Introduction
Did you know that pastured meats contain more nutrients and have less fat and calories than meat from grain fed animals? As we grow our beyond organic, pasture based farm, we continue to see the benefits of a pasture based system. We have reaped the health benefits and relish the testimonies of our customers’ health stories and compliments on flavor, texture, and even the smell of the meat. As our family reads the Bible, and we look into sustainable animal husbandry practices of the past along with God’s design in nature, we see very similar systems. Because we live in a fallen world, we will never enjoy perfect health for ourselves or for our animals, but by seeking God’s wisdom, we believe we can improve the quality of life for ourselves and our customers, as well as our animals. With chronic diseases and cancer rates soaring, contaminated water becoming the norm, increased antibiotic resistance, and wildlife suffering, we must stop and ponder, “What has changed with our food, environment, and lifestyles that could potentially be to blame?”
Benefits
Scientific studies are proving what most people already knew about animals raised on good quality pasture, but research is still in its infancy stage. What has been studied is very exciting. Along with the pastured meats simply tasting better, there are actually more nutrients in the meat, less fat, fewer calories, and higher CLA levels. Jo Robinson states, “A six ounce beef loin from a grass fed cow may have 92 fewer calories than a six ounce loin from a grain fed cow.” The meat studied from grass based farms have shown two to ten times more omega 3 fatty acids, which makes sense when you consider that omega three originates in grass. It also showed less omega 6 fatty acids. They have discovered 2 to 5 times more CLA levels along with more vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, and beta-carotene in the meat. Grass fed lamb had the highest levels of CLA and omega 3s compared to beef or bison. Lamb is also rich in lutein, has a low essential fatty acids ratio or EFA of 1 to1 compared to grain fed lambs. As we have witnessed on our farm, the animals raised on pasture are healthier and do not require medications to keep them alive. You can learn even more about these benefits at the Eat Wild website here.
Food Borne Illness
We have experienced a rise in food borne illness especially after the centralization of processing plants in our country where approximately 4,000 cows are processed in a day. Another change we have witnessed is the efficient system of raising large amounts of animals in one area such as confinement houses or feedlots. E. coli contamination takes place when feces from an animal comes in contact with the meat. This can be deadly. A study from the late 1990’s revealed that cows fed hay had far fewer ecoli present than cows fed corn. It also revealed that the “grass-fed” cow’s bacteria were more easily killed in a human stomach. It is assumed that when cows are fed corn they develop an unnatural acidic stomach which the bacteria become accustomed to over time and therefore are not killed in a human’s acidic stomach any more, whereas the ecoli have not become acid resistant in a grass fed cow. Although there is some debate on this study, there have been a few studies to confirm this finding such as a study by the Nebraska Beef Report entitled, “Hay feeding does indeed reduce acid resistant E. coli.” There are several studies that suggest otherwise. One thing is for sure, animals raised on pasture are cleaner at the time of butchering and the less manure on an animal the less risk of the ecoli getting into the meat! The small meat lockers of our area butcher a small amount of animals in a day which also reduces the risk. Because of this debate about ecoli it is VERY IMPORTANT to cook meat thouroughly because a small amount of bacteria can cause sickness.
Deceitful Labeling Laws
I have discussed the dilemma of labeling laws in previous posts. These “labels” on our food can be very deceitful. Unfortunately, the organic standards set by the federal government seem to cater more and more to big corporations and continue to compromise on quality. Wendell Berry writes, “Under the current and now official definition of organic farming, it is possible to have a huge “organic” farm that grows only one or two crops, has no animals or pastures, is entirely dependent on industrial technology and economics, and imports all it’s fertility and energy.” Unfortunately, this is not sustainable and it is also more vulnerable to pests and diseases that will eventually need some form of treatment. I know there are a lot of organic farmers going beyond the recommendations, but without being able to talk to them directly we can’t be sure. As the large corporations take over the organic industry we are also seeing large numbers of animal being raised in confinement again because it is too time consuming to get them out to pasture. Our family doesn’t believe organic standards are strict enough. We also do not want to have to charge our customers a higher price due to the increased time and expense of a label. We welcome farm tours and LOVE when people ask us questions about our practices. We believe the only way to truly know what we are eating is to produce as much of our own food as we can, then buy locally from farmers that are going beyond organic standards, and finally buy from a trusted food coop or store for the remaining needs.
