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PRODUCT
INFORMATION
Unnatural Diets. The main ingredient in the diet of
99% of all beef available for purchase is grain, which is kept at
artificially low prices by government intervention. To further
cut costs, the feed may contain “by-product feedstuff” such
as municipal garbage, stale cookies, poultry manure, chicken
feathers, bubble gum, and restaurant waste. Until 1997, cattle
were also being fed meat that had been trimmed from other cattle,
in effect turning herbivores into carnivores. This unnatural
practice is believed to be the underlying cause of “mad cow
disease.”
Animal Stress. Few people realize that a high-grain
diet can cause physical problems for ruminants—cud-chewing animals
such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep. Ruminants
are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not
starchy, low-fiber grain. When cattle are switched from pasture
to grain, for example, they can become afflicted with a number
of disorders, including a common but painful condition called
“subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at their
bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious
and sometimes fatal reactions, these animals are given chemical
additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics.
Some of these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine.
When medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become
resistant to them. When people become infected with disease-resistant
bacteria, there are few drugs available to treat them.
Lower Nutritional Value. Switching ruminants
from their natural diet of grasses to grains also lowers the
nutritional value of their meat and dairy products. Compared
with grass-fed meat, grain-fed meat contains more total fat,
saturated fat, and calories. It also has less vitamin E, beta-carotene,
and two health-promoting fats called omega-3 fatty acids and
“conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA. The milk from dairy cows
raised in confinement is similarly low in these nutrients. One
result of our modern “advances” in animal technology is inferior
food.
Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese. Chickens,
turkeys, and pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically,
they suffer an even worse fate than the ruminants. Tightly packed
into cages, sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal
behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and roosting. Worse yet,
they cannot escape the stench of their own manure. Meat and
eggs from these animals are also lower in a number of key vitamins
and omega-3 fatty acids.
The Environment. Raising animals on pasture
is better for the environment than raising them in confinement.
In a conventional feedlot operation, for example, cattle deposit
large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure
must be collected and transported away from the area. It costs
money to haul it away, so it is dumped as close to the feedlot
as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is overloaded
with nutrients, resulting in ground and water pollution. When
animals are raised on pasture, their manure is a welcome source
of organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.”
The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals
on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than sending them
to the feedlots. In order for the meat to be succulent and tender,
the animals need high-quality forage, especially in the months
prior to slaughter. This requires healthy soil and careful pasture
management so that the animals are grazing the grass at its
optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the
key to high-quality animal products, many people who raise animals
on pasture refer to themselves as "grassfarmers" rather than
ranchers.
Back to Pasture. In recent years, thousands
of ranchers and farmers across the United States and Canada
have stopped sending their animals to the feedlots. Instead,
they keep the animals home on the range and feed them food that
is as close as possible to their native diets. They do not implant
them with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives,
because they are content to let the animals grow at their normal
pace. Animals raised on pasture live such low-stress lives that
they are superbly healthy. When you choose products from pastured
animals, you are eating the food that nature intended. You are
also supporting small farmers, safeguarding the environment,
promoting animal welfare, and eating food that is nutritious,
wholesome and delicious.
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