It used to be that cows could roam freely, feeding on grass and taking their time and space to grow. When the animals matured, farmers would walk them to the local butcher shop where we would pick up our daily protein needs. Then came refrigerated transportation, meatpacking factorization (think The Jungle), corn subsidies, and antibiotics that made the entire process cheaper, faster, bigger, and less about the quality of the food we eat. It brought cheap meats to Americans, but at what cost? Beef transformed from a locally-sourced seasonal food to something we make from mixing foodcoloring and mush (and no matter how happy it looks, it’s not right). Here are 10 reasons why we should go back to sustainably raised, grassfed beef.

1) Grassfed beef may lower your cholesterol. It is low in the bad cholesterol called LDL, the culprit of clogged arteries, and high in the good cholesterol called HDL, which helps keep LDL levels low. Some studies have shown that eating grassfed beef can lower one’s overall LDL levels. And it’s a leaner protein.

2) Grassfed beef is a good source of nutrients. It is a source of omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene (vitamin A), vitamin E, antioxidants, and conjugated linoleic acid (which has anticarcinogenic and weight control properties).

3) Sustainably raised animals are not pumped full of growth hormones (rBGH). There have not been conclusive findings on whether rBGH poses human health risks, but do you really want to be the guinea pig? The FDA passed the hormone use in 1993 even as scientists questioned its link to breast cancer. In Canada, the hormone was rejected based on the harm it causes animals. Used in dairy cows, it causes overproduction of milk that leads to stress, malnutrition, calcium deficiency, weight loss and exhaustion. rBGH is also banned in the European Union, Japan, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand.

4) Sustainably raised animals don’t need copious amounts of antibiotics. 80% of the antibiotics purchased in the United States are used on livestock, which has led to the widespread development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Grassfed cows are raised on the pasture with more space and better waste management, leading to healthier animals and less antibiotic use.

5) Sustainably raised meat is less likely to carry foodborne disease. Many foodborne diseases are spread through the poor processing and waste management that typify commercial feedlots. Sustainably raised and ethically processed livestock are less likely to pose this risk.

6) Sustainably raised cows will not spread mad cow disease. Mad cow is from a family of viruses found in animals that practice cannibalism (including human). Public outbreaks have stopped the once-common practice of feeding cows (which are herbivores) bits of other cows. But on commercial feedlots, cows are still fed animals that had been fed cows in their lives, and while no studies have confirmed that this indirect cannibalistic loop could spread the disease, it’s not a risk we should take. Another danger of this practice is accidental mixing of feed for animals, which happened in a Texas feedlot where bovine bonemeal meant for chickens and pigs were fed to cows instead. There have not been a great amount of outbreaks, but note that the virus has an incubation period of up to four decades in humans.

7) Sustainable grassfed livestock operations don’t produce toxic waste. When raised on grasslands, animal waste becomes fertilizer for the grass, completing the circle of life. When cows are fed corn, the high concentration of artificial fertilizer in the grain passes through to the animal waste, which becomes toxic to the environment. In large feedlots, this waste is poorly managed, often left untreated and dumped into a “lagoon.” The Natural Resource Defense Council found remnants of this toxic manure as far as 300 miles away from feedlots, and it accounts for over half of the pollutants found in freshwater systems. It can vastly change the ecosystem, creating algae blooms and killing off natural lakes. Also, nitrates that leach into water supplies can cause nervous system impairments, cancer, or methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome).

Sustainable grassfed livestock operations won’t drain our fresh water supply. Almost half of the fresh water consumed in the United States is used for growing corn and other grains for livestock (which represents 70% of the total grain produced). Fresh water supplies are being drained at an alarming rate. In San Joaquin Valley in California, 400 billion gallons are being removed annually, so much so that some areas have sunk 29 feet.

9) Sustainable grassfed livestock operations won’t destroy biodiversity. Deforestization and over-cultivation for growing this enormous amount of grain as feed has led to topsoil erosion and desertification, limiting the biodiversity of the ecosystems.

10) Sustainable grassfed livestock operations can adequately feed America. According to study done by Cornell University, Americans would still get more than the recommended daily allowance of meat and dairy protein using only grassfed livestock.

Currently in America, we eat an unhealthy quantity of unhealthy meats, and are hurting the environment as we do so. If the pink slime debacle has shown us anything, it is that we as consumers can use our collective voice to create positive change in our nation’s food supply.

Wenatchee, Washington, “Apple Capital of the World.” This pastoral Valley in the heart of the Pacific Northwest prospered for nearly a century as home to the famed Washington apple. But the good times have vanished. Apple orchardists by the thousands are going out of business and thousands more await the dreaded letter from the bank announcing the end of their livelihoods and a uniquely American way of life.

After his own father receives just such a letter, filmmaker Guy Evans sets out on a journey of discovery to try to find out what went wrong here in this natural garden of Eden. Along the way he witnesses small farmers forced off their land as they struggle to compete against the Goliaths that populate today’s global economy.
The future looks grim for the Apple Capital until Evans happens upon an entirely new breed of farmer, practitioners of a new model for farming called sustainable agriculture. They have come to be known as the New American Farmers and they are finding success by going against the grain of conventional agriculture. The ideas that Evans uncovers define a path of renewal that could save not only his father, but farmers across America.

