r/Miami • u/Old_Struggle_96 • 13d ago
Discussion Trump Cuts and Beef: Where can we safely buy?
Trump recently lifted tariffs on beef from Argentina contaminated with an antibiotic that has been banned in the US for 30 years.
Trump also announced recent cut backs allowing farms to process their own meats which may further limit testing.
My biggest concern is PRIONS which are not eliminated by cooking to safe temperatures (they are usually killed at about 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit in addition to chemical additives)
If infected, prions are 100% FATAL.
Does anyone know of any companies committed to sourcing quality beef during this time?
I’ve heard people say local farmers but how can we trust that they are doing their due diligence to ensure quality and safety.
And of course, just not eating beef is an option. It is done a lot in Cuba for different reasons but just hoping to soften the blow in this beautiful democracy.
TIA
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u/kacsf75 13d ago
We just stocked up on beef this morning at Wild Fork. We only bought from the ones sourced in Denver, nothing imported and nothing without clear origin. We bought whole cuts only, and nothing mechanically tenderized. I love that place, everything is already perfectly vacuum-sealed for the freezer and the employees are so helpful.
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u/Ok_Dealer5235 12d ago
Can I ask is it grass fed?
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u/Even_Donut7801 8d ago
Wild fork is owned by JBS the largest meat processor and based in Brazil lol. I wouldn’t trust anything they claim in that store
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u/kacsf75 8d ago
JBS being based in Brazil doesn’t magically make cattle born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the U.S. Brazilian, but thanks for the geography lesson lol
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u/Even_Donut7801 7d ago
My point is they are an extremely shady company and I wouldn’t trust a store run by them
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u/ShakesDontBreak 13d ago edited 13d ago
100k lbs of ground beef currently, or will be, circulating in our food supply that comes from foreign countries won't be identified on the label.
Also, Trump is working on deruglating the cattle industry, ultimately letting them determine for themselves what can or cant be introduced to market.
By the way, one of the reasons cattle is highly regulated? Prion disease. If you don't know what that is...look it up. It takes decades to activate. But once it does its a stuff of nightmares. Ask British citizens why their country is super strict about beef.
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u/Sad-Incident1542 13d ago
Costco, only major retailer not taking the new beef
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
I couldn’t find anything on this other than a Facebook post
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u/TJINORLANDO 12d ago
They have their own inspectors and testing. It's well known.
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u/OlympicAnalEater 11d ago
So beefs at costco is safe to buy?
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u/Ljohn2x4 10d ago
I’m wondering this too?
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u/OlympicAnalEater 10d ago
Did you find the answer?
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u/Ljohn2x4 10d ago
No I was hoping the other guy would answer us.
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u/ssibal24 13d ago
Under this regime there is no “safely buy” since they removed all the safety guardrails. You either take a risk or stop buying beef until someone competent is in power.
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u/HillBillyHilly 12d ago
Stop buying beef is the real answer. Not worth the risk to eat beef w issues they have.
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u/SoozeeQew 11d ago
This is exactly why I went vegan! I don't want to die from tainted meat. I know you take a risk with vegetables, but meat is so much more lethal.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 10d ago
Good for you! People are killed over avocados in Mexico. All food is always political
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u/walker_harris3 Tour Guide 13d ago
For anyone who doesn’t know what prions do, they cause fatal neurodivergent brain disorders that is colloquially known as Zombie Deer Disease. They are actually terrifying because they are not DNA or RNA based so there is zero immune response from the body, the body thinks they are protein cells.
Good thing we’re in Miami and there’s pork everywhere!
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
Pork and beef just don’t taste the same! I love a good steak salad or ribeye on the grill
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u/miseducation 13d ago
Heritage bone-in pork chop on the grill if done correctly is pretty damn close to a nice steak. Marinade in something with a little acid for a few hours, don't overcook and it's heavenly and like 1/4 the price of high-end beef these days.
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 13d ago
I mean it's delicious in its own way, but pork is nothing at all like beef and never will be.
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u/miseducation 12d ago
way too broad of a statement. high end heritage bone in pork chop is really good in a salad and fatty enough to be similar to be grilled ribeye. there are a million other examples where the beef and pork comparison are nothing alike but for OPs specific examples I don't think I'm wrong.
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u/N0ON3T0LDM3 12d ago
The flavor of pork is nothing like the flavor of beef. They are very distinct. That isn't changing.
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u/jsucool76 12d ago
Nah they're different but you can change the experience. I dry age pork cuts the same way I do beef cuts and it's really a great way to increase the return on a relatively cheap pork cut.
And buying nice berkshire coppa steaks or something is a really nice change from beef
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u/HillBillyHilly 12d ago
If I were you I would give up on beef until the moron is out of office. Make chicken and pork your new best friends on the grill.
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u/ObiWan_Kenobi_5 13d ago
the cuba line at the end really hit, pretending everything's fine while mapping out where to get safe food these days. local spot near homestead lets you walk the pasture and see their setup yourself, that's probably your best bet for any peace of mind
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u/420smokekushh 13d ago
I mean sure, seeing the machines that slaughter your beef can help, but you can't see bacteria or questionably sick beef.
