My Thoughts on the Benefits of Small Farmed Cattle and Ethically Raised Live Stock
by Szabo the Butcher
Well first things first, small farmed cattle ethically raised is certainly a much higher initial cost. The argument for and against in this respect can be looked at in one very important way. Risk. There is no doubt the amount of stress a large tightly packed ranch and slaughter line will incur upon animals in such conditions. While the price is significantly lower in the short term it is my belief this sort of husbandry and slaughter can result in unexpected health risks for the ingestor. Now, this is a hypothesis I have developed over some time. There has not been enough research delineating the differences of the night and day practices as related to health risks associated with meat consumption. If my theory is correct further studies will show that intake of flesh from large unethical farms as opposed to smaller more humanly raised cattle ranches will show that risks of Colorectal cancer linked to meat consumption will be night and day.
I believe the stress hormones released by the animals in poor condition ultimately fuels the identified risk factors. All these hormones are released into the muscles just like added hormones and antibiotics are. From a meat cutter perspective it's relatively easy to identify major differences in the quality of meat. The major maker that led me down this way of thinking is tenderness. I have cut tons upon tons of meat from both conventional cattle and from small farm ethically treated cattle. I have routinely cut very lean small farmed cattle and felt then cooked round meat as tender as conventional loin. That's an astounding discovery. The most logical reasoning I have pondered to is the release of stress hormones tightening the animals muscle groups as is apparent to any human with a high stress job. This idea is main stream because of the results attained from the Japanese beef industry.
(*Note lean meat is not forgiving and over cooked lean meat from ethical and grass fed meat will still be tougher. Prepare this meat rare to just medium rare to maintain tenderness)
Grass fed does not necessarily determine what level of ethics is applied to the raising of live stock but grass fed cattle,even at worst case scenario, will release less stress hormones than a penned force feed animal. If my assertion above is studied further and proven to be accurate I contest the initial savings are nothing more than a bet. If one looses this bet the cost for going this route is not only washed away but increased in ones health care cost. Buying better meat from low stress animals is truly an insurance investment.
This is a short post and meant to open a discussion. Below are some links to studies done on red meat and cancers. As you will see, although extremely important, I believe further studies on my premise should be undertaken. I ask all readers to share there opinions and absolutely any more facts that may add to this discussion.
https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/exposures/meat-fish-dairy
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-relation-between-meat-and-cancer/
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/link-red-meat-cancer-need-know/
https://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/facts/meat-consumption-and-cancer-risk
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