What's that Mean?? Animal Products

Chapter two in a series of common questions and terms compiled with some researched answers, and some added personal opinion to help everyone understand what's become of food over the last few years....After all, if you are what you eat, shouldn't you know what you're eating? Feel free to email questions, or terms you’d like clarification on. If I don't know the answer, I'll find it!

What's That Mean??

Animal Products

Meat:

Grass Fed – There is currently no USDA official definition of grass fed, but the understood definition is a cow that was raised eating grass. (This does not always include the finishing process)

Grass Finished – The last 90-160 days of a feed cows life are spent getting fattened up. Typically this is on grain. Grass finished cows eat nothing but grass until the day they are processed.

          Why grass fed? Well, 100% grass-fed meat is not only lower in saturated fats but also slightly higher in omega-3 fatty acids. Meat and milk from grass-finished cows also have more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which studies suggest may help prevent some cancers, diabetes and more. Grass-finished meat is higher than grain-finished meat in vitamin A and vitamin E, two antioxidants thought to boost resistance to disease.

Most, but not all Grass Fed Beef is also free range. Check the label for a free range grass fed beef.

Poultry and Eggs

Free Range – this typically the chickens are raised in large flocks in big open warehouses rather than in stacked cages. They can walk around, flap their wings and preen their feathers a little. They are allowed access to the outdoors, although it may be very little access as the producer doesn’t actually have to disclose the amount of access.

Cage Free – This just means the chickens are not kept in cages. The term doesn’t add any other regulations.

Pastured – These chickens are raised in outdoor pens that are moved from pasture to pasture, and typically fed an organic diet. The chickens are able to eat a wide variety of natural foods from greens to grubs and are typically antibiotic free. Many people find these eggs/chickens to taste the best, and there have been some studies to indicate they may be more nutritious.

General

Certified Humane – This isn’t regulated by the FDA, but a few smaller organizations, the largest of which is Humane Farm Animal Care, are working to come up with a common definition. HFCA has a certification process with standards that include a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.

Hormone Free – The USDA does not allow the use of hormones in Pork or Poultry. However, for Beef etc. Hormones are administered to make the animal grow larger and faster. Milk producing cows are often treated with an added synthetic hormone to increase milk production. Some controversial studies tie the increase in the use of hormones in feed animals to early onset puberty, and breast cancer. (Hormones are not allowed in organic meat or dairy products, or in those products that are certified humane)

Antibiotic Free – Oh this one could be a blog in and of itself so I’ll try to control myself. Because industrial/conventional feed animals are kept in such despicable conditions they get sick….a lot. To keep them from getting sick the entire flock/herd/group is treated with therapeutic antibiotics…meaning they are given a pretty much constant stream of antibiotics. Scientists estimate that nearly 70% of all antibiotics in the United States, more than 24 million pounds per year, are routinely put into the food and water of healthy livestock. Do you know where all that ends up? Well the animal waste products are often sprayed onto pastures and absorbed into surface waters, and the rest, ends up on our plates, contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance in people.

So in short, animal products from Industrial/Conventional farms = bad, and small local ethical farms = good. :) But no really, the more you know the easier it is to decipher the label and know your food.

"Just as appetite comes from eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning"

 

What's That Mean??: 1 - General Terms

I've decided to do a series of common questions and terms and compile them with some researched answers, and some added personal opinion to help everyone understand what's become of food over the last few years....After all, if you are what you eat, shouldn't you know what you're eating? Feel free to email questions, or terms you’d like clarification on. If I don't know the answer, I'll find it!

 

What's That Mean??
Some General Terms

All Natural - The phrase all natural on a package only refers to the processing of a food product AFTER it is received by the manufacturer. It has nothing to do with the growing process, or feeding process. These products can contain GMO (genetically modified) ingredients, pesticides and other chemical agents, growth hormone, and/or antibiotics.  (So really...natural doesn't mean natural at all......that's why we have the term Organic)

Conventional - This is a lesser known term that pretty much means anything not Organic

Organic - Organic is a label that means the agricultural product was grown without the aid of conventional pesticides, or fertilizers. For animal products, the feed must be pesticide and hormone free, AND the animals must not be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics. No genetic engineering is allowed in organic food.  Basically this is how food was intended to be, before we started messing with it. 