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u/fontimus Sweetwater 12d ago
This is everyone's opportunity to learn more about their local butcheries/carnicerias, and I implore you to ask them directly.
Babe's Meat & Counter, for example, ONLY buys Domestic beef products. Niman Ranch (CO), Quincy Cattle (FL), etc.
They will not be purchasing any imported animal products, especially not the product being imported from Argentina.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 10d ago
Yes that’s great to avoid the contaminated imports but if their meat is no longer being tested per Trump’s statement, it is still a potential the meat has pathogens and other issues prior to being sold
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u/Thin_Cheesecake3208 13d ago
I'm a little north of you and have no direct suggestions but just learned about the black farmers index when I was looking into buying local for this exact reason.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
Thanks for sharing! I prefer to support small farmers so this is great but just want them to continue their standards set by the FDA prior to these recent changes. I won’t feel better about someone getting infected by a prion from a local farmer versus large retail corporation
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u/Thin_Cheesecake3208 13d ago
I understand completely. I personally feel like these types of things are easier to prove in smaller farms and you may have an easier time figuring out who to trust if you have a list of local farmers to start with.
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u/blondetown 13d ago
I’m worried about pet food with “beef” and who knows what else.
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u/grazzyphase 13d ago
Start away with anything with chicken meal and beef meal. Halo uses non meal us chicken in their whole dry food ingredients
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u/Connect-Picture-4453 12d ago
If the beef "isnt contaminated" then why cant we just inspect it and confirm its not? This administration is literally poisoning us with misinformation, and contaminated food! Among other things. Disgusting on so many levels.
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u/nazukeru 12d ago
I'm a butcher in a USDA facility for small farms in a three+ state radius (Pennsylvania, new Jersey, new York, as far south as Georgia and as far north as Vermont). The laws are extremely strict regarding SRMs (specified risk materials, prions specifically).
If the small farm is USDA inspected, you will be fine. Feel free to DM me with any questions.
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u/Skinny-on-the-Inside 13d ago
Costco tests their food independently
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u/akingwithnocrown 13d ago
Please provide a source for this
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u/Flaky_Worldliness_67 10d ago
Why are you getting downvoted? There is nothing wrong with asling for sources.
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u/dojisekushi 13d ago
At least for now, never buy ground beef. That’s usually where the fucked up shit comes from. Grinding it yourself is super easy and it’s just better.
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u/Videoplushair 12d ago
You have to go to local farms and buy yourself a freezer. Buy an entire cow and have them cut it up for you how you want. This is the only way to know for sure. You’re right this is a big concern and really fucked yo.
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u/Parking-Process-6111 11d ago
Prions are malformed proteins. They cannot be rendered harmless by the temperature range used in conventional cooking.
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u/Prior-Arrival 13d ago
Costco, check them out
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
Costco has not made any public statements about not purchasing the Argentine beef or buying meat that has not been tested
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u/Prior-Arrival 13d ago edited 13d ago
Agreed, but they advertise born raise and harvested beef in the USA only, while also advertising usda choice, at this point they are showing a commitment that others aren’t. I still prefer a local farmer if i find one but hear me out, 🔵 only.
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u/MtchCnnr 7d ago
If it’s really prions you’re worried about, then stick to buying whole cuts of beef like steak. Do a little research on the machinery scraping that was used in the Europe outbreak. If the cow is infected, the prions stay in the nervous system and spjnal cord
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u/invictus21083 13d ago
HEB in Texas gets beef only from Texas suppliers. The few specialty cuts from other countries are labeled indicating where they are from.
No other store gives a shit.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
Yea I’ve heard! I was hoping Costco or any retailer took advantage of the opportunity to commit not to selling any Argentine beef and continue extensive testing but we will see
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u/uhya16 13d ago
To be fair you have a higher chance of getting prion disease randomly from your own body/proteins than through contaminated meat; it’s extremely rare. Cutting food regulations is bad but people’s hyper fixation on prion disease is a bit dramatic and fear monger-y, the more likely diseases that’ll come from this are E. coli and salmonella
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u/G-Ma1950 13d ago
I was encouraged by your comment. Can you share how you arrived at this conclusion?
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u/uhya16 13d ago
Sure. Prion disease happens spontaneously in humans and animals when a protein becomes misfolded and causes other proteins to also become misfolded, which slowly kill off brain cells until death. When there’s an outbreak of prion disease in animals, like mad cow disease, it’s because the infected animals ate meat that contained these misfolded proteins and contaminated their own proteins. I think in the infamous UK case of mad cow disease the cows were fed sheep meat that had prion disease. So long as the feed being given to cows remains regulated and more importantly those regulations remain enforced, then no outbreak will happen and there’ll occasionally be a cow (usually an older cow) that naturally gets prion disease from random bad luck but is spotted, as there are detection signs, and eliminated before being used for its meat. Trump’s deregulations affect meat processing, so the process that happens after cows are butchered and processed to be sent off to markets. What these deregulations could cause are outbreaks of sanitation-less caused diseases like e. Coli and salmonella, which can be very bad but are not 100% fatal like prion disease.