BROKEN LIMBS explores these hopeful stirrings within agriculture, and outlines ways in which any individual can play a role in saving America’s farmers. Told from a hometown perspective, the film presents the stories of farmers attempting to create this new model for agriculture and emerging, more sustainable solutions to the crises of recent years – solutions applicable not just to apples and not just to farming, but to nearly any sector of the American economy troubled by the effects of consolidation and globalization.

Learn more on the films website at: http://www.brokenlimbs.org/

Over time. we’ve tended to go from cooking our own food to relying on more processed, packaged and non-perishable fare. Researchers say this slow transition, along with other factors, has resulted in an increasingly obese population, rife with heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.

Oldways, a Cambridge non-profit that promotes healthy eating, wanted to help solve this problem. The group spearheaded a 20-year research project that put together a panel of experts — community health experts, culinary historians, nutrition scientists and even a representative from Whole Foods who has worked with the WIC program for needy women, infants and children — to collectively come up with a healthy eating model.

Each food pyramid comes with detailed lists that name specific kinds of foods for each level of the pyramid that are both healthy and traditional to that culture. Also at the base of every food pyramid: physical activity.

Some examples of the cultural-specific foods featured in the pyramids:

• Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: Anise, Fava, Feta cheese, lamb and Guinea Fowl
• Asian Diet Pyramid: Bamboo shoots, ginseng, Dragon Fruit, curry leaves and duck
• Latino Diet Pyramid: Chiles, Acai, Reggianito cheese, arepas and beef
• Vegetarian Diet Pyramid: Artichokes, Seeds, Polenta, cheeses and apples
• African Heritage Diet Pyramid: Callaloo, bananas, butter beans, palm oil and catfish

While anyone can follow any of the pyramids as a guideline for healthy eating, the pyramids were specifically designed to appeal to those ethnic groups. Instead of one standardized graphic with general rules, it’s an attempt to broach the subject of healthy eating with foods familiar to each ethnic group.

Given that philosophy, Oldways President Sara Baer-Sinnott said the pyramids — all of them — are necessary.

“We’ve gotten away from eating real foods. In terms of inspiring, no one size fits all, and it’s important to have lots of different options for people to follow, that fit within the (dietary) guidelines,” Baer-Sinnott said.

“Research has told us over and over again that traditional diets — the old ways of eating — are really much healthier than the way Americans eat. (For) almost every possible (chronic) disease that you could imagine, there’s a reduced risk through traditional diets.”

By “traditional,” Baer-Sinnott is referring to foods like beans, plants, nuts, vegetables and whole grains, as well as fish and healthy oils.

The federal government has been in the business of publishing dietary guidelines since 1916 (The Washington Post has a great timeline that walks you through the various diet models), but some in the nutritional science community put little weight on their recommendations. The latest healthy diet model from the Department of Agriculture is called My Plate, a graphic featuring four blocks of color representing fruits, grains, vegetables and protein, released earlier this year.

But according to Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health, My Plate, and its predecessor, the food pyramid, are not really the objective, science-driven guidelines they should be — thanks in part to extensive lobbying by the food industry.

“My Plate is actually pretty useless. For example, it says that we’re supposed to eat protein, but it doesn’t say what form of protein, and in fact that’s what really makes the most difference,” Dr. Willett said.

Dr. Willett served as a consultant in the development of the Oldways food pyramids, including the African Heritage Pyramid.

“The African Heritage Pyramid (gives) a lot more information, and I think the right information, in terms of long-term heath and well-being,” he said.

Readers, what’s your take on the diet-by-ethnic-group model? How does your meal today fit into it? Please respond in the comments below.

Also known as the Caveman Diet, this regime involves consuming food only found in nature, such as game meat, vegetables, fish, wild fruits, and nuts, etc. The basic idea is to return to what human beings ate before processed food was introduced.

Jesse is tracking his progress via Twitter (@jessetyler)and his Paleo food journey hasn’t been so easy. About a third of the way into his “30 day” diet trial, Jesse admitted, “I’m not gonna lie. I want a Martini. BAD!”

But, in total Jesse style, he’s keeping a sense of humor about it. “Paleo Diet observation of the day: People who shop at Organic Grocery stores are cranky and mean.”

To help support Jesse in his dietary adventures, we are offering up a Paleo-worthy recipe. Pair this delectable dish up with some veggies and voila … Paleo dinner delight!

Paleo Cinnamon Chicken

What you’ll need:

1 3lbs chicken, chopped into 8 pieces (use a club if you want to go all caveman style)
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
2/3 tsp cinnamon (hey, cavemen like a bit of spice, too!)
2 cloves garlic, diced them up nice and tiny
½ tsp paprika
1 onion, sliced
1 cup water or chicken stock

How yto put it together:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a bowl, blend together salt, pepper, garlic and cinnamon. Rub down the chicken pieces with the spice blend and let it do its thing for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Put the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, and coat lightly with paprika. Toss the sliced onion into the pan with the chicken.
Cook for 35 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 350 F. Stir a cup of water into the roasting pan and continue cooking for another 50 minutes.
Presto. The chicken is ready for consumption. Use the extra juices as a delicious gravy!

Source: Wetpaint