What's the Beef with Beef?

Grilling season is in full swing again. Certainly it is possible to compose a wonderful vegetarian meal on the grill, but meat eaters know that nothing compares to a beautiful ribeye steak slightly charred on the outside and juicy red on the inside. However, there is a growing consumer awareness of the dangers of supporting the commercial meat industry. In response to our growing number of inquiries from our consumer-conscious clientele, we felt it time to update our customers about the current state of the meat industry. This article focuses on the cattle industry and feedlots.

Many of us have long been aware of the horrors animals face in the world of commercial meat production. Animals raised under such atrocious conditions have to be pumped with antibiotics just to keep them alive. The use of antibiotics for treating the slightest ailment has become very common. On top of prescribed antibiotics for people, we consume more of them every time we eat conventioanlly raised meat products.

Conventional cattle spend most of their lives in feedlots. Rather than roaming lazily over grassy fields and lying peacefully under shady trees, they are prisoners of confining yards. Beneath their hooves are dirt and feces. Forced to live in crowded circumstances, these animals become stressed and prone to illness. Their natural grass-based diets are replaced with highly processed grains and low levels of roughage. This leads to digestive disorders that account for 25-33% of premature feedlot deaths. The NRC of the NAS (National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences) estimates that sickness, injury, and premature deaths represent a loss to the industry of 4.6 billion dollars per year in the U.S. alone.

Why did the beef industry turn to feedlots in the first place? There are a number of reasons, but the bottom line is industry profit. (Isn't it always about money?) Animals that are not free ranging are not needlessly wasting energy with all that walking around. They also fatten up a lot quicker on grains than they do on grasses. The result is a fatter animal in a shorter period of time.

A growing consumer preference for beef is another reason for feedlots. Americans consume almost one quarter of the world's beef. Cattle and livestock eat 70% of all grain harvested in the U.S., while many people go hungry. Large livestock customers (Tyson, Cargill, and IBP) contract with large farmers. They dictate explicit product requirements, encourage large feedlots, and demand uniform animals. Why? Because a Big Mac in Minnesota should taste the same as a Big Mac in Chicago.

Besides inhumane living conditions and treatment for the animals, there is also the environmental impact to consider. Feedlot waste leaches into the local water table. Grain fed beef is a significant factor in the production of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-all greenhouse gases.

Since 1960, more than 25% of Central American forests have been lost to beef production-most of which is exported to the U.S. and Europe. It is estimated that for every quarter pound fast-food hamburger made from Central American beef, 55 feet of tropical rainforest is destroyed.

As the population of the world continues to grow, we are sharing "... the same sized pie with smaller and smaller portions." Those of us in developed countries don't want to compromise our high standards of comfort. We persistently pursue the "short-sighted search for an ever-higher quality of life." While more developed nations have a lower population growth than those less developed, our numbers are still growing. Developed nations use 5 to 50 times the resources of less developed nations!

Grass-finished and PFB (pasture-based finished) cattle have less of an impact on the environment than those of the feedlots. Concentration of waste is greatly reduced, and PFB grain consumption is limited to only the last few weeks before slaughter. The grass-based diet leads to fewer digestive problems, and concurrently less greenhouse gas emittance.

Besides being far more environmentally friendly, grass and PFB beef enjoy a much higher quality of life, and have more health benefits to offer the consumer. They have less fat, and their fat also contains omega 3 fatty acids - the same desirable fatty acids found in fish and seafood! (Chlorophyll, found in grasses and algae, is the source of these health promoting fatty acids.) Omega 3s are "linked to a lower risk of virtually all so-called 'diseases of civilization', including cardiovascular disease, depression, ADHD, diabetes, Alzheimer's, obesity, asthma, and autoimmune diseases."

In summary, to be a more globally conscious individual, there are a few basic things you can do. First of all, consume less meat. The need for meat in the diet has declined over the past century. Secondly, purchase meat that you know to be humanely raised (such as at your local co-op). Also, when eating out, check with your restaurant of choice about whether their products come from free range farms. If not, opt for a vegetarian choice!

Editor's Note: All of the meat products sold in the Wedge Meat Dept. are pasture raised, and grain finished.