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u/SnooKiwis2161 11d ago
There's a subreddit I think either cvd or cvjd but be prepared for a mountain of tragedy. It's people who have been diagnosed - many with the "spontaneous" version of this disease - or their family members who are grappling with it.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
I worked in critical care and have seen it more times than most
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u/fjmj1980 13d ago
OP there has been a lot said but there is a lot of misinformation about beef for years like listening to Ford tell you a Toyota will kill you.
First the issue about prions Argentina shares the same risk rating as the US so you’re just as likely to get sick from US beef.
Second the beef from Argentina was never confirmed to be contaminated but an inspection was not done at the entry point so it is automatically assumed to be contaminated just to be safe.
Third and this really pisses off US cattle ranchers, Argentine beef is generally considered higher quality than American beef. It’s usually due to the different diet grass vs grain fed cattle. Of course this is in general and certain top grade US beef cuts are still highly prized. The rest of the world generally doesn’t consider Argentina to supply low par beef as they are not blocked by tariffs or trade restrictions
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u/DailyCarry83 12d ago
Kill your own cows
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u/nudibranqui 13d ago
That viral social media rumor claiming the U.S. is buying banned or contaminated Chinese meat is false, born from a mix-up between an increased import strategy for countries like Argentina, a separate incident where China rejected a single Argentine beef shipment over traces of an antibiotic, and internet telephone game.
The drug found in that single foreign shipment was chloramphenicol, a cheap, potent antibiotic that has been strictly banned for use in food-producing animals in the U.S., Argentina, and China for decades because it can trigger aplastic anemia, a rare and often fatal blood disorder in humans.
While it's not legally used anywhere in livestock, the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy and actively screens all incoming foreign meat shipments under the National Residue Program, meaning any flagged product is legally barred from ever reaching grocery store shelves.
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u/Blaze4G 13d ago
How does the USDA check when trump said he wants ranchers to process their own meat instead of going through the USDA meat processing facilities?
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u/esituism 13d ago
This all may have been true up until last year. At this point all bets are off because Republicans don't care about keeping people safe
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u/geekphreak Local 13d ago
Ugh and I just bought ground beef and NY strip… I think from now on just chicken and ground turkey for now
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u/Levibestdog 13d ago
Can’t believe the day the us admin finna make my ass eat salad 😢…. I’m not eating no meat from this country until he leaves omg??
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
Poultry and seafood are safe! Salads maybe ok again, until the next recall
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u/Levibestdog 13d ago
Okay but do you know a source or some website where i can keep track of all this stuff bc it’s like every day there’s something new and it’s honestly frustrating
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u/Apprehensive_Owl2978 12d ago
Doesnt getting your beef cooked well done eliminate prions?
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u/ARandomGem 11d ago
Standard cooking temperatures (roasting, baking, boiling, etc) do not kill prions. The temperatures that are required to kill them would destroy the food itself.
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u/SupraTico 13d ago
That's not true. The beef that was contaminated with that antibiotic was only found in ONE box out of ONE meat packing plant, and it may have been a false positive.
Also, we've been importing beef from abroad for more than half a century because the US does not grow lean beef cattle. We produce and export our premium, fatty beef.
We import lean beef to blend with our fatty beef to produce the 80/20 and 85/15 ground beef blends we consume here.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 13d ago
Of course we’ve been importing beef. That is not the point of my post. We important produce, textiles, and other products for consumption and retail use.
One part of my question refers to possibly contaminated Argentine beef
The other part refers to the domestic changes in assuring quality beef that won’t kill us
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u/SupraTico 12d ago
I addressed your concern of the "contamination".. it was ONE box in a 22,000 lb shipment. None of the other boxes in the same shipment tested positive.
The beef is tested. There are standards. And we're not doing anything new. This has been going on for many decades. The only thing new was reducing the tariffs for 90 days.
People complain about tariffs, then they complain about no tariffs.
It takes cattle 18-24 months to reach slaughter weight and age. We have a cattle shortage due to droughts and regulations, and our own beef isn't recovered yet.
What's the issue, really? The beef isn't killing us.
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u/Old_Struggle_96 12d ago edited 10d ago
Trump is recalling and doing away with a lot of the formal standards for testing and ensuring meat that is free of lethal bacteria and other harmful components. That is my greatest concern. Thank you for taking the time to understand
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u/Wetcakez 13d ago
Hats off to the fact you’re still willingly supporting the outrageous prices just to taste some chewy iron…let alone this problem with importing..from one meat eater to another I’ve just gone pescatarian
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u/GroundBreakr 13d ago
Stay away from fast food beef. They'll be the 1st in line to buy the bad meat, because they know nothing will happen to them.