There is a lot of propaganda out there surrounding domesticated animal agriculture and its negative impact on our health and environment. Most of this propaganda is driven by activists who are completely against all forms of animal agriculture but completely ignorant to the complexities of sustainable regenerative agriculture; especially with an exponentially growing human population. It is also driven by marketers to create yet another niche income stream while protecting the subsidies which already supply most of our store-bought processed foods (even the "healthier" ones.)
It is now being discovered by many doctors and functional medicine experts that meat is a great source of protein because of the abundance in amino acids and other nutritional elements per calorie consumed. They are also discovering that our fear of saturated fat has been misguided by these same marketing strategists who are trying to influence subsidized food markets and government owned commodities. Some doctors to look into regarding this are Dr. Ted Naiman, M.S L.Ac. Chris Kresser, Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, Sally Fallon, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne and her associate Denise Minger, and many others.
On a sustainable agricultural level, it is also proving that beef is better for consumption than even some of their fellow grazers like poultry and pork. Why is this? Cows that are grass fed graze naturally and these other animals need to be supplemented with feed. Anything supplemented with feed are not thriving or living the way nature intended. Now the quality of this feed is just as important, when considering the healthiest meats to consume, as being certain that they are always living in an outdoor environment. We will save this for a different conversation.
Cows graze on grass and grasses include some of the most versatile plant life-forms. Grasses have adapted to conditions in lush rain forests, dry deserts, cold mountains and even intertidal habitats, and are currently the most widespread plant type; grass is a valuable source of food and energy for all sorts of wildlife and organics.
A cows digestive system has a rumen as part of its four-station tank. This tank allows the digestion and fermentation of many types of grasses for nutrition and energy. It is also full of microbes that produce enzymes to break down the indigestible cellulose fibers found in grass and help in this digestion. These are all elements not found in the human digestive system.
All the nutrients in grass help build the mass of a 1200-1400 lb. steer. The nutrients also help manage their internal systems like: immune, muscular, endocrine, digestive, respiratory, etc.…. They even help manage their brain circuitry; a brain which weighs about 92-94 grams versus the human brain which weighs approximately 1300-1400 grams. Having to eat 75-80% of the time they are awake because of their sheer size emphasizes the need these animals require for a sustainable agricultural setting, especially as we humans continue to build on and destroy habitats through “profiteering” efforts.
As mentioned, Grass Fed Meat is made up off all the nutrients found in grass, a very versatile plant. Aside from what is being sold to the public, Cows that herd and graze on open pastures help compact organic matter into the soil which actually helps retain water, and their excrement helps to build up soil microorganisms and fixate nitrogen. With NO tillers and heavy machinery or fertilizers needed like on commodity vegetable farms or even large organic monoculture farms, root systems grow vertical into the soil as opposed to along the surface. These deeper root systems help to sequester carbon deeper into the soil as the plant life (grass) continues to grow back after grazing. This is very important to equal the distribution/intake ratio of oxygen to carbon in order to serve as an environmentally sustainable habitat. These points are being concluded at the Rosedale Institute in PA; one of the most established institutes helping to convert agriculture back to true organic origin since 1947.
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