It’s a fact….

Several articles have come to our attention that we thought you might like to hear about, the first in the newsletter of Animal Welfare Approved.  It’s a discussion of a study by the United Kingdom’s National Trust, which manages a bazillion acres of land and overseas both conventional and natural cattle production.

The Trust wanted to get to the bottom line of the controversy over the effect on the environment by the two types of management.  Big Ag there (and here) has launched a campaign claiming that actually feed lot production is easiest on the environment because the cattle are fattened more quickly….thus less methane gas emission.

The Trust…and Animal Welfare Approved…conclude that is a highly misleading (dishonest) argument.  It focuses entirely on the life cycle of the cow and concludes simply more methane gas is emitted if a cow lives longer.  What it does not say is that a cow raised solely on grass also sequesters far more carbon from the atmosphere…a net plus on its own…and also does not depend on all the fuel, chemicals, and drugs needed for that feedlot animal.  That, in, total is a far greater pollutant…far more harmful to the environment…and us.

Concludes the National Trust and Animal Welfare Approved:  “Grassfed Beef is Greener–and That’s a Fact”.  (the title of their article)

We also note two recent articles in the Washington Post:

The first, this week, salutes the various farmers’ markets in the city and their contribution to healthy eating.  The only beef breed mentioned in the article is Devon.

Earlier in the Post, there was another article about beef, a review of the many steakhouses now in Washington.   Their favorite steak came from a restaurant that promotes its meat as originating at a local, holistic, natural farm.  A check of the farm’s website indicates it is not holistic and in fact its animals are fed grain.

The confusion over just what is natural and what is grass fed is confusing, a line increasingly being “fuzzed” by Big Ag and the government to protect the industry from competition.  Just to be clear: if it is not an entirely grass fed and finished animal, it does not carry the many health benefits of the real thing!

The chef did have a cooking tip though: he briefly sautes his steaks in butter before putting them on the grill.  In the printed sheet we supply with all our boxed beef we also recommend a dollop of butter, but at the very end of the cooking process.  We’re going to try the chef’s idea with our next steaks.