January
2008
5 Meats to Avoid
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While we’re all about vegetables here at MDA, we have a special place in our stomachs for clean, lean meat. Yes, it’s the ultimate primal picture-caveperson (O.K.-caveman, but can we get points for trying?) returning from the hunt with dinner for the family.
Fun illustration aside, it’s more than the image. Meat, of the MDA-approved variety, means protein, omega-3s, iron, and a host of other nutrients. And, yes, there’s that gastronomical, savory satisfaction. (Apologies to the vegetarian set. We’ll stop now.)
Nonetheless, as we say here at MDA, not all meat is created equal, especially in the current era of antibiotics, hormone injections, grain feed, factory farms, and cloned animals-coming soon to a neighborhood store near you. (Yes, our friends at the FDA are expected to approve cloned meat and milk in the coming days, according to the Wall Street Journal.)
1. Cured meats
We love bacon as much as the next guy or gal, but we definitely recommend going for the uncured variety. Nitrites are a sketchy lot. Included in everything from bacon to most lunch meat, sausages and hot dogs (are we really calling those a food still?), they act as preservatives and color enhancers. Unfortunately for those hot-dog-eating competitors, nitrites bind with naturally present amines in the meat when the meat/”meat” is cooked. The result is N-nitroso compounds, which have been linked to oral, lung, urinary, pancreatic, esophageal, stomach and brain cancers, particularly for children.
2. Cold cuts - Cured meat redux and then some.
First off: nitrites.
And then: listeria. Pregnant women, children and people with compromised immune systems, in particular, should shun cold cuts because of the risk of listeria, a kind of bacteria that causes flu-like symptoms in most people but can, in extreme cases, result in meningitis, blood infection, miscarriage and stillbirth.
To boot: it’s processed. We just don’t like them processed foods ’round here. Sodium (oh, yeah, there’s the massive sodium content) and phosphate brine, meat emulsion substances we can’t pronounce-ewww.
Hey, wait a minute. Cold cuts are for, um, sandwiches - with, like, bread and stuff. Well, consider it another reason to skip the hoagie.
3. Ground meats
Ground meats, as we’ve said in the past, usually end up being a hodge-podge of flesh from hundreds of carcasses. (All remaining vegetarians have now fled the room.) In addition to this decidedly repellent image, the grinding process also poses a safety risk, as we’ve seen in the E. Coli recalls. The issue with ground beef, in particular, is the fact that the unsterile exterior of the carcass is ground and mixed in with the “safe” interior.
4. Grain-fed beef
Grass-fed beef is leaner in terms of saturated fats but heftier in terms of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. That grass diet, with all the benefits of plant and grass chloroplasts, beefs up (we couldn’t resist) the meat’s omega-3 content to as much as six times that of grain-fed cattle.
It’s important to note that the grass-fed label can sometimes be misleading. Although many cattle are fed grass at some point, most are later fattened up with grain at the feedlot in the final weeks before slaughter. During this relatively brief time, the store of alpha-linolenic (LNA), DHA and EPA quickly diminish. We recommend doing a little digging to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
5. Non-organic meat
Remember those antibiotics, growth hormones, and squalid, inhumane conditions of factory farms? As much as we enjoy meat, we’d recommend enjoying less for the sake of the better quality, higher nutrition, safer content, and lighter conscience (albeit heftier price) of organic meats. (Did I just see a couple vegetarians peek around the corner?)
As primal thinkers, we eschew the meat and potatoes hobby horse of our current culture. Cave people were hunters and gatherers, after all. Meat, as important as we think it is for complete nutrition, is best enjoyed as one ingredient among many - a strong supporting actor in a well balanced ensemble cast.
If you’re having difficulty finding organic meats in your area or if you want to make a special point of supporting local farmers (and we applaud you for it!), talk to the folks at co-op markets or CSAs. Both typically know area suppliers. CSAs, community supported agriculture co-ops, are best known for their vegetable shares, but some also offer meat shares or informative referrals for area farms.
What’s not for dinner at your house these days? Share your thoughts and stories with our forum folks.
cobalt123, phototram, cobalt123 Flickr Photos (CC)
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Technorati Tags: cured meat, ground meat, nitrates, nitrites, grain-fed, grass-fed, beef, pork, cold cuts, listeria
Some of the meat like Polish Sausage just judging by looks only, looks very unhealthy for humans to consume. It reminds me of the “Superfans” from early “90’s” SNL fame, when the late Chris Farley puked up a whole peace of Poli sausage because he was having another heart attack. I think that made it a bakers dozen, Bob!
I’m not vegetarian, but don’t eat much meat, aside from fish. I might go weeks without eating any other meat. But my weakness is processed pig - bacon, salami, chorizo - LOVE the stuff. The way I figure, though, is if I’m only eating it a few times a year, it’s not going to do too much damage, or at least the damage will be worth it!
