It’s very true that all meat, regardless of how raised, is an important nutrient source – especially for developing children. 1
However, some serious ethical and environmental concerns are associated with factory-farmed animals reared to produce cheap meat. These concerns give fuel to the argument that meat no longer has a place in a modern diet.
Exciting new science has, however, further highlighted why grass-fed and factory-farmed meat should not be treated equally. In fact, beyond the legitimate and convincing environmental and ethical arguments, it now turns out eating grass-fed meat could be an efficient way of eating your greens!
At the root of most of the global issues we face today is our tendency to apply a mechanical mindset to our management of natural systems – both the outer environment and our inner ecosystem (our bodies).
In farming or human health, if you want to benefit from the vast productive capacity of functional natural systems and their inherent ability to balance and suppress disease, you need to work with nature rather than quantify, separate, and understand it by the individual components. We cover this topic in more depth here.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
In my work as a consultant in regenerative agriculture, to benefit from these natural processes, we manage land and livestock with principles rather than prescriptions. The further you wander from these laws of nature, the more costly the economic, ecological and social consequences. This has always been the case, forever, for everyone. And it won’t change just because we have invented a new technological revelation such as chemical fertiliser or lab-grown meat.
Living by these principles does not mean you’re anti-science. Not at all. It simply helps you understand that the science currently available is only a partial view of a far larger picture. True scientists understand this completely – this is why they do what they do. There’s always more to discover and understand.
Because I live by these principles, I have always known that meat from animals raised within a healthy functional ecosystem is better for the planet, people and worth the extra price. But, in a western society that makes decisions primarily based on empirical evidence, it is frustrating that there’s not more good science to confirm what I already know to be true. This is starting to change.
The many health benefits of grass-fed meat.
What we do already know about the health benefits of grass-fed meat is thankfully pretty compelling 2:
Meat from animals reared in functional ecosystems on a diverse pasture is higher in omega 3. It has a healthy ratio between omega 3 and 6, which allows us to benefit from omega 3 essential fatty acid’s potent anti-inflammatory properties. As inflammation has been scientifically proven to be associated with nearly all modern chronic disease, this is a pretty big deal. 3
Grass-fed meat is rich in conjugated linoleic acid – CLA. CLA is associated with a lowered risk of heart disease and may help prevent and manage type 2 diabetes. 4 5
CLA has also been shown to reduce cancer risk by blocking the growth and metastatic spread of tumours. 6 7
Some research suggests that CLA can help reduce body fat and promote weight loss. 8
For many years, we have understood that grass-fed meat, compared to grain-fed meat, contains a powerhouse of minerals and vitamins, including bioavailable protein, zinc, iron, selenium, calcium/or B12. All of these nutrients are critical for fighting disease and maintaining health – especially in a world where our fruits and vegetables contain fewer nutrients with every passing decade. 9
We know – although often choose to ignore – that animals reared in factory-farmed systems are more likely to suffer from disease (and therefore be routinely treated with antibiotics and medication) and live in low welfare conditions. Their production has a vast and negative impact on the environment. (We cover this in-depth in our free introductory course on eating meat.)
Powered by plants.
We have for a long time known and studied the critical role of phytonutrients in promoting health and fighting disease in plants, animals and humans. ‘Phytonutrients’ or ‘phytochemical’ are primary or secondary metabolites found in plants and recognised to have nutritional quality attributes and powerful potential health benefits.
Beyond the protective qualities they provide the plants themselves, these compounds have been known from ancient times to elicit positive biologic responses in human and animal systems. These elicitors have been shown to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases that plague modern society, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes and many more. 10
The need for food rich in phytonutrients to help tackle our ill-health epidemic has led to a push towards plant-based diets. It has also accelerated interest in the metabolic engineering and the genetic modification of plants to ‘create’ – and presumably patent – varieties that are higher in these disease suppressive nutrients. 11
Nature had this whole issue worked out a very long time ago – and without the need for a potentially disastrous intervention from modern technology.
Wild plants are a powerhouse of beneficial plant nutrients. However, it takes healthy soil and healthy ecosystems to brew – through complex interactions between plant and the soil food web – the range of natural medicines found in our native wild plants.
Wild dandelions, for instance, contain seven times more phytonutrients than spinach, a plant considered a superfood among the sad array of factory-farmed vegetables proudly displayed on the supermarket shelves.
Wild food wins.
Certain wild apple species contain a whopping 100 times more phytonutrients than the golden delicious you will find at your local convenience store. 12
The dramatic loss of phytonutrients in our modern plant foods comes from a combination of factors;
- Plant breeding for flavour, size and texture above and beyond health properties.
