Honoring the Land, Nourishing the Body {Guest Post}
Shortly after my post outlining my effort to honor the earth by going vegetarian for a month, I received an email from reader and fellow blogger, Robyn Goddard. As a South Dakota rancher who details her adventures (and yummy recipes!) on her site, The Ranch Wife Chronicles, Robyn commended me for doing some research before eliminating meat and pointed me to some wonderful resources on the misconceptions about her field. Recognizing the importance of seeing both sides of this issue, I invited Robyn to share some of her thoughts on beef’s benefits with Nourishing the Soul readers. I so appreciated her taking time to give beef another voice!
After Ashley’s “Honoring the earth” post, I wrote to her about the misconceptions placed on agriculture and meat consumption. Today, I am going to share a few truths about the beef you eat.
As a cattle producer, beef runs deep in my blood. My husband and I are the fourth generation on his family’s South Dakota ranch. I grew up raising cattle in south central Nebraska.
Our family business is raising wholesome, safe, and healthy beef to feed America and the world. Equally or more important to raising cattle is environmental stewardship. Ranchers and farmers are dedicated to protecting natural resources and passing our legacy on to future generations. If we do not take care of the land, we can not produce high quality meat for your family or our own.
Ranchers work hard everyday to ensure that the land and animals in their control are treated with the utmost respect and care. A few examples we carry out on our ranch include conservation and anti-erosion practices, grass utilization and water quality maintenance. Without compassion for the environment, my husband and I would not be able to carry on our family business. A rancher’s primary goal is to improve the environment. If we take care of the land and improve our natural recourses, they will take care of us and the next generation.
Not only that, but calorie for calorie, beef provides some of the highest quality nutrients the body can get. Beef adds “ZIP” (zinc, iron and protein) to your diet, so you can fuel up with a complete, high-quality protein that provides all the essential amino-acids the body needs.
Zinc, Iron and B vitamins are important in cognitive development and functioning. They play a vital role in brain function, including memory health and the ability to learn and reason. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get in the memory department!
Beef helps the body remain healthy as zinc aids is maintaining a properly functioning immune system and assists in healing the body. B6 assists the body in defense against infections.
My own body needs high-quality protein when I work out. Iron aids red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to vital organs and muscles. Proteins are essential for normal growth and development, in addition to building muscle mass. Protein is an essential energy source and assists in regulating metabolism and maintaining a healthy weight.
Beef’s fatty acid profile is commonly misunderstood. About half of the fatty acids found in beef are monounsaturated — the same heart-healthy fats found in olive oil! Only about 40% of fat in beef is saturated. The body needs some saturated fat to function properly. Saturated fat helps to increase the feeling of satisfaction after a meal and transports fat-soluble vitamins.
Beef has 29 cuts of meat that meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s requirements for “lean meat.” I recommend you grill a steak or hamburger and enjoy the great taste of American raised beef. Take advantage of all the nutritional benefits of this red meat powerhouse.
When you buy American raised beef, you are not only purchasing nourishment, but also sustaining a treasured way of life. You are supporting the American rancher and the traditions we work so hard to preserve.
___________________________________________________________________________________
What do you think about the impact of animal agriculture? Do you share Robyn’s passion for beef? Did anything she said surprise you?
Cynthia
672 days ago
Interesting perspective. I am a happy meat eater, and I have taken to buying grassfed beef from a local farm. It tastes so much different from the beef you get in the grocery store. More expensive, but since I can afford it currently, I feel like I should support local small-scale agriculture as much as I can.
Allie
672 days ago
I think Robyn makes some really good points, and I feel it should also be pointed out that beef is far and away the most ethical of all kinds of meat. That being said, ranchers like Robyn and her husband are more the exception than the rule. And while that is slowly but steadily changing as more ranchers are adopting a more ethical and environmentally conscious approach, factory farming is still pervasive in the United States.
