The grain-based feed given to cattle in the US may help produce a nice cut of beef, but such feeding practices come with a price — including, researchers warn, an increased risk of exposing meat eaters to Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.

Much attention has gone to cattle-feeding practices in the UK, since the country’s past use of animal remains in cattle feed is believed to have triggered the spread of “mad cow” disease. Now it seems that the grain feed used in the US may have its own — albeit less severe — problems.

Grain feeds are starchy and low in fiber, a fact that makes them hard on cows’ stomachs and makes it easier for E. coli bacteria to thrive in the animals.

While E. coli infestation does not harm cattle, people who eat meat contaminated with the E. coli 0157:H7 strain can develop potentially deadly infections.

In a review of the consequences of grain-based feeds, researchers at Cornell University and the US Department of Agriculture in Ithaca, New York, note there is growing evidence that replacing some of the grain with fiber would be more healthful for cattle and the people who eat them.

Cattle are meant to consume fiber-rich products like hay.

Starchy, low-fiber grains spur rapid growth in the animals and produce “nicely marbled” beef. But they also trigger digestive problems in cattle that can cause liver abnormalities and allow bacteria to proliferate.

US feedlots use feeds that are up to 90% grain because cattle grow about three times faster on such a diet as they would on hay. Yet, because grain-based diets can make the animals sick, grain feeds must contain additives such as antibiotics.

This practice is of growing concern because scientists put part of the blame for the emergence of treatment-resistant infections in humans on the widespread use of antibiotics in food animals.

However, if more fiber were added to the diets of cattle, feedlots might be able to cut their antibiotic use.

But the feedlot industry doesn’t like hay. One reason is that it’s hard to handle.

Science May 11, 2001;292:1119-1122

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Well here it is again. This time published in one of the most well respected scientific journals on the planet, Science.

When you feed cows grass they are healthier. Some people in rural areas where cows are grown are confused on this issue. The problem is that all cattle are initially raised on grass.

But prior to slaughtering, nearly ALL cattle that are sold commercially in this country are shipped off to feed lots where they gain their last several hundred pounds of weight.

This is the phase that causes most all of the problems and increases the risk of disease and contamination. It is a completely unnatural environment for the cattle and this is one of the reasons they are put on so many antibiotics.

Orthodox Jews have an inspection system that many are familiar with called “kosher”. When an animal is kosher slaughtered it is killed in a very specific way to minimize the potential for infectious material to contaminate the meat.

However, the rabbi also inspects the animal, such as its lungs and liver, for signs of ill health. It turns out ONLY 5% of cattle qualify as “clean” animals with the highest level of kosher rating.

Folks 95% of these cattle are sick that you are eating.

Much of this has to do with them eating grain.

I am only a few weeks away from offering cattle that were exclusively raised on grass. I am also in the process of arranging for future grass fed cattle to be slaughtered in a kosher fashion with full inspection.

To the best of my knowledge this is not being done ANYWHERE in the country today. There are no commercial slaughterhouses that are kosher slaughtering grass fed cattle.

I will be very interested to see the rejection rate when this process happens.

Additionally, properly slaughtered grass fed beef has virtually zero risk of being contaminated with E. Coli and it will provide an excellent alternative to the irradiated beef when it rears its ugly head in the market place.

In the meantime hang tight and I will be able to offer the grass fed beef very shortly. Unfortunately this will only be available to US readers as the shipping costs are prohibitive once one crosses the US border.

In the wake of the E. coli spinach scare, New York Times author Michael Pollan writes about the problems surrounding the industrialization of the food supply, and the reasons to support local food economies.

Currently, vegetable growers and packers are all but unregulated.

This is because, until recently, food safety on vegetable farms has not been particularly worrisome. But the industrialization and centralization of food processing has rendered it more vulnerable and endangered our health.

For example, the strain of E. coli responsible for the latest outbreak was unknown before 1982, and is believed to have evolved inside the guts of feedlot cattle; it cannot survive long in the different internal chemistry of cattle that graze on grass. The food supply sickens 76 million Americans every year.

Spinach from a great many fields gets mixed together in the water at the Natural Selection Foods plant, thought to be where the E. coli infection spread. The vast amount of plants mixed together gives a single microbial infection a chance to contaminate a large amount of food. The plant washes 26 million servings of salad each week.

One of the great advantages of a decentralized, locally-based food system is that when things go wrong, fewer people are affected and the problem can be easily tracked to its source.

Sources:

* The New York Times October 15, 2006

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Michael Pollan is the same New York Times author who wrote brilliantly about the perils of factory-farmed beef. He also wrote the book Omnivore’s Dilemma this year, which is a great work.