- The fact that the main plant foods we eat come from growing systems that are the antithesis of a healthy functioning ecosystem. Lifeless soils and reliance on damaging chemicals lead to vegetables, grain, and fruits unable to perform the basic processes required to synthesise the plant nutrients that offer us health benefits. 13
- The long gap between harvest and digestion. How we harvest, transport and cook food can have a degrading effect on our food’s nutrients.
But did you know that striking new scientific evidence shows that grass-fed meat contains the very disease-fighting phytonutrients we hope to find in plants?
Health-promoting phytonutrients are higher in grass-fed meat and milk
Researchers have found that healing phytochemicals such as terpenoids, phenols, carotenoids and anti-oxidants with anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and anti-cancer effects are found in the meat and milk of livestock who have access to healthy, diverse pastures.
‘’Grazing livestock on plant-species diverse pastures concentrates a wider variety and higher amounts of phytochemicals in meat and milk compared to grazing monoculture pastures, while phytochemicals are further reduced or absent in meat and milk of grain-fed animals. ‘’
HEALTH-PROMOTING PHYTONUTRIENTS ARE HIGHER IN GRASS-FED MEAT AND MILK
This revelation is perhaps shining a light on why many traditional meat-eating cultures and modern carnivores see such dramatic health benefits from eating a diet high in grass-fed meat – when on the face of it, the diet seems to conflict with the natural principle of diversity. 14 15
By eating meat grown on healthy ecosystems – either hunted from wild landscapes or reared on regenerative farms – we leverage and upcycle the herbivores’ foraging behaviour.
These herbivores freely graze and browse on the thousands of species of the most phytonutrient dense plants of all – wildflowers, grasses and legumes – growing on healthy soil or wild landscapes.
Foraging phytonutrients for you.
Many of these native plants are inedible or unpalatable to humans, but as part of the pastures and woodlands they form, they are the foundation of a biodiverse food web. These plants create drought and flood-resistant landscapes that sequester carbon from the atmosphere. By eating the animals that eat these plants, we provide food and nutrition security in a highly vulnerable foodscape of monoculture grown vegetables and grains.
Healthy pasture could legitimately be considered the only truly functional ecosystem that remains a part of conventional modern farming systems.
So I feel reassured. From my own experience of nature’s principles, I know that eating animals who have spent their entire lives grazing and browsing herb-rich pastures is better than eating meat from animals fed on grain.
Eating animals that are part of a fully functional ecosystem – such as the regenerative farms that supply the meat we sell – is better for the animal, better for the environment, and better for my health.
I am excited about what new incredible scientific revelations will further demonstrate that nature has the complete picture – the best and brightest human efforts still only represent a tiny piece of the puzzle.
Caroline Grindrod
One thought on “Grass-fed meat – so much more than a source of omega-3.”
Leave a Reply
Related posts
(AIP) Paleo Meatballs with Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
Is your terrain healthy?
8 Key Differences between Paleo/Primal Diets and Modern Diets
Regenerative Agriculture, the Solution to Climate Change.
Responsible Foraging
Regenerative Agriculture – the answer(s)
Is it just a lot of hot air? – The beef and methane debate
Humans are wired to be socially connected.
Plant-based diets
Are you a livestock farmer looking for a long term solution that will reduce fertiliser costs?
Antibiotics – What have they done for our health?
Are you missing out? The potential nutrient deficiencies in vegetarian diets.
Nutrition Beyond Measurables
Plant-based ‘meats’
Fast ‘slow food’
Primal Meats: A Review of 2018
Is ‘Vegan’ a Dirty Word?
Digital Addiction
Regenerative Agriculture, the Solution to Climate Change
Farm Profile: Meet Northfield Farm
The EAT-Lancet Report:
Primal Nomads
Report; ‘Soil health: a national security profile’
Human Health and the Microbiome
Get primal – eat wild game meat.
Why would I want to eat like a cave man – they died young!
Wild water
What is Complexity?
Carnivore diet
The number one issue today in health, food and farming.
Chris Kresser on Why You Should Eat Meat
Primal Promise
(AIP) Paleo Slow Roasted Pork Belly Slices with Sea Salt and Rosemary
Slow Cooking Meat – The Hidden Health Benefits Of Cheaper Cuts.
Farm Profile: Meet Rhiwlas Farm
Isn’t all beef in the UK grass-fed?
Primal Living
Is it environmentally sustainable to eat meat?
Is eating meat bad for you?
Primal Living is energy-efficient living
Veganuary or Regenuary?
Maybe we should worship the sun after all?
The true cost of globalisation
Protection or resilience?
Farm Profile: Meet Boyd Farm
Wild about wild game
Regenerative Agriculture, the Solution to Climate Change.
Thank you for the pioneering work that you and all at Primal Meats are doing. It is courageous work to move in a direction that is counter to the normal culture, and I applaud you. I agree and subscribe to the views you express in this blog, and I buy from you when I can. I know you are ‘out there’ and that’s what counts.