The Deficiency Plot: When Corporations Replace Real Farms With Fake Food, What They're Really Taking Away Is the Nutrition You Need for Health
One reason to support bills like New Hampshire's HB 396: If you don't eat meat, you'll miss essential nutrients. Grass-fed & pasture-raised foods have the most nutrition.
A big part of the corporate plot to replace real farms with fake food is the effort that began many years ago to limit processing options for farmers who raise animals for meat. For family farms, this has been devastating, but it may also be why so many of us are over-stuffed and under-nourished as low-fat, high-sugar “plant-based” carbohydrates have replaced animal proteins in the American diet. You can buck this trend by buying grass-fed and pasture-raised meat from local farmers and supporting efforts to expand their ranks with state laws that return their right to on-farm meat processing.
Farmers deserve the right to butcher their own animals on their farms.
The federal government has done its best to take this right away, and most states haven’t done much to counter it.
One exception is New Hampshire. Earlier this year, it passed a bill for on-farm processing, HB 396, but the governor bowed to the monopoly meat-processors’ aggressive lobbying and vetoed it. The hope is that the legislature will override the governor’s veto.
New Hampshire’s innovative bill would allow limited non-USDA-certified on-farm processing of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats for in-state sale. It permits the slaughter and processing of three cows, five pigs, or 10 sheep/goats per month. It includes provisions for humane slaughter, food safety, record keeping, and menu/labeling requirements. Then, the meat can be sold directly from the farm, at farm stands or farmers markets, and to restaurants and retailers.
It’s not complete deregulation, but it is a step in the right direction. It could save family farms while getting healthy grass-fed and pasture-raised meat to more people.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Recognize Farmers’ Right to Process Their Own Animals!
How did farmers lose their right to slaughter their own animals?
In 1967, Congress passed the Wholesome Meat Act, ushering in the consolidation of the meat industry by requiring producers to use a USDA-inspected facility if they sell meat across state lines. At that time, there were 9,627 USDA-approved livestock slaughtering establishments in the U.S. By 1980, there were just 1,627. Today, there are about 800. Those 800 federally inspected plants produce over 95 percent of the meat in this country. The other five percent is butchered by 1,900 non-federal, state-inspected “custom” processors—meat that isn’t allowed to be sold across state lines.
This map of slaughterhouses by state (page 9 of this 2016 USDA report) says it all. If you live in or near Pennsylvania, you’re in luck—Pennsylvania has the largest number of federally inspected slaughter plants with 83. But too bad if you live in states with very few. That map hasn’t been updated, but here’s a current list.
The distance from farm to slaughterhouse makes a big difference in price and quality. This is largely due to injuries, trauma, and death suffered by animals during transport, which according to the Food & Agriculture Organization is “the most stressful and injurious stage in the chain of operations between farm and slaughterhouse and contributes significantly to poor animal welfare and loss of production.”
Just because there’s a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse within a reasonable distance from a farm doesn’t mean it’s actually available. Small-scale farmers regularly report that they have trouble finding meat processors that can take them and that when they find one that will, the wait can be a year or more.
Under current regulations, local farmers who commit to a higher standard of care for their animals are forced to either close up shop, or expose their animals to the low standards and food safety problems of industrial factory farm facilities.
It doesn’t have to be this way. States need to stand up to support small independent farmers and ranchers by respecting their right to slaughter their animals on their farms.
Ultimately, this is about your right to nutrient-dense food.
The best way to get nutrients is through food.
Many of us are deficient in the nutrients the body needs to function properly, for growth and repair, for energy and to prevent disease—and most of the nutrients so many of us are missing can be found in grass-fed and pasture-raised foods, which often have higher nutrient levels than factory-farmed animal products.
Even when grass-fed and pasture-raised foods aren’t higher in nutrients, it’s important to choose them over factory-farmed animal products to avoid the pesticide and drug residues—as well as the food-borne illnesses—they harbor.
To get the most-concentrated health benefits of eating grass-fed and pasture-raised foods, eat nutrient-rich organ meats, lard, ghee, bone broth, collagen, and marrow.
The following nutrients found in grass-fed and pasture-raised meats are essential for health—and even good for your mood.
