Interesting article here: http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2011/01/practically-primal-guide-to.html Don tracked antibiotic intake in farm animals and found they only seem to consume similar levels, by weight as humans. Plus said animals must undergo a detox period before slaughter. Testing found pesticide levels as not detectable or MUCH lower than your typical piece of organic cabbage. That's because vegetables contain high levels of natural pesticides (because they don't want to be eaten) whereas animal flesh does not. Hopefully, Don will also have time to address hormones. We have all heard that conventionally grown meat is loaded with nasty toxins, but is it really that bad? I would still feel that grass fed would be ideal, but I do think it might be wise to test our assumptions and overall perspective on the dangers of conventional meat. Grassfed is expensive and not everyone can easily afford it. How much should the average omniverous paleo eater be concerned with the dangers of conventionally grown meat? What good evidence exists for that concern or lack thereof?
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I too read this and felt relief as it affords households like mine, which subsist almost entirely on conventionally raised meats, a bit of grace. As Flavio mentioned, offsetting the cafo O3/O6 imbalance with fish intake may be a decent compromise in this case as well. |
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Personally, I don't like the fact that feedlots exist and choose to vote with my dollar and support farms with good practices whose animals probably enjoy their lives before their swift deaths and slaughter. I have a pet F1 Brahman x Hereford cross steer (Bruno) who eats only grass, hay, and the occasional apple that falls off a tree and I would much prefer that the animals I eat lived as he does. Incidentally, this is Bruno:
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something ot consider is do you want to spend your money in support of petro chemical style agriculture or local farmers? |
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no mention of bleach and ammonia which, putting aside flavor, environmental reasons and ethical ones, is a large factor in why i think conventional meat really is that toxic. Chickens are dipped in bleach, sides of beef treated with ammonia, and lots of ground beef from huge food suppliers contains ammonia. Ammonia burger anyone? I made the mistake of trying to clean something with ammonia once, years ago, and it quickly became clear to me I can't be in the same room with the fumes. It messed my breathing up pretty badly. Why all the ammonia? They think their meat might contain E Coli. Even after treatment, it's way more likely to. I don't want to eat that! Plus the inside of the places they house these animals are filled with noxious gases like ammonia and these animals are breathing this stuff all day long. Of course it will find its way into their tissues. Pork houses are notorious for it and so is chicken. I don't want to eat that. Antibiotics are trickier; obviously there are superbugs developing and people see it's a bad idea to try to cover bad animal husbandry up with antibiotics. However, there are some producers who sell "antibiotic-hormone free" pork at a premium price when in reality they are still keeping the animals in unsanitary conditions and just work in a certain percentage of sick animal die off into their operating costs. If I didn't buy locally farmed meats (which is not always more expensive if you're buying right from the farmer's front door or if you buy a 1/4 or half animal and freeze it) I don't think I could eat as much meat as I do. |
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Aside from the antibiotic angle, cafo meat is an animal that lived its entire life in a highly stressed state of forced confinement and was brutally slaughtered. Even if you don't think about what that does to the animals, that is going to affect the meat. Humanely raised and slaughtered meat is harder to find and more expensive. But, it tastes better for a reason - it's better for you. Even my husband - who eats what I feed him at home, but eats SAD lunches at work - can tell the difference since we switched to humane meat. |
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As far as I'm concerned, the problem with cafo meat is not the antibiotics (when you eat it, although, they ARE destroying the effectiveness of antibiotics by breeding resistant bacteria) but rather the fact that these grain fed meats end up being incredibly high in n6 (omega 6) fatty acids, which are pro inflammatory. This, combined with the vegetable oils we consume explains why we end up with a 1:20 or 1:30 sometimes ratio of 3:6 rather than the ancestral levels of 1:2 or 1:1. This accounts for all of our inflammatory issues. Further, the grain feeding creates a highly acidic environment in the animals stomachs which gives rise to acid resistant e. coli bacteria which then kills children when they eat at jack in the box. |
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I think you need to make sure your selected Paleo eating style (high or moderate fat intake) matches the type of meats you select if you are concerned about the 3 to 6 ratios. If you're eating grass fed, you can go with richer cuts of meat. I think as long as you select leaner cuts of traditional meats, you're probably fine. I believe the greatest benefits of Paleo come from what we remove from our diet (grains, dairy and beans) and sweating the small details simply adds too much stress to your eating habits. |
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Physiognomically as well as as behaviorally. Inner city people look rather unhealthy compared to those who have thrived in the coutryside for most of their lives. Personally I grew up in the country, lived in the city for approx. 7 years and found my health and physical structures(skin elasticity, tautness, that 'glow of health') to have worsened in that environment. Thank god for my future country paleo-friendly f+rm I will be stablishing soon |
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People already commented on this...but I'm not sure why people think they are living a paleo lifestyle when they are eating animals waddling in their own feces, having body parts hacked off and eating food that is not designed for their bodies (grain). If we care so much about health and being "natural", we should put healthy animals into our bodies. Grass-fed is not that expensive if you budget. People have mentioned this before. It is a few dollars more (and I've seen less in the United States) than conventionally raised beef. If you're going to eat beef, I suggest you just make lifestyle changes to make up for that extra few dollars. Instead of buying organic apples, opt for a fruit on the clean 15 to save money. Same for vegetables. Buy in bulk. Buy in season. Freeze things on sale. CAFO meat is NOT paleo. Somebody is probably going to stab me in my sleep, so I'll stop ranting for now. |
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