Ahead of my Seven Misconceptions talk (and post), here’s an example.

We’re at the Palo Alto Farmer’s Market where some guy is selling “Guilt Free, Organic” sausages. “Cool,” I think, and ask him where his meat comes from. Sausages are usually mostly pork, so I expect a hog farm somewhere in the Sausalito or Tracy area, all of which are neat, free roaming, and local farms and butcheries.

“Wholesale,” he replies. “Ok,” I inquire further, “where does your wholesaler get the meat from.” He doesn’t know. He doesn’t care, he tells me. “I am a sausage maker, not a farmer.”

This answer is so wrong on so many levels. First, not every cow, pig, chicken, or lamb is created equal. Even within the same breed, pigs do take on and convey different tastes based on feed, location, and raising. “But they don’t use steroids,” he grumps, clearly pissed at my asking him where his meat comes from. Never seen this from any artisan showing pride in their food. In fact, I am not a farmer either. I make food by applying heat to ingredients. Still, I know where my meat comes from. My wholesalers are on the hook for that. I want to know. Not just because I insist on responsible animal husbandry, but also because I take pride in my food and want to know the journey it took to arrive at my stove and your plate.

“I am just a sausage maker, not a farmer” is a cop-out. And, given the sign offering me meat without guilt, a bad one at that. Sure, I don’t have to feel guilty for eating steroid raised animals, but most feed operations have long since gone away from this route, using “organic” but nevertheless inhumane means to raise their meat. It’s a USDA sticker, a higher asking price to shoot for, and usually shuts up buyers and consumers. It’s “organic”, right? Can’t be bad, right?

Here’s my plea. Ask your purveyors about the origins of their ingredients. If they can’t tell you, shop somewhere else. A true artisan knows more about their meat than “I buy it from a wholesaler,” and will happily regale you with tales of different tastes between breeds, the water and soil analysis of their pastures, and more. Frauds will always exist, but those are the easy ways to debunk them, for frauds do not like to talk about their craft. Any real craftsman will, happily, do so for hours.