Feasting is our column dedicated to cooking, grilling, eating and discovering what’s on the menu across America and the world.
We love meat here at The Manual, and even more so when it’s coming from a sustainable source. So when we heard about Patagonia Provisions’ Buffalo Jerky, we had to get our hands in the bag. Based in Sausalito, CA, Patagonia Provisions is reexamining best practices in food sourcing by working with like-minded advocates and producers to find solutions to environmental issues facing the industry. In their partnership with Dan and Jill O’Brien of Wild Idea Buffalo, they’re working to conserve and restore the grasslands of South Dakota while producing delicious, sustainable buffalo jerky.
“The great plains are worth preserving,” Dan said. “They’re like an intricate Swiss watch, there are a million moving parts, and each part is essential. But the main spring of the watch is the buffalo. They’re the keystone of the Great Plains.”
When buffalo graze and roam freely, they help restore the plain by recycling nutrients and tilling the soil as they move. Because they are slaughtered humanely in the prairie rather than in stressful, crowded factory farms, they live better, natural lives. Not only is this humane treatment of the buffalo morally correct, it makes for delicious, nutrient-rich meat. It’s lower in fat and cholesterol than beef, chicken, turkey and pork and higher in beneficial nutrients like protein, iron, Omega-3 and vitamins B-12 and A. And because the buffalo are slaughtered in the prairie rather than crowded factory farms where they’re not able to roam freely without fear, the meat is low in the stress hormone cortisol.
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Shelf stable for one year, the unopened package is perfect for taking on adventures like boat and camping trips. The 100% grass-fed, free-range, antibiotic-, pesticide- and hormone-free meat is lightly seasoned and dried to create a hearty, flavorful, nutritious snack you can feel good about eating.
“The American bison are indelibly linked to the survival of our prairie ecosystem and communities who depend on them,” said Birgit Cameron, Director of Patagonia Provisions. “We believe by eating humanely raised and harvested bison, we protect them and the sensitive prairie environment.”
Buffalo jerky retails for $10 and can be purchased at Patagonia retail stores, patagoniaprovisions.com and patagonia.com.
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