A more holistic consideration of Grass fed beef. 

By Teri Clayton 

In this article, I will be trying to share a broader perspective of the benefits of grass fed beef. This is by no means a full consideration, but aims to at least point towards a broader view of the benefits of grass fed beef. 

From the beginning

Once upon a time we viewed nutrition through the fractured lens of basic units – namely carbohydrates, fats and proteins, this developed alongside a deeper understanding of the need for a variety of essential vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) were quantified based on the minimal dosage required to prevent symptoms of deficiency. It is already obvious from this, that sticking to RDA’s, for example, is in no way intended to reveal the optimal levels of nutrition required to achieve peak health. 

This old story of nutrition guides us in how to ensure we are getting the nutrients required for survival, without developing overt symptoms of disease. 

Thankfully, our nutritional story is evolving, as we have developed a good working knowledge of bioavailable nutrition. For example, we now understand that not all forms of vitamins and minerals are equal. Different mineral and vitamin salts, or protein complexes have different affinities for absorption in the human gut, as well as physiological activity. 

Those seeking to supplement with magnesium, for example, will find themselves faced with an overwhelming amount of choice between magnesium complexes – ranging from the cheap and popular magnesium oxide salts, through to the pricey but more bioavailable magnesium bisglycinate(1), or neuro-targeted threonate complexes. 

Current science is now heading deeper down the nutritional rabbit hole into the stories of nano-particle packages and genetic messaging with micro and messenger RNA, as well as the microbiome and evolutionary adaptation. We are, for example, beginning to understand that the microbiome of each individual is totally unique, therefore each individual will have changeable and different requirements for nutrients to others. 

Viewed from the current nutritional ‘basics’ story, it is now well known and accepted that grass fed beef and dairy products are different (and superior) in their nutrient profiles compared to grain fed (2,3,4). Yet there is far more to uncover about the benefits of grass fed beef than basic nutrition, as you will discover!

We will move through this article expanding our understanding of nutrition WAY beyond measurables, so let’s begin on a solid rooted foundation that will allow us to rise up and above the limits of the current ‘nutritional benefits’ paradigm. 

So what do we currently know (and can measure) regarding the benefits of grass fed beef?

Nutritional benefits of grass fed beef

• High in bioavailable immune boosting zinc
• Contains brain and eye health supporting omega 3 fatty acids
• Highly bioavailable source of haem iron
• Source of conjugated linolenic acid 
  • “Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is the only fatty acid shown unequivocally to inhibit carcinogenesis in experimental animals (5)
• High in precursors for vitamin A and E
• Source of cancer fighting antioxidants glutathione (GT) and superoxide dismutase
• Contains Vitamin B12, B3, B6
• Complete essential amino acid profile
• Enhanced micronutrients absorption through the ‘Meat Factor’ (6)

‘Research spanning three decades suggests that grass-based diets can significantly improve the fatty acid (FA) composition and antioxidant content of beef’ (5)

Several studies suggest that grass-based diets elevate precursors for Vitamin A and E, as well as cancer fighting antioxidants such as glutathione (GT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity as compared to grain-fed contemporaries (5)

Viewed through the lens of scientifically verifiable nutrients, the picture is still anything but straightforward. Previously unexplored benefits from animal sourced foods,for example, are still being discovered, including the presence of phytonutrients and something known as  ‘The Meat Factor’. The meat factor is described as the ability of muscle meat to enhance the absorption of micronutrients and minerals such as zinc and iron from plant foods.  Beef for example can enhance iron absorption from plant based foods through the presence of something called L-α-glycerophosphocholine(6). Muscle meats contain compounds such as phospholipids that are thought to enhance the bioavailability of certain nutrients through the creation of nano-particles. 

The more we explore this realm of nutrition scientifically – the more we are led back to the conclusion that nature’s intelligent design leads not towards definitive knowledge, but only towards greater wonder and awe. When it comes to nutrition, it’s a case of the more we learn, the more we realise how much more there is still to know. Every answer we discover yields even more questions. Will we ever know enough in order to unlock and understand a replicable code for perfect nutrition? No, not whilst we are continually adapting, living on an evolving planet in an ever changing and expanding universe!

