednesday through Saturday (check the website for hours).
Price Range: $20-$25 for a 4-5 lb. whole chicken; $4.50/lb. for chicken breasts.
They offer mostly whole chickens.
Delivery? Pickup only at Beaverland Farms on designated days.
Subscription Packages: CSA model (Pre-season subscription).
Website: www.beaverlandfarms.com
Fairway Packing
Location: Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
Fairway Packing specializes in land-based protein, including beef, pork, lamb, veal, and poultry from high-quality, ethical farms in the U.S., including Creekstone Farms in Nebraska, Bell & Evans in Pennsylvania, and Niman Ranch – a network of 600 small, independent, Certified Humane family farms. A third-generation company, Fairway Packing began seeking out farms that prioritize the humane treatment of animals about 25 years ago, according to Co-Owner Emmet Baratta.
“One thing that Fairway does different, is we’ll actually go out to our farms,” he said. “We have our own specs that we want our animals raised by, we want them all treated a certain way. Not only do they have to be sustainably raised, but they also must carry a certification for humane treatment and be hormone and antibiotic-free.”
After decades of operating out of their small processing facility in Eastern Market, Fairway opened their Steak Shop in Grosse Pointe Woods – the same city where they grew up – in May 2022. There, shoppers can purchase hot dogs and sausages, Wagyu beef, and everything in between.
Price range:
Dearborn all beef hotdogs: $6.99 for pack of 6
Chop House 100% Beef Burger: 11.95 / half lb.
Imperial American Wagyu Ribeye:
Delivery or pick up: Both available.
Subscription packages: Choice, Prime, Wagyu, and Piedmontese subscription sampler packs are available.
Website: https://fairwaypacking.com/