Welcome to the BAMCSA Wiki
Members: go to the recipe links for advice on how to cook your April, 2008 CSA shares. Also read the farmer profiles for info. about where this month's meat comes from.
The Bay Area Meat CSA (BAMCSA), a project of Slow Food Berkeley, is made up of nearly 100 consumers who have joined forces to eat clean meat and, in doing so, support local ranchers raising animals humanely, allowing them to eat their natural diets and engage in innate behaviors. While the meat they provide us may not always be certified organic (which requires that they be slaughtered in a certified organic facility and butchered at a cetified organic butcher shop, both of which are few and far between around here), you can be sure that the cows and lambs are grass-fed, the hogs are not confined (no sow crates), and the chickens are truly pastured (not just "free range). We know our ranchers personally and have visited their operations.
What is a CSA?: Members of a Community Supported Agriculture program support local farms by buying "shares" of future harvests — in this case, meat animals. By paying for shares up front, CSA members guarantee farmers the capital they need to bring their animals from field to market. In return, members will receive monthly boxes (OK, bags) containing steaks, roasts, chickens, and eggs, all pending seasonal availability.
What does being a BAMCSA member entail?:
You can be a member of our GoogleGroup mailing list and not subscribe to a seasonal share. Being a CSA member entails filling out an order form online and sending payment at the start of a season. As a member, you are responsible for arriving on time, and at the right place, to pick up your share. The CSA is not a retail outlet.
What is in a share?:
• Tier I: 15-16 lbs of meat (grilling & braising cuts and/or ground, whole chicken when possible), 1 doz eggs (when possible) 1x month, $375 total for 3 months
• Tier II: 10-11 lbs of meat (grilling & braising cuts and/or ground, whole chicken when possible), 1 doz eggs (when possible) 1x month, $255 total for 3 months
• Tier III: 10-11 lbs of meat (grilling & braising cuts and/or ground, whole chicken when possible), 1 doz eggs(when possible) 1x month, $170 total for 2 months (you specify which month you want "off")
Small Print:
• The meat is mostly frozen, except for when it isn't.
• Shares will contain variations — there are only so many of a given cut an animal and we buy whole animals. We do track your shares each month so that if you get mostly braiseable cuts one month, we'll try to give you grilling cuts (more steaks) the next.
• Chickens don't grow and don't lay in the winter, so if it's cold out, chickens and eggs will be another month in coming.
Explanation of prices: Conventionally raised meat is artificially cheap in America. Small farmers who raise animals on pasture have much higher costs than those who raise thousands of animals in confinement, which pass on these hidden costs (of cheap feed composed of god knows what, of antibiotics- and hormone-laced animal waste that causes soil and air pollution, of unhealthy meat) to society. Animals that are raised primarily on grass take longer to fatten, and most of the farmers we work with use certified organic feed, which can cost up to three times as much as conventional. Often they do not have access to or opt out of the large slaughterhouses (which is a good thing, to us) and also adds to their costs. Which is to say that often the meat we buy will cost more than the grocery store, sometimes more than Whole Foods, but will likely be comparable to what you would pay for similar meat at a farmers market — where yes, you will be able to choose your cuts. (Those of you who already buy direct from farmers at the market may find that is a more flexible option for you.) We have also instituted a surcharge to cover a fraction of the time spent by the primary organizer and to cover ancillary expenses like ice, gas, etc.
Team Meat: Find out who's running this and how you can join, or become a supplier
Semi-active pages on this wiki
- The Meat Diaries: What have you done with your share?
- Ask the Chefs: We're lucky enough to have quite a few professional cooks on this list to ask about cooking unfamiliar cuts, etc.
- Recipes: Recipes, suggestions, favorite meat cookbooks, etc
- Ranchers: A list of current and possible providers for our CSA
- Resources: Research, other CSAs, anything we want to keep track of for group reference.
- Summary and results of May membership survey
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