Amino acids. Proteins have a greater satiating effect than fats and carbohydrates. Long-term ingestion of a high-protein diet decreases food intake and reduces body fat.
Your body doesn’t store protein, so it’s important to get enough from your diet each day.
Animal protein sources, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy, are “complete” sources of protein because they contain all of the essential amino acids that your body needs to function effectively.
According to best-selling author Julia Ross, a psychotherapist who pioneered the use of Nutritional Therapy for the treatment of mood problems, eating disorders, and addictions, endorphins, our natural pain-killing neurotransmitters, require a big consistent supply of high-protein foods. That’s because endorphin-building requires up to 20 different amino acids.
Tryptophan. Tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin, the neurotransmitter that provides feelings of well-being and self-esteem.
A diet high in tryptophan is associated with better moods and less depression and anxiety. On the flip side, if your body is deficient in tryptophan, you’re at risk for increased anxiety and irritability. Acute tryptophan depletion is associated with increased pain sensitivity and aggression.
Insufficient tryptophan can also trigger sugar cravings. According to Lierre Keith, author of The Vegetarian Myth:
“Eating sugar triggers a flood of insulin. Insulin moves through your bloodstream, sweeping up sugars, fats and amino acids, and transporting them into your cells for storage. The only substance that insulin can’t lock onto is tryptophan. With all the other amino acids out of the way, tryptophan suddenly has no competition in crossing the blood-brain barrier. Hence, for a brief time, a serotonin-deprived brain gets some desperately needed tryptophan.”
Though the best source of tryptophan is cooked egg whites, tryptophan is found in cheese, pork, turkey, beef, lamb and milk. Choosing grass-fed and pasture-raised meat and poultry is important because pasture is abundant in tryptophan while the grain-fed diet factory-farmed animals are raised on is deficient. As Julia Ross explains in The Mood Cure:
“Unfortunately, tryptophan has been diminishing from our food supply for the past one hundred years, about as long as our rate of depression has been climbing!”
Going from raising animals on pasture to today’s industrial factory farm model could explain why tryptophan has been disappearing from our diets.
Omega-3 EPA & DHA. One of the most frequently cited reasons for choosing grass-fed and pasture-raised meats is that they are good sources of Omega-3.
Why does that matter? Nutrientpower.org has a great explanation:
“Decades of research demonstrate the benefits of omega-3s. Where omega-6 fatty acids encourage inflammation, which is very important when you are ill or injured, omega-3s dial back inflammation. The ideal ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 is 1:1. Unfortunately, omega-6 fats predominate the American diet by a 20:1 ratio (and by some counts far worse), leading to lots of inflammation throughout the body. Many scientists believe this profound omega-3-omega-6 imbalance is one of the major reasons for the high incidence of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, premature aging, and some cancers today.”
By some estimates, Omega-3 deficiency causes up to 96,000 preventable deaths per year, making it the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.
Grain-free and pasture-raised pork has higher levels of omega-3s than grain-fed factory-farmed pork.
Grass-fed beef consumption increases serum concentrations of a number of omega-3s, including EPA and DHA, which play a crucial role in the prevention of atherosclerosis, heart attack, depression and cancer.
The human brain needs high levels of DHA in order to function properly. Low DHA levels have been linked to low brain serotonin levels, which are connected to an increased tendency for depression and suicide.
Several studies have established a correlation between low levels of omega-3s and depression and anxiety. High consumption of omega-3s is typically associated with a lower incidence of depression, a decreased prevalence of age-related memory loss and a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. To determine how much omega-3 you need, check your levels.
Saturated Fats and Cholesterol. “[C]holesterol is a life-sustaining substance, not a murderer in your blood,” writes Lierre Keith in “The Vegetarian Myth.” She goes on to explain that, while it is the brain that is most dependent on cholesterol, every cell in the body needs this waterproof substance to be structurally stable in the water-dominant body. “Without cholesterol, you would be a puddle, not an animal.” Cholesterol is “the body’s basic repair substance. The integrity of your intestinal wall especially depends on it. And, cholesterol has antioxidant powers, keeping cancer causing free radicals from doing their damage. Finally, all of your hormones, including your sex hormones are made from cholesterol.” Cholesterol is needed by the body to produce vitamin D from sunlight. Saturated fat is needed by the body to produce cholesterol. (The body produces 80 percent of its cholesterol, but relies on saturated fat in the diet to produce the other 20 percent.) Coconut oil is the most saturated fat and is great for high-temperature cooking, but so are ghee and lard. Butter isn’t as good for high-temperature cooking, but it is also a healthy saturated fat. The saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil (myristic acid and lauric acid) play key roles in immune health. Without them, white blood cells lose their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. These fats should come from organic, grass-fed and pasture-raised animals.
