This week I picked up my first annual supply of grass fed beef. Why am I excited?
First of all, I know and trust my supplier. Dave has been raising and selling beef locally for many years and has already reduced the amount of grain fed to his animals by about two thirds from industry norms. Last year I asked him if he could supply me with grass fed beef. He agreed. I was willing to pay more per pound, but he insisted on no price hike. My reasoning was that if I reduce my meat portion size, as health experts recommend, my grocery bill would not go up in spite of more expensive beef.
Dave is joining a growing number of Manitoba producers moving toward grass fed beef. Check out other sources at www.manitobagrassfedbeef.ca . I am pleased to know that Dave raises his animals in a healthy way – not in crowded cattle cities (feed lots), that, according to Michael Pollan, “…have produced more than their share of environmental and health problems: polluted water, toxic wastes, novel and deadly pathogens.”
Who was it that first decided to feed grain to a ruminant designed to eat grass? With four stomachs – rumen, reticulum, omasum and obomasum – a diet of grass is most in harmony with cattle’s physiology. When cattle are fed mostly grain there is a disruption of natural digestive processes. For one they stop chewing their cud, because grain can’t be recovered by cattle like balls of partially digested grass. Grain is food for animals with one stomach. When fed to ruminants, especially without other roughage, the function of the rumen is severely compromised, resulting in a variety of unhealthy conditions for the animal.
Small wonder that many cattle on crowded feedlots are sick and have to be feed massive doses of antibiotics just to keep them on their feet. At least 60% of all antibiotics produced today are fed to animals. That means that only strong pathogens survive as they develop ways to minimize the effects of antibiotics. Some of these pathogens and antibiotics find their way into the human food chain. Is it any wonder that resistance to antibiotics in people is a major health concern today? Dave’s beef contains no antibiotics or hormones.
And his grass fed beef is leaner than most. That means it contains less cholesterol than “marbled” grain fed beef. And how wonderful that my burgers don’t shrink to half their original size by the time they are cooked! Also, the ratio between omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids in grass fed beef is about 3:1, comparable to a healthy ratio in the human body. Grain-fed beef averages a ratio of 20:1.
The benefits of moving to grass fed beef go far beyond what I can say here, and it’s one of the topics of the movie “Fresh” to be shown on Wednesday January 23 at 6.30pm, at the Jake Epp Library – come and join us and learn more about your food!
By Jack Heppner