Organ Meat

Beef Heart Salad

ORGAN MEATS

In all cultures that eat meat, people also eat the organ meats (sometimes called variety meats), such as the liver, brain, marrow, kidneys and chitterlings. Although many people avoid these types of foods today, we should eat them, because these foods have many times more nutrients than meat – they are very rich in iron, phosphorus, zinc, vitamins A, D, B6 and B12, and special fats for the brain.

In Europe, organ meats are often put into sausages and liver spreads; here in the U.S., people eat liverwurst, a very healthy food. You can also mix ground-up organ meats with ground beef to make meat loaf or chili. It is important to eat liver or some kind of organ meat at least once a week. This is a wonderful food to give to babies!

Read More >> Download the Healthy 4 Life booklet


Liver Pâté

When Dr. Price analyzed the foods used by isolated peoples he found that, in comparison to the American diet of his day, they provided at least four times the water-soluble vitamins, calcium and other minerals, and at least TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins, from animal foods such as butter, fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats, eggs and animal fats—the very cholesterol-rich foods now shunned by the American public as unhealthful. These healthy traditional peoples knew instinctively what scientists of Dr. Price’s day had recently discovered—that these fat-soluble vitamins, vitamins A and D, were vital to health because they acted as catalysts to mineral absorption and protein utilization. Without them, we cannot absorb minerals, no matter how abundant they may be in our food. Dr. Price discovered an additional fat-soluble nutrient, which he labeled Activator X, that is present in fish livers and shellfish, and organ meats and butter from cows eating rapidly growing green grass in the spring and fall. All indigenous groups had a source of Activator X, now thought to be vitamin K2, in their diets.

Organ meats are the most nutrient-dense part of the animal—from ten to 100 times richer in vitamins and minerals than muscle meats—and traditional cultures always consumed them, usually in rich dishes that included cream and plenty of butter. Such fare is truly food for the body and soul!

 


Roasted Chicken Hearts

Characteristic of Traditional Diets:

Principle #2

All traditional cultures consume some sort of animal food, such as fish and shellfish; land and water fowl; land and sea mammals; eggs; milk and milk products; reptiles; and insects. The whole animal is consumed—muscle meat, organs, bones and fat, with the organ meats and fats preferred.

Read more >> Principles of Healthy Diets

 


Apple, Liver & Onion

Recommendations:

FRESH MEAT

BEST

Fresh or frozen beef, veal, lamb, poultry, goat and pork, including fat and organ meats, from (preferably soy-free and GMO-free) animals allowed to graze; venison and other game meat. Note: It is important to consume organ meats and meat with the fat. Consumption of lean meats can lead to deficiencies.

GOOD

Organic or naturally raised poultry, pork, veal and rabbit; beef, bison, lamb and goat.

AVOID

Most commercial chicken, turkey and pork, which is raised in confinement on industrial farms.

Read more in our Shopping Guide Categories


Local Sources of Pasture-Raised Meats & Organ Meat:

Roasted Bison Marrow Bones

Here in Eugene we can find a wide variety of locally and humanely-raised animal foods.

We recommend everyone pick up a copy of the Locally Grown Directory, produced here in Eugene by the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition.   You can also view our Farm List page for local resources (these pages are still a work in progress).   To buy beef and lamb meat, organs and bones in local stores see: Local Butchers & Markets

Newsletter posts:

 


Articles, recipes and videos on the Weston A. Price Foundation website:

Elsewhere on the web:


Variety Meats Class In Review:

The Eugene Chapter held a Variety Meats Class on May 18, 2013. This was our first time doing a class solely devoted to nutrient-dense organs and variety meats. We demonstrated and sampled recipes that included Sweet Breads (Thymus), Heart, Gizzards, Kidney, Tongue and Liver.

The class was a great success! We ate wonderful food, and the feedback on our anonymous class survey form was 100% positive! Click below to read some quotes from our class attendees.

See Photos and Participants Responses

The class was so popular that we did it again on November 9th, 2013.


Photos for inspiration:

Apple, Liver & Onion

Beef Organ Meat Loaf, Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Root Vegetable Puree

Sweetbread Soup