Fat soluble vitamins can only be absorbed when eaten with dietary fat.
Vitamin A (Retinol). The most bioavailable form of vitamin A is retinol. It is only available from animal products. It won’t be absorbed unless taken along with some fat or after a fat-containing meal. Retinol deficiency can cause blindness, but can also present itself in throat infections, acne, mouth ulcers, dandruff, or poor night vision. Good sources of retinol are beef and chicken liver, eggs, milk, butter and cheese. Grass-fed and pasture-raised animals produced foods with higher levels of vitamin A than factory-farmed and grain-fed animals.
Vitamin D. Raising your levels of vitamin D is the easiest, least expensive, and most beneficial way to protect against infectious disease. Vitamin D can also help prevent at least 16 different types of cancer, including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, prostate and skin cancers. Having optimal vitamin D levels is necessary for a healthy pregnancy. Ninety-three percent of women dealing with infertility issues are vitamin D3 deficient. Children with vitamin D deficiency can get rickets, a bone weakening syndrome that causes bow legs or knock knees. The best source of vitamin D is sun exposure, which radically decreases your risk of autoimmune diseases and helps prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin D can also be obtained from pasture-raised egg yolks, grass-fed beef (especially liver) and butter. The vitamin D3 content of egg yolk is three- to four-fold higher when hens are outdoors in sunlight. Get tested to find out if you’re getting enough vitamin D.
Vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 directs calcium to the bones (preventing osteoporosis) and teeth (strengthening enamel) and away from the kidneys (where it could form stones) and arteries (reducing coronary artery calcification). Vitamin K2 also impacts testosterone balance, with deficiencies lowering testosterone in men and supplementation decreasing testosterone in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Vitamin K2 is found in certain types of cheeses, such as Cheddar, Colby, Gouda, Swiss, Gruyere, Brie and Edam, as well as pastured eggs yolks, butter from grass-fed cows, and free-range chicken (breast and legs).
Antioxidants
Coenzyme Q10. This nutrient is necessary for energy production in virtually every cell in the human body. An antioxidant, CoQ10 also helps protect against cellular damage from free radicals. Our body’s production peaks at about age 20, declines thereafter, and drops by 65% by age 80. Recently, the CoQ10 antioxidant effect has been shown to reduce markers for cardiovascular disease and inflammation, the main components of atherosclerotic vascular disease. CoQ10 can help with female fertility by reversing the age-related decline in egg quality. Foods highest in CoQ10 include pasture-raised pork, chicken and eggs, and grass-fed lamb and beef, especially heart, and chicken leg.
Essential Nutrients
Choline. Choline is crucial during fetal development, playing a key role in preventing birth defects and autism-like behavior, but 90% of Americans – and as many as 95% of pregnant women – fail to get adequate choline. Most prenatal supplements do not contain choline. Up to 40% of Americans have a common gene variation that further increases their need for choline. Choline deficiency can lead to fat build-up in the liver, making it harder for the liver to filter out harmful substances you are exposed to in your diet and the environment. For women, liver function is important for hormone balance, so getting enough choline is essential. Choline prevents dementia, and there’s a link between cognitive performance in adults and higher choline intake. Organic, pasture-raised egg yolks are a great source of choline. Other choline-rich foods include grass-fed beef, especially liver, and pasture-raised bacon and pork loin.
Vitamin B Complex
B vitamins are water soluble and not stored by your body. Excess is excreted through the urine. B vitamins must be consumed on a regular basis to prevent shortages.
Thiamine (B1) - Thiamine is essential to a healthy immune system. B1 deficiency, which is exacerbated by a high-carb diet, causes susceptibility to infections and sepsis. In women, B1 reduces symptoms of endometriosis. Pastured pork is a good source of B1.