In natural systems made up of living forms, life is ever evolving and adapting and what works one year, may not work the next, what works for one person will not always work for another and what creates health in one situation could very easily create imbalance and disease in another.  Nature doesn’t just move and grow randomly, it is made up of balancing relationships that develop in a unique way, depending upon the environment in which they develop.. 

Nature truly does know best and we would do well to spend more time learning for no other reason but to live in greater awe and wonder at the miracle of life, instead of ignorantly attempting to control it. 

Environmental benefits:

It goes without saying that grass fed, agro-ecologically farmed meat is a huge boon to the health of the environment. Our work is centred around supporting regenerative grazing as a key step in restoring the health of our ecosystems that necessarily involve humans and our nutrient requirements.  

Here is a highly oversimplified view of the benefits:

(We discuss in other articles and on-line courses how holistically managed grazing animals contribute to the benefits listed below)

• Improved soil health
• Improved biodiversity
  • Increased worm counts
  • Increased beetles
  • Increased spiders
  • etc
• Reduced flood risk
• Increased carbon sequestration
• Improved hydrology cycles
• Improved ecosystem services
• Cleaner water

You can also find out more through listening to regenerative agriculture consultant Caroline Grindrod in the following podcast.

Many will also already be aware of the work of Allan Savory and it’s well worth listening to his tragic story of how he came to understand the importance of grazing animals in preventing and reversing the desertification of landscapes.

Socio-economic perspectives:

There are a plethora of socio-economic benefits to grass fed beef, here again are just a few examples:

• Greater food security
• Nutrient density, reduces risk of malnutrition
• Improved Farmer quality of life
• Increased social resilience
• Support for localised supply chains
• Less reliance on inputs ensures many small scale local producers are able to supply fresh wholefoods nationwide. 

What is now also coming to light alongside our evolving nutritional story, is the need to reconsider the role of nutrient dense animal sourced foods in our regular diets. We need to address the issues we are facing with malnutrition, especially in areas with a poorer socio-economic status, whilst also transitioning over to agro-ecologically produced food, (including meat). It is not acceptable to withdraw nutrient dense animal sourced foods from the tables of families and schools, where concerns over stunted children’s growth are growing at an alarming rate (7). This is especially worrying when you consider that most of our systematic decision making is still working from the outdated model that separates nutrition into very basic parts. 

In our opinion, there urgently needs to be an effective public effort to increase the availability of nutrient dense animal sourced foods from systems that restore biodiversity and environmental health AND nourish the future generation. If the public doesn’t demand it, it isn’t going to happen.     

A broader and deeper perspective

The world as we currently know it relies heavily upon neatly packaged data fed into predictive models, in order to define aims and objectives and devise official guidelines. This approach, whilst being a useful tool, is inevitably based on faulty assumptions, (what we currently consider to be true). This, of course, will be amended and adjusted as human knowledge increases. It also entirely dismisses as yet unmeasured factors and cannot account for known unknowns (what we know that we don’t know), or unknown unknowns (what we don’t know that we don’t know). 

When it comes to dealing with the need for dramatic change – as we are – we cannot afford to be working with maps that are full of faulty assumptions, dead ends and blind spots. We need to collect together as complete a picture as possible, that includes quantitative, as well as qualitative considerations. A picture that offers us a glimpse into possibilities that would otherwise not be recognised. This is why we support the use of holistic frameworks that allows the use of a range of tools, (that includes predictive models), within the context of complex, interdependent and evolving systems. 

We know that the more we can zoom out and look at the bigger picture the more likely we are to discover, as yet unseen solutions and reveal potential outcomes previously unconsidered.

Thinking of the bigger picture when it comes to human civilisation, it is abundantly clear to us that grass fed beef is vitally important when it comes to creating a better future. We have co-evolved alongside livestock and diverse grasslands are an essential part of ecology. With the little amount we do truly know about how to live in harmony with nature and how to achieve better health, we need to preserve the relationships that nature has evolved into. 

