tandoorichicken

In "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Michael Pollan describes a farmer who rotates his cattle across a number of different fenced-off pastures (he uses movable fences to create new pasture areas on his land). Once the grass is chewed down to a particular depth he moves the cows to new pasture. He then brings his chickens to the old pasture, where the cow dung has given rise to the chickens' natural diet of worms and insects. Next, the nitrogen-rich chicken poop provides nutritious fertilizer to the grass roots, which grow vigorously until the cattle are rotated back to that area. I think this ought to be the future of cattle farming. CAFOing is cheap in this country because corn subsidies make for cheap feed, meaning greater profit margins for the meat industry. The pasture rotation method takes up more space per head of beef and probably would mean less meat for all of us (because the cattle would grow at their natural rate instead of being stuffed with fattening grains and shot up with steroids), but is far more sustainable, far more humane, and good for the land. Not to mention the meat is of high quality and nutritional value, since the animals aren't being fed cheap industrialized crap.

When I shop for meat I look for the terms "grass-fed" not just "grass-finished" for my beef. Grass-finished could mean that the cattle were fed corn all their lives and then just fattened on grass before slaughter. For chicken I prefer "free-range" to "cage-free." The reason is that cage-free chickens are still cooped up in cramped quarters, usually small roosting rooms, without being specifically kept in cages. They have access to a hatch that leads to a small pasture outside but none of them ever think to use the hatch, since life inside the roost is all they've ever known. Free-range chickens, on the other hand, are raised on open pasture and spend most of their lives outdoors. This is all described in the book.

CoeyCoey

For every one person you feed beef to, you could feed 20 starving people on the corn that was used to feed the cow.

NessaSonic

I, too, look for "grass-fed" and "cage-free" meat and eggs. I also don't eat much beef. It's jut more ethically sound, and probably a whole lot healthier!

waynegretzky

As long as we all remember that the common goal for all of us is to get to a healthy weight! And then at that point is how to maintain that weight without falling into our old habits.
The way i eat right now to lose weight is the same way i plan to eat for the rest of my life.

CoeyCoey

Grass fed meat may be coming from grazing land that was once rain forest. And cage-free eggs are not any better for the chickens. They just make consumers feel better.

gee1996

Fad Diet Types ? Fad Diets Explained at WomansDay.com[/QUOTE]

i don't think Inuit diet is a "fad diet" at all if Inuits have been eating like that for eons.

gee1996

I agree with tandoorichicken re. China Study.

it is true that we eat a lot of vegitables. but one thing i believe Dr. Campbell (+ many researchers) neglected was the traditional cooking fat was LARD (except for the poor who could not afford it).

regards,

NessaSonic

sorry- but local grass-fed meat here doesn't come from cut-down rain forest since I live in New England. As I said in my earlier post, I pay attention to how far my food travels. But yes, I think the main goal is to be healthy and happy with you're own decisions.

CoeyCoey

Grass fed beef produces 2 to 4 times more greenhouse gases then feedlots. This is because of the high cellulose diet. They also produce those greenhouse gases for a longer period of time because the weight gain is slower.

Grass fed beef uses more water than feedlots. Dryer food means the cows need more water.

Grass fed beef increases soil erosion.

Grass fed beef displaces threatened wildlife.

Grass fed beef is less sustainable that feedlots. You use more land, more water, produce more greenhouse gases, and threaten delicate ecosystems.

pbright120

For anyone curious about what Coey is saying, I highly recommend reading The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith. Actually I recommend it to anyone that wants to get knowledgeable on agriculture and its true impact on the environment. Great read.