It is still 100% possible to eat vegetarian or vegan and be just as healthy as any meat-eater, however not all vegetarian diets are optimal. People too often rely on lots of carbohydrates and soy instead of having a more well-rounded diet. In some ways I am very lucky I am gluten intolerant, because that means I rely heavily on vegetables and fruits, and less on wheat products and soy (because many people who are gluten intolerant are also sensitive to soy, so many GF products are soy-free as well).
I think a lot of the problem across the board lies in not being conscious of what we’re eating. You can eat well eating meat or not, but with any dietary choice it is really easy to lose track of what and how you’re eating.
Additionally there is a really good post at the science blog Sentient Developments about the author starting to eat meat again: http://www.sentientdevelopments.com/2011/06/so-i-started-eating-meat-again.html
Anne
672 days ago
I really enjoyed reading this post, since I’ve recently started to make an effort to add red meat (and protein in general) back into my diet. I’m finding it makes a difference in my energy and satiety levels.
When I buy, I currently look for grass-fed and American. Is there anything else I should know about how best to support farmers and the environment?
Valerie
660 days ago
Anne,
I am so excited to hear someone else is adding red meat back into their diet. It really does offer a lot of great nutrients, and as long as you eat it in a balanced diet, you do not increase your chances for heart disease. I personally have worked on family beef operations as well as feedlots, and I can assure you that every type of environment I’ve seen has taken great care to ensure environmental preservation and animal welfare.
One great way to support farmers is to buy locally! You can do that through farmer’s markets or straight from the farm (if you live anywhere near a beef operation, you can contact them to buy freezer beef in bulk, or locate more local options through google or http://www.eatwild.com). Buying locally not only gives more money directly to the farmer by eliminating the “middle man” grocery store, but it also saves the environment by not using as much fuel to freight your food across the country! Good luck in all your future meat-eating en devours :)
Eve
672 days ago
Truly great insight into your ranching practices, and I truly respect ranchers like Robyn who care so deeply for the animals they raise. The vitamins and nutrients in beef, and any lean meat, are very valuable to human growth, development, and healthy living in general. However, these vitamins can also be achieved by eating a well-balanced diet of vegetables and grains as well, but it can be more difficult to ensure you get the right amount of all the essential and valuable nutrients.
A couple of things I have a problem justifying to myself is that the process of raising animals for the meat and the animals themselves produce a truly staggering amount of greenhouse gasses that contribute more to global warming than automobiles, and that grain fed beef will consumer 16 pound of grain per 1 pound of beef produced (I understand grass fed beef is a different story but many cattle are still grain fed through at least the winter months).
While these things take nothing away from the great work Robyn and her family is doing to produce sustainable beef it makes it much more difficult for me to justify consuming meat knowing some of the environmental issues that it brings up. We are watching our population climb with increasing numbers of starving and the global temperature continuing to warm due to greenhouse gasses. However, I do think it greatly helps to know there are ranchers out there who truly care for their livestock and the environment. Thanks for posting!
sui solitaire
672 days ago
Yes, supporting actual ranchers and family-owned business are important. (To me, at least.) Yes, supporting these individuals is important.
But what about supporting factory farming?
After reading Fast Food Nation I couldn’t be okay with myself eating meat anymore. (This is from a person whose parents called her “tiger” as a kid because she would only eat meat and nothing else.) I could no longer sit with eating meat, knowing the terrible hygiene, terrible labor practices, and terrible treatment of the animals. And not just in the fast food industry, but other factory farms.
If I didn’t also have other reasons for eschewing meat, and I still ate meat, I would buy local, grass-fed beef and support local farmers. But to me, eating meat is a huge ethical issue– in fact, I actually went vegetarian (and then vegan) because of environmental reasons. (Also, I don’t like the idea of eating other live beings, either.)
Unfortunately, just because many ranchers are responsible doesn’t mean that meat production DOESN’T contribute 1/5 of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. It doesn’t mean that it takes thousands of pounds more of water, grain, and resources (food and water that our citizens could be eating) to feed and grow cows. It doesn’t mean that it’s beneficial to the animals or the environment that they eat grain (which takes a ton of valuable resources to grow!), which they cannot fully digest, and therefore emit a lot of toxins in their waste. (Obviously this doesn’t apply to grass-raised, grass-fed, and grass-finished beef.)