• USDA Organic –
• -100% Organic – Single ingredient foods that meet organic guidelines, or multi ingredient foods in which each ingredient and any processing agents have been organically produced.
• -Organic – contains 95% organic ingredients by weight (excluding water and salt)
• -Made with Organic Ingredients – contains 70-95% Organic ingredients. (cannot be labeled USDA Organic)

Trans Fat – (Partially Hydrogenated Oils/Trans Fatty Acids) Trans Fat is known to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol and is considered the worst of the fats. Trans fat is a man made product that is created by combining hydrogen and vegetable oil. It is used as a cheap way to prolong shelf life, and slow the spoiling process. You have to check the label on this one and look for “Partially Hydrogenated” anything, and/or shortening. Many shortenings, butter alternatives, baked goods, crackers, cakes and fried foods contain trans fat. Keep in mind that if a food has less than .5g per serving they are not required to list it, and can label the food as 0g trans fat per serving, so reading the ingredient label is the only way to know for certain.  Trans fat is so bad its even illegal in some places. 

High Fructose Corn Syrup – (HFCS) High-fructose corn syrup is made by changing the sugar (glucose) in cornstarch to fructose — another form of sugar creating a combination of fructose and glucose. It is popular with manufacturers because it extends the shelf life of processed foods and is cheaper than sugar. More and more scientists are disagreeing with the statements of safety of high-fructose corn syrup. A research team at Princeton has found that rats eating high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight that rats eating regular table sugar, even when the caloric intake was identical. HFCS promotes disproportionate weight increase in the abdominal area, and a rise in circulating blood fats (triglycerides). High-fructose corn syrup is found in everything from peanut butter and ketchup to Wonder Bread, to kid’s juice boxes and salad dressings. Because it is so cheap, food companies use it in almost everything as a sugar replacement.  I personally think we should just stick with sugar over these types of alternatives. 

The food industry has changed more in the past 50 years than in the previous 10,000.  We've learned to genetically manipulate food, cover it in pesticide, pump our animals full of hormones and antibiotics and create cheaper less nutritious foods.  Its time to revert back to natural foods, as they were before all our "advancements"

 "Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are." ~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I think I'll start a blog....

I've never blogged before, so, bear with me as I learn the ropes. I had several conversations with friends and family today that ended with the phrase “you should blog about it”. I thought to myself, who cares? Who will read it? Well….maybe no one. I guess we will see.

I suppose I’ll write a little about everything; Recipes, thoughts, pets, kids, husbands, houses, cars, and life in general. But today, I’m going to start with food.

How awesome is food! I love food! I love to eat it, cook it, learn about it, read about it…and apparently, blog about it. I’ve recently made a huge change in my family’s diet. We went….dun dun dun….organic.

There were several reasons for this. One was that I had to write a paper for my environmental science class, and I chose to write it on the food industry. There is stuff going on from factory to plate that would make your toes curl, but I’ll ease you into that. Another reason was the more I got into cooking and putting food together myself, the less I understood all those giant scientific terms on the side of the boxes of prepackaged food at the market.

The changes came slowly. First, we gave up trans-fat. Easy enough, no partially hydrogenated anything. Then, high-fructose corn syrup went bye-bye. (Do you know how many things have high-fructose corn syrup?) We threw milk with hormones out the window. We gave up fast food. Then, we saw Fast Food Nation, and Food, Inc. I read The Righteous Porkchop, and lots of interesting (and disgusting) journal articles on the food industry.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in a science fiction movie and the whole world has microchips in their brains so they don’t notice how bad it really is, and then my microchip broke. I’ve discovered there are whole groups of people out there now with broken microchips. I also know a lot of people that choose not to know. “Ignorance is Bliss” I suppose. Once my eyes were opened to it, I couldn’t go back. I won’t eat meat that isn’t grass fed, and antibiotic and hormone free. (Which, for the record makes it very difficult to eat anywhere but at home) My eggs are free range, and vegetarian. Now they shouldn’t have to label the eggs as being from vegetarian chickens right? Aren’t chickens vegetarians? Well…..they should be…unfortunately, a lot of times they aren’t…and that’s a whole new realm of gross.

I feel better knowing when I pack my daughters lunch, and make dinner, that I am giving her the best start and highest quality food I can. Will she go through life never eating a Dorito….certainly not. She’ll go to birthday parties, and snatch one from a kid at school. But what I can do is help her make the best decisions she can at home, and keep her informed. Plus, the food decisions we make, lessen our impact on the environment as a whole….SCORE. Two for one!


I will tell you, that after having gone natural/organic I feel better. I’m less lethargic. The 2 o’clock slump is not a regular visitor, I sleep better, and my skin is better. We’ve changed more than food now; we opt for natural cleaners, store bought and home-made. We try to get more products made in America. All of our body products are natural.

I’m sure I’ll slip some icky fact filled blogs in occasionally, but for now I’ll just keep blogging along. Maybe someday someone will read it. For now, I will just write about what interests me most. Food, family and environment, which amazingly all go hand in hand, and as the wonderful Julia Child said. “Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” And so I shall.