Pastured Animals

This is a repost of a blog I wrote  a couple of years ago.  

Why GrassFed Cattle?

Better Health and Nutrition

The meat from grass fed cattle more closely resemble the hunter-gatherer meat that our ancestors dined on. What is the difference? Cattle that is raised and finished on grass bypasses the entire CAFO system that is part of large scale, industrialized agriculture. CAFO stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. The health benefits are numerous.

First, the meat from grass fed cattle is higher in Omega 3 Fatty Acids as well as Conjugated Linoleic Acid. Why is this important? One of the problems with the modern western diet is the omega 3 to 6 ratio is out of balance. In the past, it was more like a one to one ratio but our diets today are lacking in fish, flaxseeds, and of course, pastured meat. Compared with grass, grain is very low in omega-3 fatty acids and high in omega-6 fatty acids. We need both, but as always we are looking for balance. Omega -3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties.

Ruminants are also abundant in Conjugated Linoleic Acid. CLA has shown great promise for fighting cancer and cardiovascular disease. The meat from grass fed cattle is also much higher in vitamin E. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and a great immune booster. Grass has way more Vitamin E than grain and soy. We eat what the cattle eat. Grass Fed beef is also higher incarotenoids, another family of antioxidants. Some of you might remember a photo from last year that I posted of a butchered steer. The point of this photo was to show folks how yellow the fat was. The fat is yellow because of the carotenoids in the grass. Some of you have also witnessed this beautiful yellow colour in pastured milk, butter and eggs. Yummy.

Cattle that are raised for CAFOs are injected with hormones.

Which products are approved in Canada?

"There are six hormonal growth promoters approved in Canada for use in beef cattle: three natural - progesterone, testosterone and estradiol-17ß; and three synthetic - trenbolone acetate (TBA), zeranol and melengestrol acetate (MGA). Hormonal growth promoters are not approved for use in any species other than beef cattle" (Health Canada).

Please take a look at the article below published by Health Canada.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/vet/faq/growth_hormones_promoters_croissance_hormonaux_stimulateurs-eng.php

Note at the bottom of the article Health Canada's conclusion that hormonal growth promoters do not affect the health of the human population. The EU has banned all growth hormones because of the links to cancer. Decide for yourself.

http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/pet_203_e_28939.html

The link above was published by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. It is in response to a petition by concerned Canadians regarding the impact of hormones used in the cattle and hog industry. The concern is that these hormones, which are in the manure, leach into the ground water as well as surface water.

Below is an excerpt from the article that explains hormonal health.

Note that the highest concentrations of manure occur in Southern Ontario and Quebec along the Great Lakes and St Laurence River, in central Alberta between Edmonton and Calgary, around Vancouver, and around Winnipeg. Any hormone pollution due to run-off and leaching of manure from intensive livestock operations would have an impact on millions of Canadians.

• There are health and environmental concerns about estrogen mimicking chemicals in the environment originating from certain plastics. There are health and environmental concerns about hormones from human pharmaceuticals that survive sewage treatment being discharged into the environment. Hormones released from intensive livestock operations raise the same issues.

Hormones are chemical messengers that provide signals at the cellular level to control normal physical development and many organ functions of living things, as well as the timing of physiological processes such as reproduction. Environmental chemicals that mimic the organism's own hormones interfere with these signals, leading to problems such as birth defects, feminization of males and masculinization of females—leading to reproductive problems, excess weight gain, early or delayed onset of puberty, excessive growth of susceptible cells such as hormone affected prostate cancer and breast cancer, etc. For example, one of the approved livestock hormones is medroxyprogesterone, which is known to cause birth defects in babies if the mother is exposed.

Hormones operate at vanishingly small quantities, so even minute traces of a synthetic hormone, hormone mimicking substance or natural hormone in the environment can have significant biological effects. Timing of exposure in relation to the organism's or cell's development is of great significance. For example: "Identification of low-dose effects that are different from those seen at high doses, the importance of timing of exposure, recognition of the unique effects that can be disrupted during development, and genetic variation in genetically-determined susceptibility, render the overly simplistic assumptions previously used in risk assessment invalid for many environmental chemicals." from page 110, "The Emerging Science of Endocrine Disruption" by J.P. Myers, L.J., Guillette, Jr., P.Palanza, S.Parmigiani, S.H. Swann and F.S. Vom Saal, in the World Scientific Journal, 2004.