• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Healthy Home Economist

The Healthy Home Economist

embrace your right to a lifetime of health

Get Plus
  • Home
  • About
  • My Books
  • Shopping List
  • Archives
  • Log in
  • Get Plus
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Get Plus
  • Log in
  • Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Archives
  • My Books
  • Shopping List
  • Recipes
  • Healthy Living
  • Natural Remedies
  • Green Living
  • Videos
  • Natural Remedies
  • Health
  • Green Living
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Green Living / Meet My Local, Independent Butcher!

Meet My Local, Independent Butcher!

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Finding a Local Butcher
  • Better Quality and Prices

local butcher shop

The loss of consumer contact with a local butcher whom they know and trust is one of the most damaging aspects of the rise of factory farms. The “butchers” of today are really not even butchers. They are simply specialty grocery workers who receive prepackaged and precut portions of meat off a delivery truck and arrange them in a desirable manner in the meat cooler section of the store.

It gets worse.

A common practice for supermarkets and even large healthfood store chains is to gas meat to keep it red even after the expiration date.

Finding a Local Butcher

Most consumers have never met a real butcher. This is someone responsible for the respectful slaughter and traditional meat processing of locally raised livestock.

Massive, USDA approved slaughterhouses have put an end to this time-honored, local profession. Moving the processing of animals as far away from the consumer as possible keeps the horrific practices of factory farming hidden from the public.

In some states, reporting on the secret abuses of factory farms is even illegal!

butcher sign for whole rabbits

Better Quality and Prices

While I buy most of my meat from local, grassbased farms, I sometimes run out of certain cuts or bones for making homemade chicken or beef stock. It is sometimes hard to precisely estimate a family’s food needs several months ahead.

During those times when I need a local place to go that has quality meat and bones to fill the gap, John’s Butcher Shop fits the bill. It is as close to a traditional butchery as I have ever found in my community.

Founded in 1973, John’s Butcher Shop offers antibiotic and steroid free beef. The resident butchers cut it up fresh on the premises. The actual slaughter is done elsewhere, however.

In addition, John’s meats have never been frozen. This is a big deal as large food chains typically freeze/thaw their meat cuts. This can happen at least a couple of times before the consumer buys it.

I also love the fact that I am supporting a small, local business that has served my semi-rural community for many decades.

A wide variety of meats are frequently available including bison, seasonal rabbit, duck, and gator!

If you live anywhere near the old-time and very quaint downtown of Lutz, be sure to check out John’s Butcher Shop. It is a much healthier alternative to supermarket meat counters and even Whole Foods.

The prices are also more competitive and the quality of the meat just as good or better.

FacebookPinEmailPrint
Category: Green Living, Healthy Living
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

You May Also Like

Recycled Toilet Paper Not Such a Great Idea After All

Recycled Toilet Paper is Toxic. 3 Green Alternatives to Use Instead

four perfectly cracked eggs in a bowl with a whisk

I Can’t Crack Eggs Like Giada

helicopter spraying insecticides for mosquitoes

How to Avoid Health Issues from Municipal Mosquito Spraying

diy orange oil all-purpose cleaner on counter

Homemade Orange Oil All-Purpose Cleaner

Farmers Stricken with Cancer Sue Monsanto over Roundup

Hurricane Supplies I Stock in My Emergency Cabinet

Feeling Tired More Than You Should?

Get a free chapter of my book Get Your Fats Straight + my weekly newsletter and learn which fats to eat (and which to avoid) to reduce sugar cravings and improve energy significantly!

We send no more than one email per week. You will never be spammed or your email sold, ever.
Loading

Is Your Home Making You Sick?

Get a free chapter of my book Living Green in an Artificial World + my newsletter and learn how to start creating a living environment that supports and enhances health!

We send no more than one email per week. You will never be spammed or your email sold, ever.
Loading

Reader Interactions

Comments (24)

  1. alex

    Apr 17, 2012 at 12:34 pm

    hi im a student at cal young middle school i whas wondering if you have eny infoon being a butcher im doing a care progect on it

    Reply
  2. Sherry

    Apr 7, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    Thank you for the reply, Sarah. It sounds like it’s matter of appearance, not nutrition or health. However, I could see where the feet would be easier to clean with the toenails off. I’ve always purchased them from farmers with the toenails/claws on, but they looked very clean. Since I hadn’t read otherwise before, I have cooked them with the toenails on, and yes, they do look grosser than they might without the nail. I have butchered quite a few chickens in my lifetime and I must admit that it is DEFINITELY a “mental” thing to get over. But get over it I did.

    My married daughter tried cooking a beef hoof from one of their animals after she cleaned it meticulously, and it still smelled bad in the cooking process. She threw it all out to the dog. Have you any experience with using beef hooves? I’m guessing that they must have something done to them by the butcher before they ever reach our home….like maybe trimming off the entire bottom area. Does any one out there know? Maybe your local butcher would know…..

    Reply
  3. Sherry

    Apr 7, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    I read on a post for another topic that the claws are to be removed from chicken feet when making chicken broth. Do they impart something undesirable to the broth, or are they just unappetitzing? I recently read in the book Deep Nutrition to remove the claws, too, but except for these two sources, haven’t seen that specified. Anyone know more on this?

    Reply
    • Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist

      Apr 7, 2012 at 7:11 pm

      My farmer clips the toenails before the feet are cleaned. I put them in the stockpot as is. They do look pretty gross unclipped.

  4. Candace

    Apr 7, 2012 at 11:17 am

    Heading to John’s today to p/u our Easter dinner! Mmmmmm …

    Reply
  5. Summer

    Apr 7, 2012 at 10:25 am

    Awesome, I think I may go by there today.

    Reply
  6. Stacey

    Apr 6, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    Hi Sarah! Do you think local WAP’ers would have info about to find butchers like thiis? I would love to find someone like this in my area. Thanks! Love your site 🙂

    Reply
    • Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist

      Apr 7, 2012 at 12:10 pm

      Contact your local WAPF Chapter Leader. You might find that he/she tracks local butchers as well as local farms. http://www.westonaprice.org/local-chapters/find-local-chapter

  7. Michele

    Apr 6, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this!

    Reply
  8. Denise

    Apr 6, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    John’s has been in the area for a LONG time! Growing up, we would call them to take care of our steers or pigs.

    Reply
  9. Kaley

    Apr 6, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    Thanks for the tip. We run out of our meat occasionally and I never know where to go. I will be going there soon…

    Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Sidebar

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

5 Secrets to a Strong Immune System

Loading

The Healthy Home Economist

Since 2002, Sarah has been a Health and Nutrition Educator dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. Read More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Check Out My Books

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

5 Secrets to a Strong Immune System

Loading

Contact the Healthy Home Economist. The information on this website has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease. By accessing or using this website, you agree to abide by the Terms of Service, Full Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Affiliate Disclosure, and Comment Policy.

Copyright © 2009–2025 · The Healthy Home Economist · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.