While the recent E. coli scare is sure to prompt calls for increased regulations and inspections for farms, Pollan points out that this lack of policing wasn’t an oversight, it was never necessary until huge food corporations started to interfere with the natural order of agriculture.

Where animals once fed on pasture, and their waste helped that pasture grow, we now have animals feeding on feedlots, and problems with fertilizer (which are now chemicals) and what to do with all the waste.

Meanwhile, rather than returning to a more simple solution, modern-day agriculture turns to technological fixes, like chemical fertilizers rather than natural ones, and irradiating meat rather than cleaning up the farms.

Today well over 50 percent of the food we eat is produced by factory-farming methods. Small, organic, local farms are quickly disappearing here in America. Did you know that a few years ago the number of people in prisons in the United States actually surpassed the number of farmers?

Sad but true, multi-national corporations are forcing small farmers out of business.

A diet based on local, organic foods does not have to be cost-prohibitive for the average family or single consumer. One way to keep costs down is to visit farmers’ markets and use Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.

Here are some great resources to obtain wholesome food that supports not only you but also the environment:

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Farmers’ Markets — A national listing of farmers’ markets.

Weston A. Price Foundation — The goal of the Weston A. Price Foundation is to restore nutrient-dense traditional foods to the human diet through education, research, and activism.

Local Harvest — This Web site will help you find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals — The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) — CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.

The debate over whether organic food is healthier than conventionally grown food may be over, according to results from a $25-million study into organic food — the largest of its kind to date.

The four-year, European-Union-funded study found that:

* Organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants

* Organic produce had higher levels of beneficial minerals like iron and zinc

* Milk from organic herds contained up to 90 percent more antioxidants

The researchers obtained their results after growing fruit and vegetables, and raising cattle, on adjacent organic and non-organic sites. They say that eating organic foods can even help to increase the nutrient intake of people who dont eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

The UKs Food Standards Agency, which has formerly said that there is no difference between organic and conventional foods, is reviewing the research findings.

Sources:

* Times Online October 28, 2007

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:
Many health experts continue to state that there is little difference between organic and conventionally raised produce, but if they review this evidence, they will likely have to change their tune.

Food grown in healthier soil, with natural fertilizers and no chemicals, simply has to be more nutritious. It is common knowledge — though knowledge that is greatly suppressed in the United States.

A 2003 study in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, for example, found that organic foods are better for fighting cancer.

And in 2005, scientists found that, compared to rats that ate conventional diets, organically fed rats experienced various health benefits. Rats that ate organic or minimally fertilized diets had:

* Improved immune system status
* Better sleeping habits
* Less weight and were slimmer than rats fed other diets
* Higher vitamin E content in their blood (for organically fed rats)

Does this mean that you should ditch all of your conventional produce and meat, and only buy certified organic foods? Well, yes and no.

Be Very Wary of What Organic Foods You Buy, and Where You Buy Them

Although the organic label has really only become widely popular in the last several years, it has already been greatly compromised.

Whereas organic foods were once truly raised naturally, on small farms with great integrity, big business has now stepped in and tainted many of the principles upon which the organic label was founded.

Wal-Mart, for instance, is now the largest organic retailer in the United States. According to the Organic Consumers Association, the mega-store is:

* Selling Horizon and Aurora Organic milk that comes from intensive confinement factory farm dairies
* Importing cheap organic foods and ingredients from China and Brazil
* Posting signs in its stores that mislead people into believing that non-organic items are actually organic

In other words, organic food now represents a $14-billion business in the United States, and the quality and meaning of the organic label is undergoing a fast decline.

You are, in fact, being ripped off by much of the organic food you are buying.

One of the biggest rip-offs, in my opinion, is organic milk. Milk is not something I recommend that anyone drink unless it is in raw form. Organic milk is NOT raw milk, it is pasteurized milk, and will be associated with all of the health problems of pasteurized milk, regardless of its organic certification.

Another big-time deception is all of those organic convenience, junk foods like ice cream, crackers, cookies, pizzas and potato chips. A potato chip is one of the worst foods you can eat, regardless of whether or not the potato is organic.

Yet big business is cashing in on your desire to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak, and deceiving you into believing that you can eat cookies, ice cream and potato chips without feeling guilty because theyre organic.

Local is Now Better Than Organic

If you want to get the freshest, most nutrient-rich foods available, you simply must seek out real sources close to your home. When I say real sources Im referring to farmers, food coops, farmers markets, and community-supported agriculture programs — NOT your local supermarket, or even your local big-name health food store.

These are the people who are growing your food, and only by speaking with them and establishing a rapport will you truly know if your food is being raised with integrity and health in mind.

Know also that many small farmers raise their foods according to organic standards, yet are unable to afford the federal certification progress to legally call them so. Ask your local farmers, and youll likely be surprised at how natural their farming methods are.

