D.C.s!!! We Know the Meats!!
Confession time!
I was a vegetarian and sometimes a vegan from the age of 19 to 25! But times have changed. I chose to be a vegan back when I was 19 because of my experiences and knowledge that factory farming of livestock was very detrimental to the environment and that the meat I was typically eating was full of added hormones, unnatural foods, and just generally poor quality. While I do not regret being vegan or vegetarian at all, I did spend a lot of time having research bias and living in my own vegetarian world. Slowly, with more of my own research and the ability to question my own beliefs, I was able to find a new way of looking at the meat industry and how it can play a role in helping the earth as well as keeping me healthy for the long term.
So, if you are also a vegan, vegetarian, or someone who does not care or know about your meat quality, then this somewhat well-written blog article is for you. I am no expert on the fine details or all the science around meat quality, its effects on your health, and the health of our world's environment, but I do spend a lot of time listening to both sides of the conversation, and I hope to relay the most crucial facts for you all.
The Bottom Line
There is a difference between the ground beef patties you get at a fast food restaurant and the $19-per-pound ground beef you can buy at some grocery stores. The cheap meat from fast food restaurants is not only poor quality for your body’s health, but it is also much, much worse for the planet’s ecosystem.
(A brief breakdown of how meat—let’s focus on cow beef—can be harmful to the global ecosystem: Farmers cut down trees and forests to raise cows, taking away carbon sinks and raising global temperatures. That is bad. Then, many cows are fed primarily a diet of corn, soy, and wheat, which are heavily treated with pesticides, and that is also very harmful to the environment. The monocrops that cows eat (which I just listed) suck nutrients from the soil, depleting the earth. As a result, cows do not get sufficient nutrients, and the quality of meat goes down. AND when the soil is depleted, it is more easily eroded, which harms the land and affects water quality.)
(All of this is a super simplified version of the insanely complex history of monocropping and factory farming and the very detrimental effects they have on the environment. I will link some studies below if you want more details.)
Meat Quality Hierarchy
The quality of meat is determined first by what the cows eat, then by how and where they were raised, and finally by how they were slaughtered.
Conventionally farmed, non-organic
Organic
Grass-fed, non-organic
Grass-fed, organic
Grass-fed, grass-finished, organic
Regenerative, grass-fed, organic
Regenerative, grass-fed, organic, humanely slaughtered
Breakdown of Each Category
Conventionally farmed, non-organic beef is depleted of nutrients because the cows eat mostly monocrops like soybeans, corn, and wheat. (Corn is also a problem since processed corn is high in carbs and sugars, which spike blood sugar and promote inflammation—particularly in conditions like type 2 diabetes. So why would we feed cows corn?) Also, cows that eat non-organic feed ingest the pesticides used on crops. Let’s just agree that pesticides are not good for us or for cows—thus, they are not good in the meat we eat. (General pesticide studies on humans will be posted below.)
Organic beef that is still factory-farmed is a step in the right direction because it eliminates most toxic pesticides, but the cow’s diet is still poor, and the cow is likely unhappy being raised in a barn and only allowed to eat from a trough.
Grass-fed, non-organic is on a similar level as just organic. It is not perfect because it sacrifices important aspects of quality meat, but it is still better than eating conventional Western fast food meat. Simply put, cows act as bioaccumulators for pesticides from their feed, and then you eat that meat. Pesticides are definitely bad for humans. There really is no arguing that. Side effects of excessive pesticide consumption include cancer, hormone disruption, neurological effects, reproductive health issues, and immune system suppression. So, do with that information as you wish.
Grass-fed, organic … sounds great! No real complaints here! You are crushing it if this is your choice of beef. Your overall health and the future of the earth’s climate will thank you!
Grass-fed, grass-finished is just a step further in the right direction. If possible, choose this over just grass-fed because cows can be fed soy, corn, and wheat right before slaughter and still be labeled as grass-fed since they ate grass for most of their lives. Same reasoning as before: the diet that cows consume directly affects the nutrients we absorb when we eat them. You are what you eat… and you are what your food eats as well. Grass-finished means that cows were not “forced” to eat anything besides grass right before they were killed.
Regenerative, grass-fed, organic – We’ve reached the top of the top! These meats will definitely be harder to find in grocery stores, so don’t beat yourself up if this is too much or too picky for your meat selection. There are some great companies selling this type of meat that truly care about the animals and the environment. Basically, regenerative farming is an approach to agriculture where the cows or crops you raise have a net positive impact on the ecosystem. It is actually good for the environment to eat these cows. This means cycling crops, allowing cows to graze and fertilize the land naturally (cow manure), and rotating cows between pastures so that grasses and crops are not overgrazed. When you rotate crops in regenerative farming, the crops actually add nutrients to the soil instead of depleting it.
Regenerative, grass-fed, organic, and humanely slaughtered – The top dog! The “cream of the crop,” figuratively and literally. Again, this type of meat is not easily found in grocery stores and is usually more expensive (I will link some brands below).
Most people, whether they are vegetarian or not, can feel some empathy for the cows they eat. But whether you like it or not, you love beef, and humanely slaughtered meat in grocery stores is a relatively new concept. But moral opinions aside, here’s an interesting reason to choose humanely slaughtered meat:
Let’s imagine that animals may have some awareness that their friends were just killed by humans. Naturally, cows do not want to die, and that stresses them out. Stress in the brain releases the hormone cortisol. Quick biology lesson: excess cortisol is not good for humans or animals. So, if an animal is aware that it’s about to be slaughtered, its cortisol levels rise. And when we eat that cow, we are consuming its stress hormones, which may not be ideal for our health.
Final Thoughts
The conclusion is simple: be aware of what you are putting into your body. It is far too easy to become detached from what you eat when you are constantly on the go, when grocery prices keep rising, or when you simply haven’t been told that there are better options. Nobody is perfect, and you can only do the best you can—especially if high-quality meat is not available to you geographically or financially. But keep in mind that investing in your health is the best investment you can make.
Links to some relevant studies linked below
Effects of Pesticides on Humans
Expansive Study of Organic vs Non-Organic Food on a Spectrum Of Biological Factors