Everyone has heard the names whispered in fearful voices during the last several years; avian flu, swine flu and mad cow disease. These health scares have all come from one main source; commercially raised animals, which are disbursed into our stores and groceries. These animals are almost all infected with various harmful and disease-causing bacteria and viruses; and that’s not all! Industrial sized amounts of antibiotics are administered to those animals in hope of heading off the many sicknesses before they completely take over their bodies. These unnecessary drugs do not usually have quite the intended outcome, however; often the medications kill off the weaker strains of bacteria, allowing the more resistant, and also more dangerous, bacteria to thrive. These are common facts among the agribusiness corporations, so why are we so shocked when we hear the word ‘pandemic’?

These diseases come about simply because of the conditions in which the animals are raised; they are brought up in detrimental surroundings that act as giant Petri dishes for bacteria. However, there is an alternative which many are turning to in these times of insecurity about the mass-marketed food supply. Grass fed meats, chicken and dairy products are practically free of the bacteria and diseases that run rampant through mass produced meats and products. Grass fed and grass finished meats are healthier and more nutritious than their commercial counterparts. Many of the main commercial practices employed in raising mass-marketed beef and other animals, including the overuse of human antibiotics on animals, have been banned in many European countries for years, including England. Grass farming does not employ any of the harmful tactics that are used by the commercial farming industry.|These issues that alarm the majority of people come about mainly because of the circumstances in which factory-farm animals are brought up. Fortunately, there is something that can be done to shelter you and your loved ones from the risks involved when partaking in the mainstream meats. Grass fed and grass finished meats are the alternative to which many are turning to get safer sources of protein for their families. Pastured cattle and organic chicken are not brought up in the harsh and inhospitable environments as those that are raised on antibiotics and hormones. They are allowed to feast on open pastures and have the individual space they need to thrive and live blissful, healthy lives. Because they enjoy this better lifestyle and are raised and allowed to grow and mature at a natural rate, they are much healthier for us, as well. Several foreign countries have known for a long time that the tactics used by commercial farmers are inhumane, hazardous and plainly, wrong. Grass fed animals are practically free of viruses and harmful bacteria on any large scale, so that means much less risk for disease in the meat supplied by naturally raised meats.

Not only are the grass fed meats safer for consumption, they are naturally better tasting and more nutritious. Grass fed meat is available in all the mealtime favorites; grass fed steaks, grass fed hamburger, filet minion. The possibilities, as with commercial beef, are endless, the only dissimilarity is that you can be assured that you are getting the best purchasable meat for your table with grass fed and grass finished meats. When these animals are being grass fed, they are eating their natural diet in an open field, instead of cheap factory-provided feed in a pen just big enough to hold them. Nutrient-rich meat comes from animals that eat vitamin-rich food during their lifetimes; it’s as simple as that. Is there any reason to complicate the fragile balance of animals and nature coexisting with each other by adding factories, awful living conditions, and unnecessary medication into the mix? Of course not. Here, grass fed beef can fill the gap.

Your everyday life can be greatly enriched by adding grass fed meats and products to your diet. Just by swapping the beef in your diet with grass fed and grass finished alternatives, you can minimize your yearly intake of calories by more than 17,000! Even if you left the remainder of your eating habits the way they are, you would still lose an average of six pounds per year. That is only the beginning of the changes that grass fed meats can bring to your health, with few changes to your unique lifestyle. Don’t just imagine the possibilities; bring them to fulfillment with grass fed beef, natural chicken breasts and dairy.

– Becky Langley