Film Covers the Many Dangers of the
Cheap Meat Industry
July 04, 2015
Story at-a-glance
The documentary “Meat of the Matter” traces the
trail of destruction left by the commercial meat
industry
Many feedlots have filthy living conditions, poor
handling, and improper slaughtering, which is not
only inhumane, but stresses the animals and
compromises meat quality
Growing numbers of ranchers are returning to
traditional styles of animal husbandry that support
the earth and preserve natural resources for future
generations
By Dr. Mercola
For several decades, Americans have enjoyed paying low prices
for meat at the grocery store. Unfortunately, many are unaware
of the hidden costs of "cheap meat"—and when you add them up,
they are substantial.
The manner in which most commercial livestock is raised is
wasteful of precious resources and destructive to the
environment, in some ways irreparably. In addition to the
broader ecosystem, people and wildlife have been paying dearly
with their health.
The documentary "Meat of the Matter" traces the trail of
destruction left by the commercial meat industry.
On the brighter side, a new breed of ranchers is leading the
meat revolution by returning to traditional styles of animal
husbandry, farming in a manner that actually supports and
restores the earth as opposed to recklessly using it up.
The US Meat Racket
Most meat in the US (beef, pork,
chicken, turkey, etc.) is raised in confined animal feeding
operations, or
CAFOs. It's a corporate-controlled system characterized by
large-scale, centralized, low profit-margin production,
processing and distribution systems.
Food production has been built around efficiency—producing
more for less. Worldwide, tens of billions of animals are
crammed into feedlots, where they're tortured by unhealthy,
unsanitary, and cruel conditions.
This is the "cheapest" way to raise meat, for the largest
profits. Making matters worse, the government subsidizes these
operations, shrewdly fleecing American taxpayers in order to
keep the meat monopoly going.
Smaller American ranchers wishing to offer traditionally
raised grass-fed meats, who care about quality and environmental
impact, face higher operational costs and must charge a premium
for their product.
Most of the grass-fed beef sold in the US—as much as 85
percent—is actually imported from Australia and New Zealand
because those countries still have plentiful grasslands, as well
as a climate that permits year-round grazing. As a result,
Australian ranchers can sell their meat for less than American
ranchers.1
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Are You Eating Too Much Meat, or the Wrong Kind?
Most Americans consume three to five times more protein than
they need (along with excess sugar and starchy carbohydrates and
insufficient healthy fats). Excess protein can lead to elevated
blood sugar, weight gain, kidney stress, leaching of bone
minerals, and increased cancer risk.
Ideal protein intake for most is approximately one-half gram
of protein per pound of lean body mass, which is typically 40 to
70 grams per day. Protein quality is as important as quantity.
The best approach is to consume a wide variety of high–quality,
grass-fed animal- and plant-based organic whole foods, such as
the following.
Red meat, pork, poultry, and seafood average 6-9
grams of protein per ounce.
An ideal amount for most people would be a 3-ounce
serving of meat or seafood (not 9- or 12-ounce steaks!),
which will provide about 18-27 grams of protein
Eggs contain about 6-8 grams of protein per egg. So
an omelet made from two eggs would give you about 12-16
grams of protein
If you add cheese, you need to calculate that protein in
as well (check the label of your cheese)
Seeds and nuts contain on average 4-8 grams of
protein per quarter cup
Cooked beans average about 7-8 grams per half cup
Cooked grains average 5-7 grams per cup
Most vegetables contain about 1-2 grams of protein
per ounce
In addition to eating too much meat, the majority of the
excess is of poor quality, originating from CAFOs where the
animals are fed an unnatural diet of glyphosate-contaminated
genetically engineered grains, instead of fresh grass.
Feeding animals a species appropriate diet profoundly
improves the nutritional quality of their meat, which has been
established by science. It also virtually eliminates toxins such
as glyphosate and other pesticides, which is the other side of
the healthy-diet equation.
In 2009, a joint research project between the US Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and Clemson University determined the
numerous ways grass-fed beef beats grain-fed beef for your
health. In a side-by-side comparison, they determined that
grass-fed beef was superior in the following ways:2
Higher in total omega-3s
Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids
(1.65 vs. 4.84)
Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and
potassium
Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer
fighter
Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed
into CLA)
Higher in beta-carotene
Improper Slaughtering Hurts More Than Just the Animals
Slaughtering should not to be taken lightly, for multiple
reasons, not the least of which is
animal welfare. Besides treating animals humanely, you may
not realize that how an animal is slaughtered affects food
safety and the quality of the meat itself.
