Carnivorous Confusion Continues

To eat meat, or not to eat meat, that is the question! Well, for many of us this question has indeed crossed our minds at one point or another. With the increasing popularity of vegetarian diets in this day and age, along with the “red meat advisories” that we hear and see all too often, it’s gotta make one think, “Gee, is meat really all that healthy?”

Perhaps first and foremost, the distinction must be made between meats that are commonly consumed in Western society, those being the factory-farmed animals, versus the wild or grass-fed animals that were traditionally eaten. Just like any other food, it all comes down to QUALITY.

Supermarket meat comes from cows, pigs, chickens, and fish that have lived a very unnatural life. From the moment of birth, they become part of the “assembly line” if you will. They are confined to overcrowded rooms where they have little or no space to roam and develop their muscles as nature intended. They rarely, if ever, see the sunshine that is so essential to any animals’ proper development. Their natural foodstuffs of green grass, roots, seeds, and insects are replaced with soy pellets, corn, and refined grains, causing a very unnatural growth and increased bodyweight. To top it off, the animals are injected and fed antibiotics daily, required to keep them alive in their stagnant, excrement-filled pens. (For a more in depth look at factory farming check out the recently released documentary, “Food, Inc.”) Considering all of these factors, there is absolutely no way that such a meat product will promote health upon consumption.

Traditionally, meat was obtained from wild animals, or those that had been raised on farms and fed their natural diet. They were free to roam and graze under the sun, and got plenty of exercise in the process. And accordingly, they grew up healthy, strong, and disease-free. Grass-fed or wild meat is typically much leaner and lower in total fat. Their tissues contain much higher levels of Vitamin A, E, CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid – a very healthy, hard-to-get fat), and especially the Omega-3 fatty acids which are so crucial, yet so lacking in today’s standard diet. There is absolutely no question that a natural diet is required for an animal to produce a food of nutritional worth.

Another practice so common in industrialized societies is the exclusion of anything other than muscle meats. Much like the refining of wheat and sugar, stripping away different bits and pieces until we are left with an isolated product that is far inferior to its whole, we have narrowed the majority of our meat consumption down to select cuts of boneless, skinless, fat-free, muscle meat. Again, this is a very modern idea and was indeed, not practiced by our ancestors. In fact, muscle meats were often fed to the dogs, as they valued much more the concentrated nutrition found primarily in the organ meats. Funny to think that this practice has been completely reversed today, where we now feed these “meat scraps” to our pets. Native peoples were known for using the entire animal in their dietary, consuming the fat, organs, brain, eyes, tongue, hooves, blood, and bones. In doing so, they received a vastly superior nutritional profile. For example, healthy animal livers are a very concentrated source of protein, Vitamins A and B12, as well as iron, copper, folate, and zinc. Bone marrow is an excellent source of quality fat and minerals. Brains are one of the most nutritious of the organ meats, being an exceptionally rich source of DHA, an essential long-chain fatty acid that supports neurological health. Such foodstuffs make many of us squeamish, which is simply further evidence of how far we’ve strayed from the nutritional wisdom of our ancestors.

So here’s my advice: steer clear of factory-farmed supermarket meats, for they offer little nutrition at the cost of your health and vitality. Seek out grass-fed meats from local farms or markets, or better yet, find a source for wild game and fish. Broaden your horizons and experiment with other parts of the animal besides the muscle meat. Vegetarianism is not a requirement for great health, nor is the avoidance of red meat. It all comes down to QUALITY.