It is time to stop making decisions based largely upon data and consider a more complete and humane perspective, with the humility to allow room for what we do not yet know. 

Evolution of life

Discoveries in science are now emerging to reveal the extent to which everything upon our planet is interconnected. From the terpenes released from tree leaves that boost the human immune system (8) and the plant messages distributed at superspeeds along underground highways of fungal mycelium, to the sharing of evolutionary codes between microbial organisms within different species (9), a new paradigm in biology is about to go mainstream. 

When one truly begins to understand the impact of HOW we grow our food on the capacity for the harmonious evolution of life, it becomes immediately obvious why we must learn how to produce our food in greater harmony with nature. 

The optimal habitat for ruminants are glades that open out on the edges of wooded areas, enabling these rich habitats to support a myriad of creatures and apex predators and their co-evolution into cycles that create ever greater homeostasis and balance. 

These glades can be created by humans, but also, (according to Paul Stamets), the great invisible fungal architects (such as the honey fungus)  that bring down trees, converting wood into water and rich deposits that will fuel the growth of rapidly growing meadow species upon which ruminants rely. This process of glade formation, leads to nutrient rich deposits being laid down into the soil before the whole system heads into another cycle of succession that can grow and sustain climax species once more. 

Long term effects on animal and environmental health

Farming grass fed beef leads to a genetic lineage that has to work in harmony with nature and is well adapted to specific environments to promote disease resistance, nutrient utilisation and adaptation to climate conditions. 

Systems that rely upon supplementary feeding of cattle and selecting cattle for rapid growth – leads to a weakening of the connection between livestock genes and their environment. 

Through allowing animals to genetically adapt to naturally present conditions instead of synthetically created ones, we support animals to move towards greater resilience and health.

Effects of Choice and Human Free Will

People make decisions using an array of tools, sometimes leaning entirely on a type of feeling, or reason and at other times seeking a balanced choice that draws from a complex set of considerations. These tools include researching statistical information, ‘gut’ feeling, previous experience and learning, opinions, objective and reasonable thought, advice/guidance from others, social conditioning, emotions/feelings, a sixth/intuitive sense, conscience, and many others. 

Even if someone is making a choice whilst relying solely on quantitative, factual information, predictive models, or fixed algorithms to inform them – the final decision willdecision, will inevitably be coloured by the unique considerations of an individual. The computer may say ‘NO’, but a human being will have their own responses, thoughts and feelings about this, even if they go along with the decision of the computer. All decisions made by a human being are coloured by the human capacity to make a free will choice.

When someone selects a meal or snack from a cafe, shop or even vending machine, there will be many factors, (conscious or otherwise), that govern which food is finally selected. 

Can you recognise some of the factors that may have coloured your choices in a cafe/restaurant, such as:

• Looking for the most value for money?
• Looking for the most filling option?
• Looking for the food that is most convenient to eat? 
• Anticipation of a feel-good rush when eating the food?
• Feeling shame when looking at unhealthy options?
• Catchy marketing phrases/slogans repeating in your mind?
• A sense of pride/achievement in choosing a healthier option?
• Logical assessment based purely on number crunching, i.e. price or calories?

Though people’s final choices often appear simple – human decision making is complex, nuanced, contextual and most importantly entirely unique. It is therefore not appropriate for anyone to define what is the right, or the wrong way to make decisions – because everyone has to work with what works well for them. Many people for example would not feel comfortable letting a computer make a decision for them – because they may sense that this approach itself is inhumane and wrong. 

Free will choice and the life learning that comes from decisions we each make, is a key part of human development and maturation. When a child decides to touch a hot oven, they soon realise that was a bad idea, learning not to do it again and also (the more powerful lesson) that making a good decision is important – because the consequences of bad decisions can be painful.

Many young adults often learn that drinking too much alcohol is a bad idea and will vow (and often fail) to never drink again. The learning is two-fold – 

1. They learn that drinking too much alcohol causes uncomfortable effects
2. They realise that the choices they make are important to their wellbeing (and the wellbeing of others).They therefore take greater care in the future when making decisions. 

