Navigating the Store Part 3: Meat
Here is the third post in my guide to navigating the grocery store and understanding the ingredients in your food.
Navigating the grocery store is never an easy task. In a world of information overload (and nutrition labels as confusing as reading Latin), it can be hard to know where your food comes from and how it’s made. I’ve decided to do a series of posts to help make navigating the grocery store easier. Today we discuss meat.
Feedlot (left), pasture-raised (right)
I recommend consuming animal products that are organic and pasture raised* because the animals are healthier and it is better for the environment. When buying red meat look for 100% pasture-raised. Grass fed is another term but apparently some companies have taken advantage of this term and it no longer ensures animals graze outside but may be confined indoors while fed some grass. Ask your meat supplier how their animals are raised.
Pasture-raised beef typically has:
Lower fat, leaner meat
More heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids and a better omega 3: omega 6 ratio
More conjugated Linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fat that's thought to reduce heart disease and cancer risks
More antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin E
Lower risk of E. coli infection and antibiotic resistant bacteria
Pasture-raised beef is also better for the environment [1]:
Environmental protection: CAFOs/feedlots produce a ton of manure. [2] This high concentration of manure builds up in and around feedlots and can pollute both air and water. By comparison, properly-managed grazing systems (what is considered grass-fed) can regenerate grassland, build back soil and protect our watersheds.
Climate change mitigation: Intensive grain farming (corn, wheat) and feedlot cattle production (CAFOs) are major emitters of greenhouse gases. By comparison, using regenerative grazing and farming techniques to manage grasslands allows for carbon to be sequestered into the ground. Therefore, regenerative grazing in this manner acts as a net carbon sink and offsets the methane emitted by cattle.
Taste and flavor: As the Stone Barns report linked below mentions, “grass-fed beef of the right breed, produced to high standards, result in beef that is tender, well-marbled and, in the opinion of many connoisseurs, better-tasting than grain-fed beef.”
Stone Barn’s Center did a great report on this here. I also recommend that anyone interested in this read Michael Pollan’s chapter on CAFOs/feedlots in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
When shopping in stores you can look for some of these labels:
American Grass-Fed Association
Certified pasture-raised
Antibiotic-free, no RhGH, no growth hormones
Certified Humane
Animal Welfare approved
Global Animal Partnership.
In the US, we have created something called feedlots or CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) mostly for cows, pigs, and chickens. Unless your meat says it is 100% grass-fed or 100% pasture-raised, it likely spent time on a CAFO. On a CAFO, the animals do not graze on grass, pasture, or any kind of natural ground material. They are given an industrial feed that is comprised of processed corn (usually GMO and often with the bran and the germ removed so it lacks many of the valuable vitamins and minerals), a crude protein mixture, and roughage. They are also supplemented with daily antibiotics. The feed is meant to fatten the animals up in a short period of time so more meat can be produced in less time. Antibiotics are used for two main reasons 1) the animals are sick, usually from their food and living situation, and 2) because antibiotics help fatten the cows faster. Antibiotic usage in animals is a primary cause of antibiotic resistant bacteria. [3] [4]
Antibiotic usage is banned in organic meat. Under organic labeling laws, if a cow has to be given antibiotics because it is sick, it cannot be used for organic food production.
Cows are ruminants, which means they have two digestive compartments: one stomach, and one rumen. The rumen is the first destination upon ingestion of food. It is specifically designed to break down grasses and pasture. It has specific enzymes that are capable of breaking down cellulose, a major plant component that humans actually cannot break down. Cows and other ruminants are designed by nature to eat natural field grasses. Their anatomy is built for it. As a result, when given a processed feed of corn, soy, and protein, their rumens get overly acidic. This damages the digestive tract and it can become inflamed and infected. This is why animals fed industrial feed or grains are given daily antibiotics. Raising cows on open pasture is not only a lot more humane, but it is also a cow’s natural diet. Moreover, through rotational grazing, the cow’s poop fertilizes the soil, restoring beneficial flora and nutrients, and through their stomping around, they actually sequester carbon back in the ground, acting as net carbon sinks by offsetting the methane the cows produce. [5]
Read more about rotational grazing in this case study by White Oak Pastures on converting their livestock production to a Regenerative Agricultural system:
http://blog.whiteoakpastures.com/blog/carbon-negative-grassfed-beef
References:
https://www.stonebarnscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Grassfed_Full_v2.pdf
https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/why-are-cafos-bad
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191009132321.htm