We still get many buyers who purchase chicken and pork but avoid red meat. Whether it’s for health or ethical reasons, what if I told you red meat should take the forefront on both accounts.
Working with multiple farmers I can tell you for certain that cows raised on pastures and 100% grass-fed are the most naturally domesticated animal in any farming operation. They graze and roam freely and only eat what nature provides them. Poultry & pork & other non-ruminants that are pasture raised outdoors feeding on grubs, grass, and insects, also require supplemental grain feed to be economically feasible to the farmers operation. How the supplemental feed is grown and harvested is very important when determining the health benefits of the animals consuming them. This feed also requires human interaction & monoculture farming to sustain.
Grass is the most versatile plant on the planet and is jam packed with nutrition. Unfortunately, humans are also non ruminants, so our digestive system does not contain the organs or enzymes needed to digest grass for its nutrients. Instead, we let the animals graze on grass and feed their bodies the nutrition they need and then reap the benefits by eating them. We have done this naturally for millennium. Same thing with deer, buffalo, sheep, elk, and other ruminant animals that roam freely amongst the norther plains.
Grass fed red meat is one of the highest in nutrient density per calorie consumed. A 4 oz portion of red meat can give you more than enough essential vitamins and fats like K2, B12, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), Iron, & Zinc, to get you through the day and be fully nourished. Talk about sustainability!
The fear of saturated fat in red meat is also mis guided propaganda and a myth which derived from monoculture farming producers trying to increase the peoples demand for whole grains. Why?? Because they can produce more value per acre of land selling GMO grains for us and both confined animals to consume. It’s a multipurpose food that feeds more money to our federal government and so is prioritized in our food pyramid as a healthy food even though many of us, including animals, cannot digest them properly.
Red Meat from grass fed cows has an almost even amount of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid ratio which means it positively influences our blood cholesterol. The thing to remember about eating red meat is that your lifestyle is also VERY important. It’s a nutrient dense food so you do not need a 16oz ribeye for yourself. You should also be active and not sedentary. This doesn’t mean you need to exercise regularly but instead make sure you are always walking, standing, climbing, hiking, etc. The saturated fat and cholesterol in red meat has ample health benefits as long as you are outdoors in the fresh air, finding yourself in sunlight more frequent than not, and staying active and healthy.
If you eat a burger, keep in mind that the red meat, lettuce, and tomatoes are the healthiest part of the burger. They are the only whole foods. It’s the bleached flour buns with sugars & preservatives and condiments with artificial flavors and highly processed fructose corn syrup that are reaping more havoc on your health than the red meat. This is what makes me laugh at the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat advocates. You are basically taking 1 of the only whole foods on your plate and instead supplementing it with a chemistry experiment. How can anyone logically think this is better for you? The next argument most of the time is that it is better for our environment. So, on that note…
When we discuss sustainability and agriculture, red meat or beef produces the most nutrients and calorie per acre of land with the minimal amount of natural resources required, and when grass fed works regeneratively with the land and soil it can sequester more carbon from the air than that which is omitted; by almost 300%. It’s not the cow farts killing our environment but instead mass production facilities, monoculture farming practices (used to produce beyond meat and impossible burgers), chemical treatments on our land and waters, as well as the oil and fuels for non-natural forms of transportation we use to get where we want to go. Just to name a few.
Eat red meat (this can include any and all ruminant animals, not just beef), fatty fish, fruits & veggies. Eat pork, chicken, and grains moderately. Stay away from processed foods, stay active, and enjoy the fruitfulness of health.
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