Improper slaughtering adversely affects meat quality due to
physiological changes that occur when an animal becomes
stressed. According to slaughtering guidelines posted by the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations:3
"The energy required for muscle activity in the live
animal is obtained from sugars (glycogen) in the muscle. In
the healthy and well-rested animal, the glycogen content of
the muscle is high. After the animal has been slaughtered,
the glycogen in the muscle is converted into lactic acid,
and the muscle and carcass becomes firm (rigor mortis).
This lactic acid is necessary to produce meat, which is
tasteful and tender, of good keeping quality and good
color. If the animal is stressed before and during
slaughter, the glycogen is used up, and the lactic acid
level that develops in the meat after slaughter is reduced.
This will have serious adverse effects on meat quality."
Improperly handled animals become stressed, particularly
while being prepared for slaughter. The meat of stressed animals
has even been shown to spoil faster.4Animals
are also far stressed living in CAFOs than on open pasture, and
these stressed, injured and frequently diseased animals produce
lower quality meat.
Meat that's bruised from injuries received during handling,
penning, transport and slaughter must be thrown away, which is a
major source of waste. According to the legendary Temple
Grandin, there are five basic causes of animal welfare problems
in slaughter plants:5
Stressful equipment and methods
Distractions that impede animal movement
Lack of employee training
Poor equipment maintenance
Poor condition of the animals arriving at the plant
Your Burger May Come with a Side of Antibiotics
It's virtually impossible to mass-produce clean, safe,
optimally nutritious foods at rock bottom prices. To prevent the
inevitable spread of disease from stress, overcrowding and an
unnatural diet, feedlot animals are routinely fed antibiotics
and other growth-promoting drugs and hormones. Today, more than
80 percent of total antibiotic use in the US is for livestock.
Nearly 25 million pounds of antibiotics are administered to
American livestock each year. Careless antibiotic overuse by the
commercial meat industry poses a direct threat to your health in
the form of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. When you eat food
that contains antibiotics, you not only get the drug but also
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Twenty-two percent of
antibiotic-resistant illness in humans is linked to food.
Consuming foods containing antibiotic drugs also causes
alterations in your gut flora (dysbiosis), which can cause
problems with both your mental and physical health.
Foodborne illnesses are a growing concern—we hear about them
regularly on the news—but they might be even more serious than
previously thought. Mounting research shows that Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's disease may be linked to a type of
Mad Cow disease that results from the consumption of
contaminated meats. When shopping, keep the following labels
in mind to help you find truly high-quality meat that's free of
antibiotics and other drugs:6
100% USDA Organic label offers
excellent assurance that antibiotics have not been used
at any stage of production.
"No antibiotics administered" and
similar labels also offer high assurance that
antibiotics have not been used, especially if
accompanied by a "USDA process Verified" shield.
"Grass-fed" label coupled with USDA
Organic label means no antibiotics have been used, but
if the "grass-fed" label appears alone, antibiotics may
have been given.
"American Grass-fed" and
"Food Alliance Grass-fed" labels indicate that
in addition to having been raised on grass, the animal
in question received no antibiotics.
The following three labels:
"Antibiotic-free," "No antibiotic residues,"
and "No antibiotic growth promotants,"
have not been approved by the USDA and may be misleading
if not outright fraudulent.
"Natural" or "All-Natural"
is completely meaningless and has no bearing on whether
or not the animal was raised according to organic
principles. "Natural" meat and poultry products can by
law receive antibiotics, hormones, and genetically
engineered grains, and can be raised in CAFOs.
BREAKING NEWS: Worst Avian Flu in History Slams Larger Farms but
Leaves Backyard Gardens Unscathed
Humans aren't the only ones being sickened by the commercial
meat industry—the US is currently being hit by the largest
avian flu outbreak in history.7
Bird flu has wiped out 40 percent of the egg-laying flock in
Iowa, the number-one egg-producing state in the US, doubling
nationwide egg prices. Almost 45 million chickens and turkeys
have been killed in an effort to contain the disease, mostly in
Iowa and Minnesota, according to the US Department of
Agriculture.8
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska9
have declared states of emergency.
Large-scale egg and turkey farms have been slammed, but
backyard gardens have remained unscathed.10
Experts haven't determined exactly how the avian flu is
spreading, but the CAFO model virtually guarantees drug
resistance and out-of-control spread of disease, for both
animals and humans.
The Outrageous Environmental Costs of the Meat Industry
Industrial agriculture is one of the most unsustainable
practices of modern civilization. The "bigger is better" food
system has reached a point where its real costs are becoming
apparent, including massive pollution and loss of life—all
manner of plant and animal life. Like water running down an open
drain, the earth's natural resources are disappearing quickly.
Some, such as soil, can be restored over time IF proper steps
are taken, but others are lost forever. We've already seen more
than 93 percent of our fruit and vegetable seed varieties
disappear over the last century. Another 60,000 to 100,000 plant
species are in danger of extinction.
