Healthful Habits is a way for our family to intentionally implement a more wholesome style of living one small step at a time. The process of executing these small changes over the course of a year enables them to become lifelong habits.
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The decision to begin purchasing grass-fed beef and pastured pork is the third healthful habit we implemented this year. Writers much more knowledgeable than I have expounded on the benefits of these products, but here are a few of the reasons that compelled us to make the change.
- The meat from cows and pigs feed on organic pastures has significantly less pesticide contamination. Since toxins accumulate in animal fat, purchasing animal products with low exposure is important.
- Grass-fed beef is significantly higher in omega-3 fats. Our American diet is much too rich in omega-6 fats due to our large consumption of vegetable oils and processed foods. Foods containing more omega-3 bring us closer to the ideal 1:1 ratio for these fats.
- Grass-fed beef is a rich source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a healthy fat which studies have indicated provides a strong defense against cancer.
- Pastured beef and pork is produced on sustainable farms and is free from the antibiotics and synthetic hormones used with industrial animals. Though the actual price of the meat may be higher*, the environmental and health costs are much lower than that of industrially produced animals.
- A diet rich in grass for cattle and one full of opportunities for pigs to scavenge are the diets these animals were created to consume. Cows and pigs are not supposed to live in crowded feed lots or barns eating nothing but grain {which is why advertisers use pictures of small farms with rich green pastures on packaging to sell you these products}.
We are blessed to have several different farms in our general area who sell these products and have thoroughly enjoyed the meat purchased since making the switch earlier this year. This healthful habit has been a greatly beneficial one we look forward to continuing!
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* REMOTELY RELATED COMMENT: As American consumer we are unaccustomed to paying what it actually costs to produce our food. This can result in a little bit of "sticker shock" when looking into local, quality products such as grass-fed beef. Our family has personally determined to reduce spending in other areas in order to be responsible consumers when purchasing our food.