Is Organic Meat Better For You?
If you spend any time at all looking around the paleo world, you will see a lot of recommendations for organic foods. Most recipes will tell you to use them and they tout it as being an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, no one really tells you what “organic” means and just why it is so important. Let’s try to put that right.
Organic doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. All organic produce isn’t equal, either in cost or quality. Whilst you shouldn’t always buy the most expensive meat buy the best you can afford.
What Is Organic Meat?
So let’s start with a general definition. For me, organic meat means that the animal has been fed on organic food, has been raised with access to free grazing land and hasn’t been given antibiotics or hormones. I prefer to be sure that the beast has been slaughtered humanely too. Now I can’t always check up the history of what I find on my plate, so how do I make sure I am getting organic produce? Whilst being 100% sure is tricky, there are ways to put the odds in your favour.
Best Ways To Ensure What You Are Eating Is Organic?
The first thing to do is really read the labels carefully. Manufacturers are smart at making things look a little more ‘natural’ than they really are. Just because there is a picture of a magnificent, plump chicken wandering around a field, it doesn’t make it so! Read the small print and you can avoid quite a lot of the poorer quality meat (and other stuff too.)
Second, use only certified organic produce. In the USA for example, third-party independent inspectors visit farms to check that they are worthy of the organic label. Again, this isn’t foolproof, but it is unlikely that you are getting hormone-boosted beef if it has passed the United States Department of Agriculture inspections.
The third way is best of all, for a couple of reasons. It is simply to get stuff directly from a trusted source. If you build a relationship with these organic meat farmers, you can see what happens to the animal before it hits your plate. I have found that health food shops often have adverts from farmers who are keen to set up this circuit. It cuts out the middle man and guarantees reasonable prices for everyone, especially on items such as grass-fed beef.
So Why Bother With Organic?
It just seems easier (and cheaper) to get whatever is in the supermarket, doesn’t it? Maybe so, but do you know what you are eating? The cheaper cuts of meat come from animals who have been fed on animal by-products and genetically-engineered grains. Do you really believe that this is creating quality meat? And what about the drugs? They give cows hormones to fatten up, drugs to keep them ‘healthy’ and regularly consume pesticides and traces of chemical fertilizer. These elements are still present in the flesh when you eat it. Given that many of these products have proven connections to many horrible things from antibiotic-resistant bacteria to immunity deficiency to cancer, you really don’t want them in your diet.
Don’t think you can avoid the problem by eating more seafood because exactly the same things apply, in fact, the problem can be even worse. You might think you are giving your health a boost by eating that Scottish smoked salmon, but if it is factory-farmed, it probably isn’t fantastic for you at all. Food given to these fish is notorious for its poor quality food, for example.
There is one more argument that really clinches the deal and that is taste. There is no comparison between a high-quality piece of organic meat including ground beef and its factory-farmed cousin. If you don’t believe me, just try it and tell me you can’t taste the difference!