Bees are disappearing at an alarming rate as a result of
neonicotinoid pesticides.
Monarch butterflies are disappearing even faster, likely due
to the pervasive use of
glyphosate on GMO crops along its flight path across the US.
The North American Monarch population has plummeted by 91
percent over the past two decades. It's likely that our
modern food system can be blamed for a significant portion of
these losses. One Green Planet has an excellent article11
summarizing five basic ways industrialized farming is destroying
the environment:
Air pollution: Industrialized
agriculture is responsible for more than 37 percent of
methane emissions, 90 percent of CO2, and copious hydrogen
sulfide ammonia. Methane has a global warming potential 20
times higher than carbon dioxide.
Water pollution: Industrialized
agriculture uses up to 70 percent of the world's fresh water
supply. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates
75 percent of all water-quality problems in America's rivers
and streams is from chemical-laden agricultural run-off that
leads to toxic algal blooms, fish kills, and "dead zones."
Deforestation: In the US alone, more
than 260 million acres of native forests have been cleared
to make room for crop fields, most of which are used
exclusively to grow livestock feed (corn and soy).
Deforestation is responsible for 2.4 billions tons of CO2
release annually.
Soils: Nature abhors monoculture, as
monoculture leads to soil depletion, erosion, depletion of
the water table, loss of soil nutrients, and the application
of massive quantities of synthetic agricultural chemicals.
Carbon emissions: CAFOs use about 5.5
gallons of fossil fuels per acre (presumably per year, as
article did not specify), between transportation,
application of chemicals, and the incredible amount of
energy it takes to run these massive productions. The
average farm in the US spans 418 acres, meaning it will
guzzle about 2,300 gallons of fossil fuels. By adopting a
circular economy (reusing and recycling), carbon emissions
could be cut by nearly 70 percent by 2030.
Are Greener Pastures Ahead?
Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the proverbial
tunnel! Some farming and ranching pioneers are returning to the
old ways, raising a wide variety of plants and animals in a way
that copies a natural community. This new breed of farmer
believes that sustainability and concern for future generations
is as important as turning a profit. Animals live out natural
lifecycles where they're happy and healthy and allowed to
express instinctive behaviors. As sustainable agricultural
champion
Joel Salatin is fond of saying, pigs are allowed to express
their "pig-ness"!
The key is to build healthy soil and healthy pastures—which
of course grow healthy grass. As was said in the film, "There is
more life below ground than above ground, and that's a hard
concept for people to get." Animals roaming and grazing on
pasture are strong, disease-free and unstressed, which produces
the highest quality meat.
The entire food chain is connected—soils, plants, animals,
humans, insects, fungi, and the rest—so supporting the bottom of
the food chain ultimately supports your health. No-till
agriculture is one of the best approaches to land regeneration,
as 70 percent of the soil microbes responsible for plant health
and communication are fungi (mycorrhizae), which tilling
disrupts. Organic,
biodynamic farms tend to be much smaller and cleaner, since
the animals are not crammed together.
As a result, the animals are far less likely to harbor
dangerous pathogens that contaminate the meat. When it comes
time for slaughter, this is done in the field with minimal
stress to the animal. As shown in the film, the animal is killed
swiftly with a gunshot it never sees coming. Farming like this
benefits the earth, the animals, the birds and the bees—and all
of us.
Finding High-Quality Meats
Grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, and organic pastured eggs
and dairy are becoming easier to find. Larger grocery chains are
jumping on the "organic band wagon," but purchasing from your
local organic farmers and ranchers is preferred. Here are a few
tips for finding sources near you:
Grass-finished beef: Many grocery
chains are now responding to customer demand by providing at
least a small assortment of grass-finished meats. Please be
aware of the difference between grass fed and grass
finished. Most all cattle are fed grass as calves, they key
is what they eat the months before slaughter. If your local
grocer still doesn't carry them, ask the purchasing manager
to consider adding a few. Some stores, like Publix, will
even stock specialty items requested by a single customer.
The least expensive way to obtain authentic grass-fed
beef is to find a local rancher you can trust, and buy it
directly from the farm. If you can't find a local source,
organic grass-fed beef and other related products can be
purchased online.
Raw organic, pastured dairy products:
Getting your raw milk from a local organic farm or co-op is
one of the best ways to ensure you're getting high-quality
milk. You can locate a raw milk source near you at the
Campaign for
Real Milk Website. The
Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund also provides a
state-by-state review of raw milk laws.
Organic, free-range eggs: To locate a
free-range pasture farm, try asking your local nutrition
store, or check out the following web listings: