February 14,  2003

Food for a Healthy Heart

Americans are become increasingly aware of the health and safety issues of our food. These issues surround factory produced meat, eggs, and milk, and include the concern about antibiotics dn hormones in feed, effect of animal by-products in feed, animal welfare, environmental degradation, and the social impact of industrial livestock production.

Jo Robinson explains the surprising benefits of grass fed meat, eggs, and diary products in her book, Why Grassfed is Best! She highlights the nutritional and health advantages of products from animals fed on grass and hay compared to industrial feeding systems, often called CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations). Her book offers an array of information sources as well as a directory of pasture-based producers.

Marjorie Bender of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy points out the benefits of grass fed animals The ALBC News, Vol. 19, Issue 5. Meat and milk from grass fed cattle contain higher levels of Vitamin E and Beta Carotene, both antioxidants thought to inhibit cancer, than grain finished commercial cattle. Omega-3 fatty acids as well as conjugated linoleic acid (CCL) are much higher in grass fed animals.

Michael Pollan's feature article in the NY Times Magazine, This Steer's Life, follows the life of a feedlot steer, and concludes that large commercial feedlots are ecologically unsound as well as unhealthy for the animals, the workers and the consumers. Pollan supports grass feeding as the solution, and enjoys the fresh taste of grass finished beef.

Marion Burros, Food Editor for the NY Times has embraced the concept of naturally raised foods. "The Greening of the HerdÓ appeared in the May 29th issue, in which she points out that livestock producers in America have bred animals to perform in the feedlot, rather than on pasture, thus the need for heritage breeds that retain grass genetics. As a Thanksgiving treat, she offered her readers her enthusiastic paean on range reared heritage turkey breeds, recently nominated by ALBC to the Slow Food Ark of Taste.

With the promotion of the benefits of grass feeding has come misleading labeling. Most cattle and sheep spend part of their lives on pasture, but all commercial animals are finished in feedlots on a high grain diet that eliminates all benefits of the previous management. Most free range poultry may not have access to green living forage. If consumers do not know who grows their food, they should be asking for grass finished beef and lamb and pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and dairy products.

Many traditional breed of livestock retain the genetics to succeed on pasture. Grazing efficiency, good feet and legs for mobility, and better distribution of fat stores make breeds like the Highland, Galloway, Devon, Red Poll, and Dexter good breed choices for many markets. Navajo-Churro, Katahdin, Tunis, and Cotswold are a few of the sheep breeds that will excel on pasture in an appropriate environment. Factory pork has no comparison to pigs in clover. The Tamworth, Hereford, Gloucestershire Old Spots, and Red Wattle raised out of doors produce a rich, moist and flavorful pork now being sought by chefs and others who appreciate these culinary characteristics.

A Delaware or Wyandotte chicken raised on pasture will produce a truly golden egg, loaded with minerals, vitamins and other health benefits not available from the "factory girls.Ó And a supermarket chicken will never produce anything like the Sunday dinner centerpiece of one of the historic breeds raised out of doors.

For more information about grass friendly historic breeds, or to join in the effort to conserve rare breeds, contact Don Bixby at ALBC, PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312, PH. (919)542-5704 or e-mail dbixby@albc-usa.org