South Africans?

[Bronwen]

Hi - Any South African paleos on this forum? Especially in the Gauteng / East Rand area. Just wondering where you get your meat.....

[dillis14]

Hi Bronwen.  I am in Gauteng, live near Meyerton, travel to work to Melrose North. Often in East Rand.  I am only wanting to start RPD, but dont know where to get grass fed beef from.  I have three hens, and they lay beautiful grass fed eggs.  I could get more chickens, and they will be grass fed.  Where are you getting your meat from?
Cheers. Dillis.

[Bronwen]

Hi Dillis - great to connect with a fellow South African - I was starting to feel quite lonely here! At the moment I have just been getting grass-fed beef and lamb and ostrich from Woolworths. Not exactly cheap, but it's all I've managed to find in the month since I started this. Haven't tried any farmers markets or organic markets yet tho. Not doing chicken as I don't have a desire for it. Have done some raw egg (free-range from WW) before I started the raw meat, as a sort of transition, as I had been raw vegan for many years before this, so it was a big step! But have gone off the egg now, just doing raw meat.

WW lamb is all free-range and not fed routine antibiotics, which is also something to be aware of when choosing meat. If you buy a forequarter bulk pack of lamb it is much cheaper than the smaller packs. Their ostrich isn't labelled free-range, but isn't fed routine antibiotics. The beef you have to look for the ones specifically labelled free-range and not fed routine antibiotics. They only stock a small selection of thick-cut steaks and lean mince, in this category. The rest of their beef I am unsure of, as it doesn't have all the 'good labelling' I am looking for.

Good luck, and let me know if you find any other sources in the meantime.

[TylerDurden]

I wonder what raw, 100 percent grassfed ostrich egg tastes like! I tried a raw (grainfed) ostrich egg from WholeFoods in the UK, but it wasn't much better than a raw, grainfed chicken egg re nutrition.

[Bronwen]

I'm not sure whether the ostrich I mention is free-range or not, but my feeling is that it isn't, as its flavour was much blander than beef or lamb.Disappointing, as I was hoping for something a bit 'wilder' tasting. i left some of it in the fridge for a few days, and its taste improved tremendously, so I might do that occasionally for a bit of variety until I can find other sources.
But I agree, I would love to taste ostrich that has truly run wild and free and eaten its natural diet. Don't know about a whole ostrich egg tho - they are enormous!!

[andvanwyk]

I can confirm that the Ostrich is not grass fed at all. It is completely grain fed and they are kept in feeding pen thingies, like other animals. A friend of mine has done the research about the woolworths foods. By the way I would be very very careful with raw chicken from Woolworths if you ever in the mood to try it. I got horribly sick one time eating it.

With regards to eggs, buy the free range pick n pay eggs rather than woolworths. They seem to be of a higher quality. The woolworth eggs' yolk is completely yellow while the pick n pay ones are a deep orange (which is a sign of good quality I'm told).

I live in Cape Town and by going to various farmers markets and asking around I've managed to get some good sources of meat. I order half a sheep once a month (it's about 10kg) for R48/kilogram from a health shop in Somerset West. It's free range and no antibiotics etc. The meat is absolutely fantastic, and I get all the different cuts like ribs and necks and leg etc.

There is this other guy who I order all my grassfed beef from, who I met at the old biscuit mill market that runs on a SAturday. It's a lot cheaper than woolworths and million times better quality. I literally never buy woolworths beef or chicken anymore. This guy's chickens are amazing, they are super strong and awesome. You can just see by the size of their bones and their bone structure that they are far superior. My sister bought some free range woolworths mince the other day and we made a bolognaise from it. The quality difference is ridiculous, it tasted horrendous compared to what I'm used to now. We have some good meat in South Africa,but need to try find out where to get it! This guy has gotten me beef hearts, kidney, liver, lamb liver, lamb brains, bone marrow, suet and muscle fat (R5 per kilogram for fat lol), and various other cuts of meat. His brisket is only R42 per kg. You can eat cheap if you know the right people. I'll find out from him if he knows anyone in Gauteng that gets meat from the farm like he does.

[dillis14]

Hi Bronwen and Andvan Wyk "?",
Thanks for the info.   I have been buying meat from Pick'n Pay.  It is part of their "Country reared" program.
They guarantee that the animals have not been fed growth hormones, antibiotics, steroids etc.  The larger supermarkets sell it.  It is not in all their stores.  I get mine from PNP in Park Meadows shopping mall (near Eastgate shopping Centre).  Norwood, Fourways Crossing and Northgate also stock it, but I have found that the staff at Northgate arent very helpful, and the hygiene is questionable.  Park Meadows staff are friendly and are honest, and their butchery is spotless.  If they have meat which is not country reared, they will tell you so.  They also sell eggs which are labelled "indigenous" and come from a farm called Boschveld.  I have been there, and their eggs are truly free range.  A few people who advertise "free range" arent in fact truly free range.  What they mean is that they allow the chickens to walk about in an open enclosure, with no grass to be seen.  They are still grain fed.
I was hoping that if we could find enough people, we could form a little group who could visit the places who advertise free range and see for ourselves.
Bye for now
Dillis

[goodsamaritan]

Hi - Any South African paleos on this forum? Especially in the Gauteng / East Rand area. Just wondering where you get your meat.....