The bottom line?

Folks, simply stick to eating food that comes from your community, and from nature. Eat meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and more that come from a farmer you trust, according to your Nutritional Type, and you will thrive.

For those few foods you cant find locally, buying from a supermarket or health food store is, of course, a practical option. Just make sure that these supermarket foods make up only a tiny portion of your familys overall food.

In February 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would soon be releasing a brochure for supermarket shoppers outlining precautions regarding “Pesticides on Food.” Besides advice on peeling, washing, scrubbing, and cooking fruits and vegetables, the EPA brochure would advise consumers concerned about pesticides to consider purchasing organically-grown fruits, vegetables, and other foods. This advice to “buy organic” was immediately attacked by agribusiness lobbyists as they worked behind the scenes to knock any mention of organic out of the EPA brochure. Dennis Stolte of the American Farm Bureau told the New York Times, “Our biggest concern is that there is an implication that organic foods are somehow safer than conventional foods, which is absolutely false.”

In August 1998, “seven food, farm and pesticide industry groups called on the Clinton Administration to eliminate any references to organic foods and to make other changes,” according to an article written by John Cushman of the New York Times. Last month, the EPA released the amended brochure on pesticides and foods, de-emphasizing health risks, and barely mentioning (and clearly not endorsing) consuming organically grown foods to reduce exposure to chemicals. That brochure can now be found at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food

The EPA’s decision to back down on organic in their brochure represents the power of the agribusiness trade associations - the same associations who vocally supported the USDA’s first organic proposal. These trade associations represent hundreds of billions of dollars in capital assets, annual sales, and advertising revenue (not to mention millions of dollars in annual political contributions to both major political parties): the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA), the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), the American Farm Bureau, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

The power and influence of these trade associations is astonishing. According to a recent analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, from 1988 to 1995 more than 65 bills were introduced in Congress to tighten pesticide regulations - none passed. Organic food poses a direct threat to these trade associations, particularly when it comes to health and safety issues. As Regina Hildwine of the National Food Processors Association told the press during the debate over organic standards in 1998, “Organic does not mean safer. Organic does not mean healthier.”

Many believe that organic food is safer because it has less pesticide residues - which have become a “hot button” issue for millions of parents and consumers. In a major sampling of supermarket produce published in January 1998, Consumer Reports found that conventional produce was more than three times as likely to contain residues of toxic pesticides than organic produce (pesticide residues on organic produce most often result from chemical sprays drifting from nearby conventional farms). Consumer Reports points out “tests of organic, green-labeled, and conventional unlabeled produce found that organic foods had consistently minimal or non-existent pesticide residue… Buying organic food promotes farming practices that really are more sustainable and better for the environment — less likely to degrade soil, impair ecosystems, foul drinking water, or poison farmworkers.”

A panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences in 1993 reported that federal allowances for pesticide residues were too lenient, and that infants and children could be harmed by current pesticide residue levels that the government considers “legal.” A highly-publicized Jan. 1998 study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that millions of American children under five years old are at risk every year from ingesting dangerous levels of at least 13 different neurotoxic organophosphate (OP) pesticide residues in their apples, apple sauce, apple juice, peaches, popcorn, corn chips, and other foods.

In another study of eight different non-organic baby foods produced by Gerber, Heinz, and Beech-Nut, the EWG found residues of 16 different pesticides — including probable human carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disrupters, and oral toxicity #1 chemicals, the most toxic designation. A new EWG web site allows parents to fill a grocery cart with typical items that a preschooler might eat during a day and then calculate the likely amount of pesticide residue consumed. The address is To express your displeasure at the EPA’s decision to exclude the attributes of organic food in its pesticide brochure, send EPA chief Carol Browner an e-mail at:

COMMENT: Organic foods should be a high priority in your life. Pesticides in foods are real and they do cause harm. Most of our livers are not working well and this impairment predisposes us to many of the side effects of these toxic chemicals as they are not metabolized out of our bodies. The above information details the incredible evil forces that are involved in putting money and power above the interests of the health of the people. I would encourage you to e-mail Ms. Browner with your strong objection to what is happening in the organic food industry.

Organic farms have historically been small, family-run businesses producing for local markets. But as conventional agribusiness and the supermarkets move in, organic shops are expanding, being bought up, and increasingly resembling their non-organic counterparts.

Under pressure by Wal-Mart, many multinational food corporations have developed organic versions of their best-selling brands, including Heinz, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Groupe Danone, Nestle, Unilever Bestfoods, RHM, Mars/Masterfoods, Kraft, Premier Foods, Northern Foods and Pepsi-Co.

You can now get organic ketchup, rice crispies, and ready meals — what started out as a method of producing healthy and nutritious food is now turning out highly industrialized multi-ingredient products.

