The Switch to Grass Fed
*Read the original article here: https://www.earthfedmuscle.com/blogs/articles/the-switch-to-grass-fed
By Brooks Miller
It’s a popular notion that consuming animal products will cause dangerous global warming, and to suggest that giving up beef will reduce carbon footprint more than cars. You’ll hear that “Agriculture is a significant driver of global warming and causes 15% of all emissions, half of which are from livestock,” and that it’s likely to increase.
We know that climate change is real, and a real threat to the future of our planet and its people. However, we also know that feedlot or confinement beef and dairy are a significant part of the problem.
As John Robbins of the Food Revolution Network says, “Putting cattle in feedlots and feeding them grain may actually be one of the dumbest ideas in the history of western civilization.”
These negative environmental effects are the result of the factory-farmed beef and dairy industry. This industry is made possible by U.S. government subsidies that make that type of farming possible in the first place, as the corn industry has dictated the agricultural infrastructure development in this country.
100% Grass-fed production has totally different environmental impacts.
The work of Allan Savory has shown that holistic land management, aka carefully managed grazing of livestock, has the potential to reverse climate change. This means on-the-ground data shows that appropriate land management and use of livestock can be a solution for climate change. The more organic matter, or carbon, there is in the topsoil, the more that the soil, soil organisms, and plants growing in it can sequester additional carbon. The more cows rotationally grazing in a well-managed system on those plants and soil, the more carbon goes back to the soil. Nature already designed a cycle of soil building which puts atmospheric carbon back into the soil.
With a paradigm shift into working with nature, instead of against it, we know that “grazing livestock can change the world.” It’s exactly why Earth Fed Muscle is partnering with Truly Grass Fed in Ireland. We believe that we can change the world one workout at a time. It’s also why we have farmers on staff who raise animals on pasture and workout weekly. The same way we take responsibility for our own health, we aim to take even more responsibility to make ours a better world.
Andrew Gunther of AWA (Animal Welfare Approved) shares his insights and reactions to the UK’s National Trust report What’s Your Beef, which is a highly respected research organization’s analysis of the science behind why grass-fed beef is beneficial for the environment. He concludes,
“buying high quality, pasture-raised meat, such as that certified by Animal Welfare Approved, will mean that you are not only eating a healthier product and supporting family farms who raise their animals using the highest welfare standards in the U.S., but you are also helping to protect the planet for future generations.”
Truly Grass Fed is a certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World. TGF farms are able to keep their herds on pasture for 300 days a year because of the weather and grazing conditions in Ireland. More grazing means more carbon sequestration, humane animal husbandry, and a better final product in your whey!
