Meet your meat: going direct to Utah farmers and butchers.

• Author: Beers, Heather
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT

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It's summer. The grill is heating up. You've got rib eye dripping a juicy tear or two on the flame below. Ribs are next in line, biding their time while taking a dip in sweet honey barbecue. Laughter and lazy sun mingle with the evening breeze. The season's traditions are in full swing, with great meat at the center of it all. But it's not just great tasting meat people are looking for these days--it's great quality meat.

More people are looking for locally sourced meats, from animals raised and butchered the way they were generations ago, before America's industrialized mass-production machine clunked into high gear. People are beginning to ask, "Where did my meat come from? What did the animal eat? How was it processed?" And a few standout Utah farms and shops are providing mouthwatering answers.

Pasture-ized meat

Remember those Golden Books? The children's early readers that showed idyllic scenes of farm animals, actually out on the pasture? Organizations like Christiansen's Family Farms and Utah Natural Meat raise their animals exactly like that--on the pasture. Both farms invite customers to visit the farms, see the animals, and learn why they believe the way animals live and what they eat all leads to better quality, healthier meat.

Christiansen's Family Farms, run by husband and wife Christian and Hollie Christiansen, raises cows and pigs on its fields in Vernon, Utah. Christian says, "We offer pasture-raised pork and beef. Our animals are treated humanely and gently. We don't use utilize many of the common ... farming practices such as clipping teeth, docking tails or gestation crates. Because we offer our animals enough space, these practices aren't necessary."

Utah Natural Meat likewise believes in animals raised in wide-open spaces. The West Jordan-based family farm lets its cattle, goats and sheep roam on its fields. To maintain the land the animals call home, the Bowlers take a decidedly old-fashioned approach.

Shayn Bowler co-owns the company and runs the farm with his wife, Kristen. He says, "We only use all animal power, no tractors. All the plowing, all the planting is all done through animal labor. The main reason I farm that way is because I really enjoy working with the animals. That becomes the manner in which we can stay more connected to our farm. Our mission is not to do as much volume as we can, but to stay with as good a quality as we can achieve, and the horses help us maintain that."

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