These industrial organic foods are being marketed along with vitamin-enriched products and functional foods; in the eyes of General Mills, organic is not a revolution so much as a market niche.
Sources:

* Organic Consumers Organization February 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Im not at all surprised at this development; it was bound to happen. How could any self-respecting, profit-driven, integrity-challenged food company ever let a swelling market niche go untapped?

That doesnt mean you have to buy into their watered-down, kinda-sorta-organic-even-though-mass-processed versions of what could be real food, however.

You still have the power to circumvent these con-jobs and demand the real deal.

Its mainly a matter of knowing where to find locally harvested organic foods, buying from sources you want to see thrive, and reading packaged food labels like theyre the hottest thing from Oprahs book club.

The fact of the matter is; true organic IS better. Both for you and for the environment.

What is Organic?

To be labeled certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the food must be free of most:

Pesticides

Synthetic fertilizers

Hormones

Antibiotics

Genetic modification

Irradiation

But many argue that true organic food also entails respect for locally produced food, respect for livestock and employees, and environmentally sustainable practices — something that is rarely a goal of large-scale food manufacturers.

Now there is also “organic” food being imported from countries such as China, Sierra Leone and Brazil, where standards, wages, and growing conditions are difficult, if not impossible, to monitor and enforce.

This is one of the reasons why buying locally farmed organic produce is your best bet when making your shopping decisions.

Organic — More Nutrients, Less Toxins

Back in 1998, Regina Hildwine of the National Food Processors Association told the press during the debate over organic standards, “Organic does not mean safer. Organic does not mean healthier.”

Well, those famous last words were NOT the last word on this issue. Studies have demonstrated, again and again, that organic foods are FAR more nutritious than their conventionally grown counterparts.

One four-year long, $25-million study into organic food — the largest of its kind to date — found that:

* Organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants
* Organic produce had higher levels of beneficial minerals like iron and zinc
* Milk from organic herds contained up to 90 percent more antioxidants

They even found that eating organic foods can help increase the nutrient uptake in people who dont eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day!

And, that doesnt even take into account the health benefits of simply reducing your chemical intake, hence reducing your overall toxic load.

The 2007 report Hazardous Pesticides in the European Parliament reveals the disturbing truth that conventionally grown fruits are far more toxic than you might think.

Eight fruit samples, randomly selected at the GB express supermarket in the EU Parliament building in Brussels, were found to be contaminated with no less than 28 different pesticide residues, averaging almost five residues per fruit.

These chemicals included:

10 known carcinogens

3 neurotoxins

3 reproductive and developmental toxins

8 endocrine disruptors

Two of the chemicals are classified as Highly Hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO), and three of the samples contained such high levels of residue that they were, officially, illegal.

That said, do keep in mind that even though organic vegetables (just like fruits) are better, dont use this as an excuse to avoid non-organic vegetables. If for whatever reason you cant obtain organic vegetables, non-organic veggies are a much healthier option than none at all.

Remember also, if youre a Carb Type, most of your carbohydrates should actually be in the form of vegetable carbs, not grain carbs. Loading up on grains instead of vegetables because its difficult to find organic veggies will likely lead to a health disaster.

Organic Farming Protects Your Environment and Your Health

Organic farming differs from conventional farming in the methods used to grow crops, which has a major impact on your environment.

For example:

* Where conventional farmers apply chemical fertilizers to the soil to grow their crops, organic farmers feed and build soil with natural fertilizer, which is far less likely to cause any long-term environmental complications.

* Conventional farmers use insecticides to get rid of insects and disease, while organic farmers use natural methods such as insect predators and barriers for this purpose.

* Conventional farmers control weed growth by applying synthetic herbicides, but organic farmers use crop rotation, tillage, hand weeding, cover crops and mulches to control weeds.

While herbicides are not nearly as dangerous as insecticides, they still are synthetic chemicals introduced into the environment and clearly are not something that will improve your health.

The article Better Beef, written by California rancher Dave Evans and published in the March 2008 issue of Best Life magazine, gives a great in-depth view of the many benefits of grass-fed beef, from environmental sustainability to the sheer difference in taste and nutrient content of the beef.

Evans also offers this list of grass-fed beef ranchers in the United States, where you can find good-quality meats:

*
Panorama Meats , Black Angus and Red Angus
www.panoramameats.com
*
Country Natural Beef , Hereford and Angus
www.countrynaturalbeef.com
*
Tallgrass Beef
www.tallgrassbeef.com
*
Niman Ranch , A network of more than 600 independent farmers and ranchers, and probably the easiest to find locally
www.nimanranch.com
*
Pacific Village , Entirely grass-fed cattle since 2002
www.newseasonsmarket.com