What's the big problem? Once again it's the realization that man in his finite wisdom can be really stupid, but yet THINKS he is all wise, particularly when there's a profit to be made. Yes, I'm beating up on the evil food corporations, and no they aren't really stupid because after all they've figured out ways to beat nature and then manipulate data to trick the masses only so THEY come out on top and not consumers. Maybe that's really brilliance, in a sort of diabolic sort of way. Take the beef industry for example. Most folks believe that when they grill up their prime rib, bake a pot roast, or sip on a bowl of stew that the meat is suitable for consumption. After all, how else can beef be made a non-food product, right? I ranted about the produce industry in a previous post and the various dubious processes it goes through from seed to plate rendering it a non-food. But did you know that the way cattle is treated these days is just as bad?
One little trick that farmers have been using for years, mostly with the advent of industrial farming is to feed the beeves grain...yes lots of grain, instead of grass. Why? TO fatten them up so they can get more money per pound. It's cheap to feed (don't need as much pasture) especially when it's been genetically modified by Monsanto and sold to the farmers CHEAP (with subsidies of course to keep farmers in business) and keeping prices low so that it's more affordable to buy at the stores. Cause Americans LUV to eat cheap! After all the cheaper the grocery bill the more money there is left over to paar-tay. At least for a few years until it all catches up... with that first heart attack, cancer or disease du-jour. Then health suddenly begins to mean something...but I digress. Back to the point...you see, cows were never intended to eat grains...at least for any length of time. If it were left up to cows, how many of them would you see running around looking for corn fields to sustain them. None! Cows were meant to be pastured on GRASS. That's why the are called ruminants and have multiple stomachs. I love the verse of scripture quoted from a Weston A. Price article (link below): And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be satisfied. — Deut 11:15 See God said it first!
Grass fed beef is a whole different animal (no pun intended :)) when it comes to nutrition. It's high in omega-3 fatty acids, that's the good fat that is so imbalanced in the SAD (standard American diet), which proportionately is way off with the omega-3 to omega-6 balance. Our consumption of omega-6's (polyunsaturated fats) due to processed foods exceeds our intake of omega-3's which come from eggs, fatty fish, flax seeds, walnuts, avocados an now you know...grass fed beef. Pasture raised beeves (I like that word...was actually a homeschool spelling word recently) also have a high amount of fat burning fat called CLA or conjugated linoleic acid...it's also a great cancer fighter. Unlike grain which not only tends to make the cow fatter in turn makes YOU fatter from high SATURATED fat. You know the saying, you are what you eat. Primarily because it is low on the CLA. Also, grain fed cows tend to be more susceptible to disease as the raw materials for fighting illness are missing in grains. So that leads to antibiotics in your beef. Unless the farmer is ethical and removes the sick cow before slaughter....doubtful. In fact, my farmer friend who we get raw milk from said when she goes to the stock yards she will see culled cows with tumors...she said they usually end up being ground and sold to grocery stores...tumors and all. Nasty!
Sensing my sarcasm today? Good, because I'm in rare form, fed up with the world and it's lies! That's one of the reasons I write about this stuff, give speeches and teach weekly at my church, because I want people to understand that the only way to good health is to own it. Yes, it's the narrow road, it's INconvenient, hard work and yes more expensive. Only because society has been conditioned by the industry to enjoy laziness, convenience and cheap garbage food. Unfortunately, we are the ones who pay the price not just individually but collectively with continued rising health care costs.
The good new is not everyone has to go out and buy a farm. Thankfully, there are local resources in many areas that provide pasture fed food to the public. Just have to put in a little leg work to find them. Eat Wild http://www.eatwild.com/ is an on-line directory of farms who do just this. When we lived in a subdivision we depended heavily on local farmers and health food stores. Now with more land we can carry some of this burden ourselves. We are looking forward to raising our own cattle soon, but in the mean time enjoy a healthy, pastured half of cow sitting in our chest freezer from a local farm. Nothing like going to your own grocery store in your home for a nice sirloin. It's the best feeling!
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