We only eat beef a few times a year, too, and that’s largely because we can’t budget for organic, grass-fed much more often than that. So, it’s a treat when we do it, and we have one giant burger once every few months.
And where we live I don’t think there is even organic meat of any other kind available to us, so with other meats - when we have it - we have to settle for what we can get, which is another reason we don’t eat it often.
And I’ve looked for CSA’s in our area, but haven’t had much luck. It’s been awhile since I looked, though - maybe there are more options now. I’ll have to check.
I’m in the same boat as Judy. No sign of grass-fed here so my only option is mail order–except that fitting that in my budget is problematic. I also really like sausage. Being a native of New Orleans, I grew up eating red beans and rice, and I still enjoy it (minus the rice).
I don’t agree with the list.
Sure, hot dogs are no good pretty much any way you cook them. And certainly “honey-glazed-citrus-smoked-dijon” ham slices contain some weird brine ingredients and more sugar than any meat should contain, but avoiding cold cuts because of the possibility of listeria is like avoiding planes because they have been known to crash. Listeria is a rare disease (approximately 1 in 180,000 people catch it) that can also be caused by dairy products, seafood, and even vegetables.
The argument for avoiding ground beef is similarly flawed. E. Coli has long been a loaded word in the food health industry, as once every couple years there’s a beef callback, but the instances of E. Coli in America are less than 1 in 10,000 and more importantly. E. Coli is NON FATAL. Almost every victim of E. Coli recovers with no long term consequences. Again, eating fish has a higher instance of disease fatality than any red meat.
Finally, I do agree that grass fed beef is better than grain fed beef. But that is no argument that grain fed beef is UNHEALTHY or should be avoided. An easy way to get even more Omega 3’s than eating grassfed beef is to eat grain fed beef and then TAKE AN OMEGA 3 CAPSULE.
Organic meats may be healthy, but that doesn’t mean everything else from the butcher is a bacteria laced death slab.
I love to hear dissenting opinions in the comment board, but, Roger, you will notice that E. Coli and listeria weren’t the only reasons listed to avoid ground meat and cold cuts, respectively. And where is the mention of the “death slab”?
Roger,
You make a good point here:
“Finally, I do agree that grass fed beef is better than grain fed beef. But that is no argument that grain fed beef is UNHEALTHY or should be avoided. An easy way to get even more Omega 3’s than eating grassfed beef is to eat grain fed beef and then TAKE AN OMEGA 3 CAPSULE.”
When possible, I’d choose the grass-fed, but that doesn’t make the grain-fed (organic) unhealthy. The main objective in this blog is to point people in a healthy direction, armed with knowledge about the possible risks or benefits of their choices. Most of us make compromises every day…I just want to know the facts surrounding my compromise choices. I guess (upon reflecting, the headline “Meats to Avoid” is a bit sensational. Maybe we should have said “meats we’d rather not have if there were better options nearby.” Thanks for pointing that out.
****Bulletin****
Pretty amazing timing! A couple hours after posting that grass-fed beef was not available here, I went to our local supermarket and lo and behold, there was a display of grass-fed beef!!! It was top round so it wasn’t prohibitively expensive.
You are a voice of reason, Roger, and our blogger host is ever open to dissenting viewpoints. I recall taking someone here to task for falsely accusing carrots of spiking blood sugar (carrots have a high GI but a low GL as they are mostly water).
Another note on the ground meat- I eat it quite often, and love watching my butcher grind it up in front of my eyes. This way I know it comes from just 1 animal, and it’s a good, lean piece.
So what can we eat for meat?? Organic, grassfed and that’s it? Are there any alternatives that have the same convenience factor as cold cuts (or cold cuts that are acceptable for that matter)?
Great post!
Thanks!
[...] 5 meats to avoid [...]
All meat is organic.
Joe,
All things are relative.
All relatives are things.
My relatives took most of my things.
That’s very cute Mark. The problem is that your terminology is silly. You should describe the animal as a healthy animal, not an “organic animal.” There are plenty of animals that eat “organic food” and are not fit for consumption. Likewise, there are plenty of animals that are raised on feed lots that are very healthy.
Hope that clears things up for you.
I appreciate this blog and recommend it all the time, but sometimes things are just unrealistic. I live in Southeastern Europe where preserved and cured meats are standard fare and no one has ever heard of an organic grocery store.
Someone in our family raises livestock and occasionally brings us meat and sausage from his farm but besides him I wouldn’t know where to go for organic meats on a reasonably regular basis. I appreciate the good word on all these and I definitely try to limit my meat intake, but beyond that this is just too impractical.
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