Author: Peter Wheeler

A recent study published in Frontiers of Sustainable Food Systems adds credence to the value of diversity. The study compared meat and milk from livestock that had grazed pastures with a diversity of plants species (grasses, forbs, and legumes) to meat and milk from livestock that had grazed pastures with limited to no diversity of plants (i.e. a monoculture). What the study found was that products coming from livestock that graze diverse pastures are often higher in health-promoting phytonutrients such as terpenoids, phenols, carotenoids, and a variety of antioxidants – when compared to those coming off of monoculture pastures. Products from animals fed grain contain a reduced amount of these compounds or are absent from them entirely. The study also iterated that several phytochemicals found in grass-fed meat and milk are often found in quantities comparable to those found in plant foods and are known to have anti inflammatory, cardio-protective and anti-carcinogenic effects.

The way food is produced, and how those practices impact ecology, environment, and the health of consumers is of importance. This is something that we focus a lot of attention on at Greenacres, including funding and performing research to help us better understand these connections. Diversity is one of the attributes we study as a key indicator of the health of our pastures and woodlands. Based on the findings of this recent study, diversity has a large role in the nutritional quality of our products as well.

How does Greenacres beef compare to plant-based “meat alternatives”? The ingredients used to produce these products (soy, peas, seed oils, rice, etc) are grown in huge, industrial agricultural operations that tend to specialize in and grow only one crop, a practice known as ‘monocropping’. Monocrop agriculture harms the environment in many ways; through the compaction and degradation of soils, the usage of huge quantities of pesticides and herbicides, the pollution of water, and the loss of biodiversity.

Along with physical compaction from heavy machinery, monocropped soils are often devoid of the lifeforms you’d find in healthy soils, like bacteria, invertebrates, insects, and fungi. This soil biology is largely responsible for the development of soil organic matter – which like a sponge is able to hold 18 times its own weight in water – and building soil aggregates, which provide pore spaces in the soil to allow water to easily infiltrate down into the soil profile. Thus, depleted biology leads directly to a loss of water absorption and retention, causing runoff and erosion to become serious issues.

Besides the environmental costs of monocrop farming, “meat alternatives” are also reliant on huge processing plants and long supply chains to turn a raw soybean into processed ingredients, like soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, and soy leghemoglobin. Highly processed foods take your food further from your farmer, further from the land on which the foods are grown, and are reliant on wealthy multinational corporations to keep the complex supply chains and processing plants operating.

Raising cattle on pasture actually improves the environment, improving both the quality and quantity of soil biology, sequestering carbon and building biodiversity. If you’re looking for responsible protein choice, look no further than 100% grassfed, grass-finished beef.