What's on sale at ShopRite, Fairway Market

When I open supermarket sale circulars, I notice what's not on sale. Usually, antibiotic- and hormone-free foods are never discounted by ShopRite and Fairway Market, although Whole Foods Markets do a much better job in this regard.

The ShopRite circular for Aug. 9-15 prominently features that lousy Perdue chicken, for as little as 59 cents a pound. This is a case of getting what you pay for: flaccid chicken pumped full of antibiotics to make it grow faster and fatten the wallets of the owners. Packages are invariably marked "All Natural," a cruel joke on consumers. I'm still waiting for a sale on drug-free Readington Farms chicken, which is raised on a vegetarian diet.

At Fairway, USDA Prime shell steak, also known as New York strip, is on sale for $8.99 a pound from Aug. 8-14. Prime is the USDA's top grade, assigned that distinction because it has more fat than Choice or Select ("abundant marbling" is the way the USDA puts it). But the producer is not identified in the circular, so it's safe to assume the animals were confined in a feed-lot and pumped full of grain and hormones to get them to grow faster and get them to market faster. How appetizing is that?

Whole Foods often sells its drug- and hormone-free steaks for a discounted price of $9.99 a pound. And it stocks beef from New Jersey that is 100% grass-fed, considered the most natural way to raise the animals. Naturally raised chicken, pork, lamb -- all of it is on sale regularly -- and Whole Foods has the biggest selection, too.