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Should We All Start Buying It Organic Meat?

While there are many who believe meat does not belong in our diet, they are in the minority of Americans.  We are a meat eating nation, and that's not going to change any time soon.  In fact, the U.S. produces 80 billion pounds of meat every year.

So what's the fuss about organically produced meat?  We can look at organic meat on a couple of different levels.  For one, the Meat is healthier coming from pasture raised cows and chickens raised in chicken coops.  The second aspect of organic meat is the conditions the animals are raised in.

Pasture Fed Cattle

Cows raised on pasture grass have higher ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.  This is said to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.  When cows are taken out of the pasture, put into a feed lot, and stuffed with corn based feed the omega 3s all but disappear after a few months.  Another advantage to pasture raised cattle is the reduced risk of spreading E.coli bacteria.

The government has banned growth hormones for hogs and chickens but other problems still exist.  Antibiotics are given liberally presenting other risks, one of which is the rise is MRSA, a deadly pathogen.  MRSA is showing up more frequently than ever in hogs and their handlers.

The other aspect of organic meat has to do with inhumane treatment of slaughter animals.  They are raised in mostly miserable conditions in the tight quarters of factory farms.  They are filled with high calorie corn based feed designed to fatten them up and move them to slaughter as fast as possible.  A pasture fed cow may take up to two and a half years before is ready for slaughter.  A feedlot cow could go to the butcher in as little as fourteen months.

Animal rights activists have been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals for years now.  A few of us are listening.  California has had a reform in place for a couple of years now, requiring better living conditions for hogs, calves and hens.  Ohio has just done the same.  It's time the rest of the nation stepped up and did the same.

So why don't we all just eat organic meat?  That would create a problem.  You see, only three percent of the cattle raised in the U.S. are considered organic.  Only one and a half percent of the poultry in our country are organic and the number for hogs is much smaller.  The price for organic meat is already higher than traditional meat, if we all switched over, the price would skyrocket.  Our country is just not ready for that yet.

So what do we do?  For starters, try cutting down on the meat you eat.  Really, it won't hurt you.  In fact, you will be eating healthier meals and saving money.  Certainly something to consider.  Try eating more fish also.  With the fish stocks collapsing worldwide that could create problems, but as long as it's out there, it doesn't hurt to replace red meat with fish a time or two a week.

The best solution is to get your protein from eggs, soy, cheese, nuts, grains, legumes and leafy green vegetables.  I don't mean all the time, but if we all cut back just a little, there would be far fewer animals in the system living in rotten conditions.

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