Family dinner tables, Olympic villages and fast food chains like Chipolte, are today serving more organic meat than ever before. Although in the Tsiapalis family we rarely eat any meat, if and when you do see it, it’s always organic.
Like many of you, the question of whether or not to that extra dollar on organic meat is a good one, beyond the ethical and environmental reasons, you’ll be surprise to know there are many important health reasons to do so too.
The following are just a few of the best health reasons on why to consider choosing organic meat:
One of the most important reasons is organic meat is antibiotic-free. One of the problems that arises from factory farming, with high density confinement of the animals, is infection. To minimize infection in mass produced meat, antibiotics are added to the feed. Unfortunately, an inevitable consequence is the development of drug resistant bacteria and outbreaks of “SARS” like infections. The mass produced meat we eat often becomes contaminated with these “super-bugs” like Staph A, Salmonella, and E.coli. The ingestion of antibiotics in the meat more often than not leads to us becoming antibiotic resistant as well.
Another reason to choose organic meat is that no chemical pesticides are used in raising the animals. On factory farms that mass produce, they use pesticides to control the growth of pests that are harmful to the animals. These pose a health risk to us, as they can accumulate in the animals and are ingested by us. The known health effects of pesticides are asthma, birth defects, hormone imbalances leading to such things as endometriosis, fertility problems and reduced sperm count. Pesticides are also known neurotoxins, which lead to dizziness, light-headedness, effects on learning and potential long-term brain damage.
Growth promoter hormones are also given with factory farmed animals. Typically, beef cattle, sheep, goats and dairy cows are all given growth hormone so that they gain weight faster to produce meat for consumption at a faster rate, and to dairy cows to increase the production of milk. The concern for our health in ingesting meat with these hormones creates an increase in breast cancer, prostate cancer, and as well leads to early puberty changes in girls which is linked with a higher rate of breast cancer later in life.
Taste, although less of a “health” factor than the others, but part of any healthy eating experience is another common reason why people living the wellness lifestyle prefer organic meat. Because the animals are raised grazing free range with room to move and feed on grass, the animals grow the way nature intended rather than boxed up and confined with little or no space between them, fed an unnatural diet of corn for fast weight gain.
Based on these health concerns and others which we’ll talk about further at our March Living Wellness seminar, you can see why we not only choose, but also recommend organic vs. non-organic meats for your next family dinner or meal for peak performance. The investment will be well worth your money when you compare it to the health of you and your family over the long-term.
Good resources:
Food, Inc. (film, US based but similar in Canada), Fresh The Movie (film, US based by ana Sofia joanes), Diet for a New America, by John Robbins (son of Baskin and Robbins co-founder)
Join us for our upcoming Living Wellness Workshop, Eat Well: Improve Your Food Choices to learn more about how to make large impacts with ease. At Vaughan Chiropractic on Wed March 28th @ 6:10pm.
