Tere Ought to be a Law “Government oversight and policies designed to safeguard the health of individuals and the environment from these operations have been inadequate,” says Bob Martin, director of the CLF Food System Policy Program. Citing environmental and public
health hazards, the American Public Health Association issued a new policy statement last November calling for a precautionary moratorium on all new and expanding CAFO. It advises a complete halt until ad- ditional scientific data has been collected and public health concerns addressed.
Bypassing Industrial Eating Many consumers don’t realize that the majority of beef, pork and chicken sold in supermarkets, served in restaurants and distributed to institutions nationwide comes from the industrial food system. According to the Public Justice Food Project, 85 percent of the meat Americans consume is produced by four corporate giants—Tyson, Smithfield, Cargill and JBS—each accused of hiding la- bor, animal or environmental abuses behind folksy brand names and packaging images. To shed light on abuses and steer
consumers away from industrial meat, the Center for Food Safety created a website that pulls back the curtain on CAFO. It recom- mends replacing half of the meat we eat with humane, sustainably raised, grass-fed and organic meat, while replacing the other half with plant-based sources of protein such as beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds—a dietary approach that benefits our gut microbes and protects us against a host of chronic diseases.
Meat Alternatives As concerns mount about the health, ethi- cal and environmental impact of animal products, the food industry has responded with more plant-based, lab-grown meat
practices. “Industrial agriculture is abso- lutely harmful,” reports A Greener World, a nonprofit certifier of the trustworthy Animal Welfare Approved label. But thinking we have to go vegan or purchase fake meat to protect our health or the planet is misguided.
Once you learn how our modern industrial food system has transformed what most Americans eat,
you become highly motivated to eat something else.
~Eric Schlosser, author of Fast
Food Nation, Chew on This and co-producer of Food, Inc.
alternatives. Yet, according to the Food and Technology 2019 report by the mar- ket research firm Te Hartman Group, many meat replacements rely on highly sophisticated technologies that hardly meet consumers’ definitions of “natural”. “It’s all about what isn’t on the label,”
says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., chief science advisor of the GRACE Communications Foundation. According to Rangan, many plant-based and fake meat products are actually ultra-processed foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients and rely on petroleum-based chemicals that are not required to be listed on the label. “Te Impossible Burger introduces
over 48 new proteins to the human diet without a thorough safety investigation,” warns Rangan. She questions whether these new meat alternatives are better than meat from animals raised on pasture without routine drugs and synthetic fertilizers. Tere’s a big difference between the
health and environmental impact of meat from animals raised in feed lots versus those raised with regenerative agricultural
Eating Less, But Better Meat “Our bodies are designed to be omnivores, and animal products are part of a diverse, real food diet,” says Rebecca Tistlethwaite, director of the Niche Meat Processor As- sistance Network at Oregon State Univer- sity. Tistlethwaite, author of Farms with a Future and Te New Livestock Farmer: Te Business of Raising and Selling Ethical Meat, believes in ancestral eating and eating as close to nature as possible. She is mindful of portion size and eats only organic and pasture-raised animal foods to avoid syn- thetic chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pas-
tures, in Blufon, Georgia, declares, “It’s not the cow, it’s the how.” Harris transitioned his livestock operation from the indus- trial model to certified humane animal husbandry and sustainable practices that emulate nature. Te switch to a pasture- based system yields healthier animals, he explains, and helps take carbon out of the atmosphere and back into the soil. In Cows Save the Planet and Other
Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth, author Judith Schwartz describes how grazing animals play a key role in restoring soil health, and therefore human health. “Well-managed pastures and grass- lands with ruminant animals can sequester more carbon than they emit, improve soil health and increase groundwater recharge,” explains Tistlethwaite. Plus, both livestock and poultry can make use of inedible feeds that humans don’t consume, such as grass and sagebrush.
Critical Questions to Find and Support Good Food
Where does my food come from? Who produced it and under what conditions? Were workers treated fairly and animals humanely? What’s in or on my food? Were pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, genetically modified ingredients or additives used in producing it? Is it rich or poor in nutrients? What might be the unintended consequences of my food and farming choices? How might those choices affect our environment and future generations?
July 2020 19
Iakov Filimonov/
Shutterstock.com
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