If humans did not have the capacity to make choices, or experience the effects of those choices – they would learn very little and their lives would feel pretty meaningless. It’s in the realisation that we can make good or bad decisions that we are driven to contemplate our choices, develop greater self-awareness and better our lives – which is good for everyone. Humans thrive in a meaningful life, when they discover, through learning, how they can make things better.

Underlying intentions and factors that influence decisions can lead to a totally different outcome – even when making the exact same choice! Let’s try to understand this with some imaginary examples:

Let’s compare two people who make the same choice but experience a totally different outcome due to having different intentions. 

1. Person 1 – Choses to eat a processed sugary food, because that was all that was available in their price range and they needed to eat something. 
2. Person 2 – Chooses to eat the same processed sugary food because they just want to eat something ‘nice’ as a snack, even though they have already eaten. 

Here both people make the same choice – but follow an entirely different decision-making process. Perhaps Person 1 would feel fine about their choice, but Person 2 may feel guilty and subsequently feel rubbish.

How do you imagine each person felt after eating their choice of food in the examples above?

It is possible to see how the same choice can lead to different outcomes in individuals.

If we feel bad about our intentions, even though we made a ‘good’ choice, – then the outcome is still likely to unfold badly. 

So what the heck does this all have to do with the benefits of grass fed beef?

A personal story

I spent years buying organic produce from supermarkets because I wanted to reduce my family’s exposure to unnecessary chemicals, not because I wanted to support the creation of/transition towards a better farming system. 

Of course I understood that buying organic would have an effect on what supermarkets sold, but for me it was not my primary intention. I began to realise however that my food choices were not contributing to a better way forward – from a more holistic perspective. 

I had absolutely no idea who was growing my food, how it was being grown and how that impacted communities or small scale producers. At that time it was also becoming increasingly apparent to me that small scale food producers were struggling, unable to sell to supermarkets,disconnected from supply chains and undervalued, or not even on the radar of their local communities. What had I been thinking – buying organic food in supermarkets all those years? 

So with that, I set a new intention to obtain healthful food from farmers and outlets that were truly geared towards creating a better food system. It was through this intention that I could see how I may contribute towards a better future, not just for my family – but for farmers and others too. 

The happy ending to my story was that through creating a more holistic, improved intention, I discovered regenerative agriculture and the availability of grass fed beef from small scale loving stewards of the land. I remember the feeling of ‘rightness’ as I cooked up my first oxtail soup made from regeneratively grazed beef, raised by farmers who loved farming and the land. As I ate that bowl of soup, with every spoonful I felt relaxed, contented, at peace with my food choices. I was now able to find ways to feed my family more nutrient dense, chemical free food AND I also now knew that my choices were contributing in some way to a better future. A better future for my own children, for nature, whole communities and all future generations. 

If we eat when we are feeling stressed due to our sympathetic nervous system being active, then the blood flow to the gut will be reduced and we won’t digest the food properly. Feeling content and happy about our food choices supports the ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic nervous system, allowing blood to flow towards and support improved digestion and regenerative processes. 

Because I now felt good about my choices, my intention and the way my food was grown I could now really relax and enjoy meals with my family. My own ease and enjoyment surely impacts the mood and digestion of my family as they eat too. Everything is so interconnected!

The benefits of regeneratively produced food go way beyond nutrients, they are interwoven with the very fabric of what it is to be human. 

If you want to make good decisions when it comes to your food – think, feel, research, contemplate, observe and learn. Only you know what food works for you – we are all unique, evolving and ever changing – the only way to create a better way forward is to learn how to become more balanced and aware. 

All of this matters. It matters more than you think it does, because the heart is intelligent too and how we each feel about what we are eating needs to be taken into consideration. We cannot measure our way to a better future, because some things simply cannot be measured. 

 References:

1. https://aspenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0148607194018005430
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814608012612
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846864/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22060866/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20219103/
6. https://academic.oup.com/advances/advance-article/doi/10.1093/advances/nmac089/6687799
7. https://www.bapen.org.uk/bapen-statements/child-malnutrition-in-england-doubles
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4536854/