You Can Have a Guilty Free Steak (but There’s a Catch)
Avoiding red meat to save yourself and the planet? Think again.
Red meat has been targeted as non-healthy for a long time now. allegedly it is bad for both you and the planet. From more traditional concerns about saturated fat and cholesterol to the modern vegan preaching about how cattle farms are making global warming worse, beef has been blamed a lot lately. And documentaries like Cowspiracy and Game Changers for sure did not help.
But is all that true? Well, yes… and no.
The steak and the heart.
Humans evolved eating meat. Period.
Does that mean we are carnivores? For sure not. We are omnivores. Our prehistorical ancestor’s diet was based on wild game, some berries and edible roots, nuts, and mushrooms. I can just imagine how important animal protein was for early humans to survive and thrive.
(By the way, do you know who are carnivores? Dogs and cats! So stop feeding grain to your pet…)
For instance, our bodies do not make Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, which indicates that during history we had plenty of those in our diet. Both beef and fish are rich in those, and in the proper ratio. But we will come back to that later.
Our physiology did not change much during all this time, which is not a lot considering the evolutionary time scale. Nor did the cow’s physiology, cows are still basically wild buffalo, only a lot cuter.
So, after eating meat for millennia, it suddenly became unhealthy. If we are still the same, and cows are still the same, what changed? The way we feed cattle changed.
If we are still the same, and cows are still the same, what changed? The way we feed cattle changed.
Cows are grass-eating machines. Their digestive system is optimized for that, and the microbiota is capable to break down cellulose and extract the nutrients present in grasses.
A hundred years ago there was not such a thing as “Grass-fed Beef”. All beef was grass-fed. But to make cattle very fat very fast we started feeding them grain and locking the animals into lots. And that is where the problem is.
When we feed them corn and soy they do not digest them properly. They get inflamed and sick, so we also feed them with tons of antibiotics to keep them alive. One should not expect to be healthy by eating a sick animal.
The ideal Omega 6–3 ratio is around 2:1. The higher the ratio the higher the chances of serious health problems like heart disease and cancer. Grass-fed beef has a perfect 2:1 ratio, and wild salmon is a little less than that. Your standard grocery shop grain-fed steak could go easy above 10:1.
To be healthy we need to eat healthy food. And it includes healthy animals, which feed in a species-adequate manner.
The steak and the planet
Much has been said about cattle being a huge factor in global warming. Again, the way we raise animals is the most determinant factor.
Livestock can actually reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, as long as we respect the animal’s natural way of life. Every time a cow eats at a pasture, the grass releases root filaments in the soil. The roots are then decomposed by soil microorganisms, creating organic matter deposits that will be used to create life below the soil level. At the same time, cattle manure will encourage more vegetable growth. This is called Carbon Farming. A cow grassing freely in the field is an efficient carbon-sequestering machine.
A cow grassing freely in the field is an efficient carbon-sequestering machine.
For a deeper understanding of this subject, I could not recommend more the documentary Kiss the Ground. It shows how regenerative agriculture is the solution to the climate crisis, and livestock is a part of it.
Even Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, the founders of the Permaculture concept include livestock in their agricultural designs. Animals are part of nature, thus no land can reach balance without them.
On the other hand, grain-fed cattle do destroy the soil in the minuscule lots they are forced to live in. Also, the corn fields used to feed them are plowed every year. All this releases a huge amount of carbon into the atmosphere.
A grain-fed cow also ends up inflamed, and sick. The grain poor digestion generates a lot more methane in their digestive tracts than grass would. In plain English, grain-fed cattle fart a lot more greenhouse gasses than grass-fed ones.
It’s not the cow, it’s the how.
Go and have your steak (medium rare, please) and free yourself from the guilty of damaging yourself and the planet in the process.
Just be sure the animal was raised properly. Always go for grass-fed.
Necessary disclaimer: I’m no health professional. I’m just a guy that loves health and nutrition (and steak!) and likes to share what I have learned. Please do your own research and use common sense.