Riboflavin (B2) - Riboflavin can help with migraines, depression, and cataracts. Riboflavin keeps homocysteine levels normal. If you have the underactive MTHFR variant (677TT), you should raise your B2 levels to lower homocysteine, which is associated with heart disease, stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and placenta-mediated pregnancy complications. Good sources of B2 include organic, grass-fed beef (especially liver), raw milk, yogurt and pasture-raised organic eggs.
Niacin (B3) - Niacin can slow tumor growth and it’s a good complement to chemotherapy, which can cause B3 deficiency. Studies on age-related cognitive decline show that people with the highest niacin intake had the greatest protection against Alzheimer’s disease. B3 is found in beef (especially liver), chicken, turkey and pork.
Pantothenic acid (B5) - B5 can clear acne and relieve stress. In women, B5 deficiency can disrupt adrenal function, dropping progesterone levels and resulting in estrogen dominance. In men, B5 deficiency can lower testosterone production. B5 is found in beef (especially liver), chicken, milk, eggs, yogurt and cheese.
Pyridoxine (B6) - Along with folate and cobalamin, pyridoxine is said to help curb high levels of homocysteine, which have been linked to an increased risk of heart and blood vessel problems, as well as brain shrinkage. High doses of pyridoxine, inositol and cobalamin, taken in combination, help improve schizophrenic symptoms. Folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 helped improve cognitive function and reduced depression. While pyridoxine is said to help alleviate nausea during pregnancy, expectant moms are advised to get this nutrient from their diet instead of a supplement. While chickpeas have the highest levels, beef liver, chicken breast, turkey, ground beef and cottage cheese are also good sources of B6.
Biotin (B7) - Biotin is popularly known as a skin-hair-and-nails supplement, but it won’t be helpful unless you have a deficiency. Biotin deficiency isn’t the cause of most people’s hair loss, but one study found that 38 percent of the women complaining of hair loss had a biotin deficiency. Deficiency is rare, but can be caused by the long-term consumption of raw egg whites, which contain a protein called avidin that prevents biotin absorption. (Cooked egg-whites don’t create this problem.) Biotin should be obtained through food rather than supplementation, as it can interfere with important medical tests for thyroid function, heart health and vitamin D levels. One animal study indicated biotin supplementation (but not food sources) during pregnancy could inhibit placental growth and increase the risk of miscarriage. Food sources of biotin include beef liver, whole cooked eggs, pork, and hamburger.
Folate (B9) - Folic acid supplementation prevents Alzheimer’s by lowering elevated homocysteine levels and slowing shrinkage in brain regions known to be most severely impacted by Alzheimer’s by as much as 700 percent. Research shows taking the recommended 800 mcg of folic acid at the time of conception helps lower the risk of pesticide-related autism. These studies were done with folic acid, but the better form of B9 is folate. Folate (a.k.a. L-methylfolate, 6(S)-methylfolate, metafolin and quatrefolic) is the biologically active form of the vitamin, while folic acid is synthetic. Folate lowers cancer risk, while folic acid can encourage tumor growth and suppress folate bioavailability. The best source of folate is beef liver.
Cobalamin (B12) - “[T]here are no non-animal sources of B12 and you can end up blind or brain-damaged without it,” writes Lierre Keith in The Vegetarian Myth. “B12 deficiency also leads to infertility, miscarriage and maybe Alzheimer’s. … Breast-fed infants of vegan mothers can have brain abnormalities from lack of B12. Kids on vegan diets ‘demonstrated neurological impairments that persisted, even when animal products were added later.’ Similarly, B12 levels in the blood of formerly vegan children remained low even after animal products were added back into their diets.” B12 is so important it deserves a website, book and movie of its own. It finally got its due with nurse Sally Pacholok’s Could It Be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses. Clams have the highest levels of B12, but beef, dairy, pork, eggs and chicken are all good sources.
As the information above makes clear, animal foods are an essential part of the human diet, and grass-fed and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs are the cleanest, most nutrient-dense sources of the nutrition they provide.
While you still can, buy your food in cash from a local organic farmer who raises their animals on pasture. The best-of-the-best are certified by the Real Organic Project. No one near you? Many farms ship direct. My favorite is A Bold Return to Giving a Damn author Will Harris’s White Oak Pastures.