Many farm families, in an attempt to keep the farm profitable and alive, switched to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) in the 1950s for poultry and the 1970s and 1980s for cattle and pigs. CAFOs are highly efficient systems of feeding large quantities of animals, in small spaces, using mechanized systems to save time and labor. Chickens and pigs are raised in large buildings and cows are finished in large feed lots. This system has provided an abundance of food, at a cheap price, but unfortunately it has had some unexpected consequences. As people demand and support this cheap, highly industrialized, and more recently, highly processed food system, our health has declined and our medical bills have increased significantly.

Anyone that has driven by a CAFO is well aware that these systems don’t smell very good. Maybe there are some farmers that are able to maintain them better so they don’t smell, but all the large ones I have driven by have smelled terrible. My heart aches for the people that have to live by them. Maybe it’s just us that feel this way, because we love to be outside and will keep our windows open as much as possible. I’m so thankful for clean air to breathe! The smell alone should be an indication that this system may not create the healthiest meats for our families.

One of the unintended consequences of this system has been that animals living in these kinds of conditions have developed health problems and require immunizations and medications to stay alive. When we first started raising chickens, we were told by several people that our chickens would die if we didn’t feed medicated feed. Thankfully we didn’t listen and have watched our chickens thrive ever since. Rather than looking forward to the next medication to solve health problems in our animals, we look to the past and figure out what caused the problems in the first place and then make changes slowly to increase animal health by mimicking God’s design in nature. In nature animals move, they soak up the sun, they seek out their own medicine from plants, they build soil, they eat a more natural diet, and unless we have destroyed their ecosystem, they thrive without pharmaceuticals.

Since I learned about the Weston Price Foundation back in 2008 and a little later, Eat Wild, I slowly converted our diet to a highly digestible, pasture-based meats, 100 percent clean/organic, whole foods, nutrient dense diet that has improved our health and energy. Because I believe that getting our meats better was one of the more important switches we made, and that the quality of our meat is often overlooked, I will be spending the next few weeks on this subject.

Since lamb and beef are my favorite meats and they can be used interchangeably, I thought I would start with those. Beef and lamb raised on pasture will be higher in vitamins/minerals, contain more omega 3 fats, are higher in CLAs, contain lower cholesterol, and because the animals are on pasture their meat has better flavor and a cleaner smell. I will say that the flavor can be affected by what the animals are eating on pasture though. I have heard that in areas where there is a lot of sage brush the taste may not be as appealing. By choosing regenerative farms to buy from, we will also be helping with antibiotic resistance, since regenerative farmers/organic farmers do not use antibiotics (although some will use them as a last resort).

Despite all the research suggesting that animal products that come from a pasture-based system contain more vitamins and minerals and healthier fats, the FDA continues to drag their feet on this issue. I have read numerous articles stating that there is no difference between conventional and organic products. I disagree with this statement, but I will say that while certified organic products are better, a lot of these are being produced very similar to the conventional model. Animals are still being raised in confinement and not on pasture like people believe. While organic is better, you aren’t going to get the quality of meat you think you are getting unless you get to know your farmer and buy directly from someone you trust or do it yourself.

When most people think of beef or lamb, they think of them out grazing on pasture, but this isn’t the case. As Micheal Pollen states in an NPR interview, Cows see very little grass nowadays in their lives. They get them on corn as fast as they can, which speeds up their lifespan, gets them really fat, and allows you to slaughter them within 14 months.

The problem with this system, or one of the problems with this system, is that cows are not evolved to digest corn. It creates all sorts of problems for them. The rumen is designed for grass. And corn is just too rich, too starchy. So as soon as you introduce corn, the animal is liable to get sick.

It creates a whole [host] of changes to the animal. So you have to essentially teach them how to eat corn. You teach their bodies to adjust. And this is done in something called the backgrounding pen at the ranch, which is kind of the prep school for the feedlot. Here’s where you teach them how to eat corn.

You start giving them antibiotics, because as soon as you give them corn, you’ve disturbed their digestion, and they’re apt to get sick, so you then have to give them drugs. That’s how you get in this whole cycle of drugs and meat. By feeding them what they’re not equipped to eat well, we then go down this path of technological fixes, and the first is the antibiotics. Once they start eating the [corn], they’re more vulnerable. They’re stressed, so they’re more vulnerable to all the different diseases cows get. But specifically, they get bloat, which is just a horrible thing to happen. They stop ruminating.

You have the image of a cow on grass of the cow ruminating, which is chewing its cud and burping a lot. In fact, a lot of greenhouse gases come out of the stock as methane emerges from their mouth as they eructate — it’s a technical term. And they bring down saliva in this process, and it keeps their stomach very base rather than acid.

So what is done is, if you catch it in time, you stick a hose down the esophagus and you release the gas and maybe give the animal some hay or grass, and it’s a lot healthier. But it’s one of the things that happens to cows on corn. …

Not all cows get bloat. They’re prone to bloat. It’s a serious problem on feedlots. They also get acidosis, which is an acidifying of the rumen. … And when the animals get acid stomach, it’s a really bad case of heartburn, and they go off their feed. Eventually, if you give them too much corn too quickly, it ulcerates the rumen; bacteria escape from the rumen into the blood stream, and end up in the liver, creating liver abscesses.

What do we do about that? Another antibiotic. … Most cows on feedlots eating this rich diet of corn are prone to having their livers damaged. So to prevent that, or limit the incidence of liver disease, we have to give them another antibiotic.” Liver damage is a symptom that you have a sick cow. More than likely this is what we are buying at the store. It’s best to visit the farm and ask some questions.  

I have been eating beef all my life, but added lamb after some allergy issues with my sixth child almost eight years ago. Meeting my own need soon turned into a business of helping others, since there is not much for quality lamb out there. Since we raise our own lamb and beef, I don’t have to source this very often. I will occasionally buy some from a trusted local producer if we run out for a short time.  I use lamb just like I use beef in most of my recipes.

I have noticed that since we have switched to grass-finished beef and lamb (never fed grain) along with all of our other changes, our health has improved significantly. When we were buying pastured meats several years ago, I almost always bought a whole animal. This saved a lot of money and trips to the store. At that time I didn’t know about all the fraud and deceit in the system, so if I have to buy in the future, I will definitely visit the farm. I would ask how often the animals are moved, if they ever get medications, look at the animals to see if they look healthy, ask how they ensure their animals are getting adequate vitamins and minerals, etc.

Our family has learned to slow down, make careful observations of what heals/damages, decrease modern distractions, take a little more time preparing our food, and most importantly to seek the Lord’s wisdom. It’s a daily struggle and it never goes perfectly, but we just keep trying to do the best we can. If you are working toward a more traditional, clean, whole foods diet and lifestyle, and would like to take small steps to get there, then you are at the right place. Week one was Get your Salt Right, week 2 was The Power of Water and we learned about removing toxins from our water in week 3, week 4 was Get Your Sleep Better, 5, 6, and 7 were Get Your Fats Better, we got our eggs better, and now we will be getting our meats better. Join us next Tuesday for Get Your . . . Better.