Wow, exotic for me.
South Africa.
Hope to visit you some day.

Are the safari animals good to eat?

- hippo, elephants, giraffe, zebra... you know, the ones on discovery channel?

[Bronwen]

I'll find out from him if he knows anyone in Gauteng that gets meat from the farm like he does.

And, your post was VERY enlightening and helpful.....it would be great if you could ask your beef contact guy if he knows of anyone up here.

And no more Woolies ostrich for me - I knew it tasted bland!

I was hoping that if we could find enough people, we could form a little group who could visit the places who advertise free range and see for ourselves.

Great idea Dillis - maybe even if it's just us for now, we could check out some farmers' markets for some sources and maybe share costs. I have a problem getting to Saturday morning markets early tho, as I teach a class Saturday mornings. I only know of one in the Benoni area, twice a month. I could go there late morning and get some info, just need to find when it's next on.
I know there are plenty in Jhb area as I did a search for Farmer's Markets, lots came up. Pretoria Farmers market too.

Thanks for your info re the Pick 'n Pay meat. What are their prices like? Woolies stock those Bsochveld eggs too - glad to know you have been there and seen they are truly free range.

Wow, exotic for me.
South Africa.
Hope to visit you some day.

Are the safari animals good to eat?

- hippo, elephants, giraffe, zebra... you know, the ones on discovery channel?

Haven't gotten to try any of them yet. Hunting season starts in March, I am hoping to source some venison after that.
When I was a child eating cooked meat still, I tried  various venisons - loved them. Kudu, impala, bushpig, crocodile.....

Maybe we'll have to get a whole crowd of raw paleos to visit and we could have a raw paleo safari and feast...lol!!

[dillis14]

Hi Bronwen,
I phoned Pick 'n Pay "Country reared meat" head honcho and asked him whether the animals are grass or grain fed.  He said that they were grass fed.  He said I was to send him an email and he would reply officially.  I need to name our organisation... I think maybe RPD's South Africa, and use a logo. I found a lovely bushman painting of an Eland, so maybe will use that as a logo.  As soon as I put together a letterhead, I will do the email.  Do you approve of the name and the logo?
Cheers,
Dillis.

[Bronwen]

Hi Bronwen,
I phoned Pick 'n Pay "Country reared meat" head honcho and asked him whether the animals are grass or grain fed.  He said that they were grass fed.  He said I was to send him an email and he would reply officially.  I need to name our organisation... I think maybe RPD's South Africa, and use a logo. I found a lovely bushman painting of an Eland, so maybe will use that as a logo.  As soon as I put together a letterhead, I will do the email.  Do you approve of the name and the logo?
Cheers,
Dillis.

That sounds perfect Dillis, thanks. I phoned PnP Customer Service last week, as well as sending them an email. My questions now include the following:
Is their meat imported or local?
Is it grassfed, but more importantly, are the cattle pasture-raised (ie. not stuck in an enclosure and just 'fed' grass or hay!)?
And obviously, are they fed routine antibiotics etc etc or not?
Maybe you could include these questions in your letter as well - I have had no reply to my email yet, apart from an automated response, and the guy I spoke to at Customer Services said I must speak to the manager of my PnP to find out where they get their meat!! He wasn't very helpful, so I didn't pursue the conversation.


Am going to our Benoni fresh goods market next Saturday (it is every two weeks) - it appears there is a farmer there who sells lamb, so I will have a chat to him, and let you know.

Cheers,
BRonwen

[PaganAngel]

Hello! My name is Janelle, I just moved from Manila to Cape Town!  I have been attempting to eat RPD on and off for 2 years now and my main consideration is finding good suppliers.   Andvanwyk, I was drooling when I read all the great stuff you have access to! Is there any way I can get the numbers of your suppliers?    Or would anyone here know of good farmers markets where I can get quality grass fed beef?

[EthicalSuppliers]

Hi everyone,

I really hope this post isn't considered spam or anything, I just read an earlier post on this forum where people on the Paleo diet were looking for free range meat in South Africa and I wanted to contribute to the discussion but I couldn't because I needed to register first. So if anyone is looking for free range meat, Ethical Suppliers is a non-profit organization hoping to help end factory farming and animal cruelty in SA and to this end we have developed a free range farm directory. Please visit ethicalsuppliers. co. za if you are interested.

Thanks,
Lara @ Ethical Suppliers