Where's the Beef... From?
Part 1: Industrial Beef-- A Forgotten WholenessBy Laurine Brown, PhD, MPH
How can one hamburger contain ground-up flesh from 100 cows? This revolting news caused many of us to question how modern meat is really made. Of course, we were aware of other dangers attached to eating beef: artery-clogging saturated fat, mad cow, deadly Jack-in-the-Box E. coli 0157:H7 (who thinks up these names?), residues of antibiotics and growth hormones, and water pollution from feedlots. We knew beef-eating in general had been blamed for animal welfare concerns, and even world hunger, since nearly half the world's grain is fed to livestock who excrete or burn up much of its nutrients. But hundred-cow burgers? When did things fall apart?
Yet despite the disgust and dangers, beef is still big business. We gobble 26 billion pounds yearly, sacrificing 37,000,000 cows for fast food burgers and backyard cookouts.
We're appalled when a child safety seat is recalled and demand safer products. Why don't we demand safer, healthier beef amidst a plethora of recalls and scandals? Beef isn't inherently bad. After all, we humans lived for 100,000 generations as hunters and gatherers, eating wild plants and meat-- up to 30% protein compared with only 12% today-- without clogging our arteries or destroying the land. Population pressures noted, it's the modern system of raising beef that wreaks havoc with ours', the cow's and the planet's health (which are intricately connected). How did it stray so far from wholesomeness? Instead of "where's the beef?" we should ask "where's the beef from?"
We need a system that nourishes these ruminants consistent with their physiology, not one focused solely on fattening them in the fast lane. Health problems associated with eating beef may really be that of cornfed beef. Purely grassfed beef is low in saturated fat and high in "good fats" like omega 3s and CLA. Cornfeeding (unnatural to this forager) can generate other problems: gassy cows who need puncturing, damaged livers or heartburn from acid reflux requiring antibiotics, and even food safety threats, like E. coli 0157 linked indirectly to acidification of the cow's stomach. Then there's mad cow and other messes we've created by turning these ruminants into carnivores-- even cannibals. Our industrial logic "protein is protein" and "fat is fat" led to feeding rendered cow parts back to cows. This practice was mostly banned in the US by FDA in 1997 (remember Oprah?). But ruminant "blood products" and fat are still okay, thus your steak may have been fattened with beef tallow. And nonruminant animal protein is also allowed (like pig and fish protein, feathermeal, and chicken manure). You are what you eat eats. Shouldn't you care what your steak had for dinner?
We need a system that gives animals clean shelter and fresh air, instead of low-levels of antibiotics to ward of disease from overcrowding and poor sanitation. Modern feedlots are cities of up to 100,000 cows paved with manure that Michael Pollan, author of "Power Steer", likens to unsanitary medieval cities reeking with stench and filth. There's just one reason disease is not rampant--modern antibiotics. Over half of US antibiotics go to animals, often low doses mixed in feed to prevent sickness (not saved to treat it) thus fueling the grave problem of antibiotic resistance. Resistance that is passed on to us. These drugs are also showing up in our water. What else is in your water glass besides water?
We need a system that keeps manure out of meat, rather than ushering in technological wizardry like irradiation and antimicrobial washes to neutralize the manure that our system puts there. The largest slaughterhouses are pressured to gut an astronomical 390 cows per hour on a single assembly line, cows already caked with manure from feedlot bedding. This swirling pace makes it nearly impossible to keep additional excrement from the innards off the bloody carcasses, fueling fodder for deadly foe E. coli 0157 (19 million pounds is the newest recall). Sadly this unbelievable pace also creates one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. European plants operate at much slower speeds, partly for these reasons. We too must clean up our act.
We need a system that remembers wholesomeness--one that honors the farmer or rancher for quality, not just quantity. Yes, our modern industrial system is wonderfully efficient at making beef quickly and cheaply, pumping an 80 pound calf to 1200 pounds in just 14 months (1/4 the time our grandparents raised them). But for all its efficiency, profits are small at only $3 per head, pushing farmers to use growth hormones and cheap feeds (and antibiotics, as earlier noted). A mere $1.50 estrogen implant fattens the cow by 40-50 pounds, worth $25-35. Without this edge, farmers will surely loose money. But residues can remain, feminizing this macho meal with unknown repercussions.
Corn is incredibly cheap which is why we feed so much of it, whether it's good for the cow or not. So is bakery waste. The day-old doughnuts, gummy bears, and chewing gum deliver "good energy" to the fattening trough and satisfy the nutritional scorecard, with the wrappers calculated as cellulose. "Calories are calories" and "roughage is roughage". But, "scientifically sound" or not, something seems inherently wrong with a system that feeds Fruit Loops to our steaks. A forgotten wholeness.
We need a system that starts with taking care of the land. Bob Adams of Metamora, Illinois, knows the key to healthy animals is good nutrition. "And that", he says, "starts with the land," which is why he has employed only sustainable, organic farming methods since 1934, growing all his animals' food (his family's too). His animals haven't needed a vet for 40 years. It works, he explains, so why change? But the Union of Concerned Scientists tells us industrial meat production causes staggering environmental damage-- a far cry from this sustainable system. We need to connect the dots again between the cow's health, our health, and the land.
Finally, we need to find the face of the farmer again. Surrounding us in central Illinois are small family farms--farmers with honest faces who care about quality, care about the land, and care about pleasing you, their customer (including their own families). While investing in local farms won't solve all the problems linked to beef production, it offers a piece of the solution. How do you find out about these local treasures? The archaic system "word of mouth" works best. Ask around. Afterall, wouldn't you like to know where your beef's from?
Don't know where to begin? See part 2. We'll get you started.
October 2002
If you have questions or comments, please call Wellness at 556.3334, e-mail us at wellness@iwu.edu, or stop by our office in the Shirk Center.
