Grass-Fed Basics

[Guest guest]

http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html

 

*Factory Farming.* Like most of the goods in this country, our meat,

poultry, eggs, and dairy products are now being mass produced. Old

McDonald's Farm has been replaced by large confinement facilities that

produce a year-round supply of meat, chickens, eggs, and dairy products

at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and convenient,

factory farming is creating a host of problems, including:

 

. Animal stress and abuse

. Air, land, and water pollution

. The widespread use of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs

. Low-paying, stressful farm worker jobs

. The loss of small family farms

. Food with less nutritional value

 

*Unnatural Diets.* Animals raised in factory farms are given diets

designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main

ingredient is grain, which is kept at artificially low prices by

government intervention. To further cut costs, the feed may contain

" by-product feedstuff " such as municipal garbage, stale cookies, poultry

manure, chicken feathers, bubble gum, and restaurant waste. Until 1997,

cattle were also being fed meat that had been trimmed from other cattle,

in effect turning herbivores into carnivores. This unnatural practice is

believed to be the underlying cause of " mad cow disease. "

 

*Animal Stress.* Few people realize that a high-grain diet can cause

physical problems for ruminants--cud-chewing animals such as cattle,

dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat

fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs--not starchy, low-fiber grain. When

cattle are switched from pasture to grain, for example, they can become

afflicted with a number of disorders, including a common but painful

condition called " subacute acidosis. " Cattle with subacute acidosis kick

at their bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more

serious and sometimes fatal reactions, these animals are given chemical

additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some of

these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine. When

medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become resistant to

them. When people become infected with disease-resistant bacteria, there

are few drugs available to treat them.

 

*Lower Nutritional Value.* Switching ruminants from their natural diet

of grasses to grains also lowers the nutritional value of their meat and

dairy products. Compared with grass-fed meat, grain-fed meat contains

more total fat, saturated fat, and calories. It also has less vitamin E,

beta-carotene, and two health-promoting fats called omega-3 fatty acids

and " conjugated linoleic acid, " or CLA. The milk from dairy cows raised

in confinement is similarly low in these nutrients. One result of our

modern " advances " in animal technology is inferior food.

 

*Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese.* Chickens, turkeys, and pigs are also

being raised in confinement. Typically, they suffer an even worse fate

than the ruminants. Tightly packed into cages, sheds, or pens, they

cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and

roosting. Worse yet, they cannot escape the stench of their own manure.

Meat and eggs from these animals are also lower in a number of key

vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.

 

*The Environment.* Raising animals on pasture is better for the

environment than raising them in confinement. In a conventional feedlot

operation, for example, cattle deposit large amounts of manure in a

small amount of space. The manure must be collected and transported away

from the area. It costs money to haul it away, so it is dumped as close

to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is

overloaded with nutrients, resulting in ground and water pollution. When

animals are raised on pasture, their manure is a welcome source of

organic fertilizer, not a " waste management problem. "

 

*The Art and Science of Grassfarming.* Raising animals on pasture

requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to the feedlots. In

order for the meat to be succulent and tender, the animals need

high-quality forage, especially in the months prior to slaughter. This

requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that the animals

are grazing the grass at its optimal stage of growth. Because

high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many

people who raise animals on pasture refer to themselves as

" grassfarmers " rather than ranchers.

 

*Back to Pasture.* In recent years, thousands of ranchers and farmers

across the United States and Canada have stopped sending their animals

to the feedlots. Instead, they keep the animals home on the range and

feed them food that is as close as possible to their native diets. They

do not implant them with hormones or feed them growth-promoting

additives, because they are content to let the animals grow at their

normal pace. Animals raised on pasture live such low-stress lives that

they are superbly healthy.

 

When you choose products from pastured animals, you are eating the food

that nature intended. You are also supporting small farmers,

safeguarding the environment, promoting animal welfare, and eating food

that is nutritious, wholesome and delicious.

 

# # #