Robyn
671 days ago
Thank You for the feedback.
It is great to hear that you enjoy the quality of meat that beef is and support beef producers. I am guessing that those of you who commented about buying grass fed beef are getting your meat through a small producer filling a niche market. That is a positive way to support agriculture and connect with where your food comes from.
The problem is that niche market producers can not feed the world. It takes large feedlots and harvesting plants to efficiently produce the quantity of meat needed to support global food production. The meat produced in the United States is wholesome and safe. It has to pass many quality control standards before being distributed to the consumer.
There are many misconceptions on Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
According to Amanda Radke in her blog post Clearing The Air On Cattle And The Environment (http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily/2011/02/16/clearing-the-air-on-cattle-and-the-environment/)
On November 26, 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) released a report titled, “Livestock’s Long Shadow.” The report claims that livestock production accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the statistics cited by “Livestock’s Long Shadow” differ significantly from those calculated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2009, the EPA said that the vast majority of GHG emissions come from the use of fossil fuels and electricity, not livestock.
Frank Mitloehner, an internationally renowned authority on agricultural air quality, animal-environmental interactions, and environmental engineering at the University of California-Davis has research data to show that the U.S. ag sector accounts for only 5.8% of annual U.S. GHG emissions NOT 18%.
Moreover, Methane from livestock accounts for only 2.6% of total U.S. GHG emissions.
Please check out more blog posts by Amanda about this topic at: http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily/2011/07/20/enjoy-meaty-mondays-guilt-free/
I hope the information I have provided helps to clear up the false impressions that are being talked about in the media today.
Desta
670 days ago
Thanks Robyn for clearing up the information on greenhouse gas emissions & sharing your story as a rancher.
Although not involved in the day-to-day work on my family’s ranch, I do identify completely with the protection of natural resources & environmental stewardship. Hoping my children will be the 4th generation to raise beef on the land my parents care for now, they are dedicated to improving it.
Ashley, thank you for inviting Robyn as a guest to share with your readers. I share her passion for beef & her love of the land that we hold more precious than any of our family heirlooms.
Jen
668 days ago
I choose to eat less meat and buy from those small niche farmers as much as I can. I don’t mind paying more for it because I like knowing that the animals are not crowded into feedlots. I wish that it was more available. If we ate less meat and paid more for it (like our grandparents did), then we could use some of the farmland that would no longer be needed to grow grain for cattle to feed the world. Feeding grain to cattle (who have evolved to eat grass) is not an efficient way to feed the world IMHO.
Valerie
660 days ago
This is a fantastic post, all around! I think it is fabulous that the blogger Ashley has done lots of research and consideration in her decisions about food, and is open-minded to hear the entire story. Thank you for allowing Robyn to write on your blog.
Robyn, you have done a great job summarizing all of the importance of family values, tradition, environmental care and stewardship, and healthy, wholesome products.
I have seen a few comments about you (Robyn) being the exception and not the rule. I think its important to note that in fact, more than 97% of beef cattle farms are family owned just like yours (www.explorebeef.org). Also, many of the grains fed to cattle are unsuitable for human consumption (Trust me, the corn they eat is not the sweet, pale yellow corn you enjoy at summer bbqs). Also, the land resources used for grazing cattle is unsuitable for growing other crops and vegetables, so it is actually a very efficient use of land.
I have spent the past 5 months working on a feedlot, and being an avid animal lover, I am proud to admit that I am still a meat-eater. I worked in animal health and welfare, though I was able to see all of the work done by the feedlot to ensure happy, healthy animals and minimal impact to the environment. There are many, many policies in place regarding water usage, waste runoff and recycling, healthy diets for the animals, safe treatment plans for the animals that are sick, etc.
No matter which market you enter for buying beef (niche markets like organic and grass-fed, or conventionally raised, feedlot finished beef that is capable of feeding the large population of this country and others), you are investing in your own personal health, as well as a practice that has a ton of heart behind it. Thank you.
iad
449 days ago
Unbelievable.