Our Farm
Let’s take a walk through our farm and share what we are doing and working toward. There are many definitions of “pasture” based systems, but our system includes rotating our animals on grass for as much of the season as possible. The animals are healthy, happy, and their smell is minimal. We have several fenced paddocks that we transition our animals through. This allows the animals to eat the top third of the plant where more of the energy is located, and the moving helps pastures recover more quickly. Animals that are kept moving will grow better and produce a higher quality meat than those simply put out to one pasture. Moving also keeps the animals healthier by removing them from their feces.
We have found that each animal we possess compliments our farm in some way. Since we raise such a large variety on our farm, a common question we get is, “What are you raising right now?” Sometimes it is easier to give a short list of animals we don’t have. One will find the cows, sheep, and goats foraging on our pastures together. The goats and sheep compliment the cows by grazing on the plants the cows won’t eat. We have found that three strands of electric fence keep them in most of the time. During the coldest winter months, they are fed good quality non-GMO hay that we raise on our farm in the summer. At times we do have to buy hay, but we make sure it’s not genetically modified or sprayed with chemicals. Their delicious meat and milk are a blessing. Our pigs are found rooting around and given beyond organic corn, peas, and hay. We rotate them as much as possible to green areas throughout the growing season. It is very rewarding to watch their excitement once they reach a new area. They spend a lot of time eating greens and then they dive in and start rooting around. We noticed they usually start with the weedy areas and then move into the grass to dig. Chickens, ducks, and turkeys roam around our place freely and devour unwanted bugs, spread out manure for fertilizer for the land, and produce wonderful meat and eggs for our family. All of these animals forage most of the year on our pasture with added vitamins and minerals supplied by kelp, Redmond’s natural salt, and apple cider vinegar. The cats roam around in search of mice and rats. Our dog patrols the place scaring away hawks, coons, and other predators. She occasionaly hunts mice and rats as well. Our bees aid in pollination and produce the best tasting honey we have every tried.
Many people these days are desperately trying to avoid GMOs for many reasons. This is not an easy task! Not everyone thinks about meat when they think of GMOs, but recent studies prove that GM feed is showing up in milk and meat that was tested. I heard a great comment once, “You are what your animal eats.” That has really resonated with me, and the more studies we read on geneticaly modified foods, the more we desire to avoid them! I believe our family finally just eliminated 100% of GMOs from our diet. That is a huge achievement and was a big endeavor. I would encourage everyone to research both sides of this subject and at least be informed about what it is. Here is a great article from Weston Price Foundation entitled “Genetically Engineered Foods May be Far More Harmful Than We Thought.”
Genetically Engineered Foods May be Far More Harmful than We Thought
Earth Stewardship and Conclusion
We do not use up all of our land for profit. We want to encourage wild life and especially the beneficial animals and insects. Each year we are seeing more diversity in our pastures. We are adding trees, bushes, and plants to prevent soil erosion and to create wind blocks. We never use any chemicals on our land or yard. We do spend time cutting out noxious weeds that our animals won’t eat that could take over our farm if left unchecked. In our vocabulary, a weed is simply a plant in the wrong place. Because of the variety of plants and animals, manure is actually a blessing rather than a pollutant. We have a lot of learning to do as far as stocking animals just right and knowing the right time to move them, but it’s easier to learn while we are still a small business. We have had some loss as we learn, but we are thankful to be learning while we don’t have a huge amount invested. If a plant or animal gets sick or dies, we ask ourselves, “What could we have done to prevent this?”
It is only by God’s grace that He has changed our hearts and given us wisdom to farm this way so we can only boast in Him! We are far from perfect, but we will continue to strive to give our animals a great quality of life, diversify our land, rotate our crops and animals, use manure and compost to build soil fertility, and try to keep the ground covered. We feel so blessed to be raising our family and good quality food for ourselves and others on this piece of land God gave us. Our goal this next season is to continue to improve our practices and provide more customers with flavorful clean food.